How England nullified Spain: The Wiegman tactics that shut down the world champions

New York Times

2 days ago

Spain composed themselves, waited for the right moment, and then calmly passed between England's lines.
But this isn't an analysis of the tactical battle. It was the scene at 9pm at St Jakob Park when England formed a guard of honour, clapping Spain through to receive their runners-up medals. Somehow, England had done it again. 'We were better,' said Spain manager Montse Tome after the game. 'But football is a sport where not always the best team wins.'
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England have arguably not been the superior side in any of their three knockout games at Euro 2025. They were largely outplayed by Sweden in the quarter-finals before winning on penalties. They were sluggish against Italy in the semi-finals and only squeezed through thanks to an equaliser deep in stoppage time, and a winner at the end of extra time.
They competed better in the final against Spain, but they still went behind, and there was a period when Spain seemed set to kill the game. But England, of course, have the never-say-die spirit. They played three matches of 120 minutes each, led for less than five minutes of those matches, and yet are travelling home with the trophy. 'The most chaotic and ridiculous tournament we have played,' said Sarina Wiegman. 'Every time we came back from behind.'
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Wiegman has now won three European Championships on the bounce, an incredible achievement. At times, her starting tactics have been questioned, and she has relied heavily on her bench throughout this tournament, with Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang particularly decisive.
But on Sunday, her starting approach deserves credit. For once, Wiegman surprised us. And maybe she surprised Spain, too.
Her decision to recall Jess Carter was a hugely brave call. At full-back, Carter had been bypassed easily in England's opening game against France and was moved into central defence. In that role, she had been the target of Sweden's pressing and was overrun. She was dropped for the game against Italy, and her replacement, Esme Morgan, played well. But Carter was in the side. 'I was super scared to play today, for the first time in my life,' she said. 'Then when I woke up this morning and saw my team and the support that I had from my team-mates, my family and my manager, I knew I had to come out today and give it my all.'
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Why did Carter return? 'We can make tactical decisions,' said Wiegman, calmly. 'I said before the tournament that I'm really happy with my squad, that we have players in the same position who can bring different things. Italy and Spain were different games. We felt we needed Jess in the starting line-up for the fight and the duels.'
Carter was excellent, and possibly England's best performer on the night. She returned to being the Carter we know, England's most reliable defender in individual battles, a good reader of the game, a no-nonsense player who does her job unfussily. She coped with the power of Esther Gonzalez. She then coped with the speed of Salma Paralluelo. Her final action of the 120 minutes was reading the game, covering behind centre-back partner Leah Williamson and sweeping up to tackle Aitana Bonmati, sending the ball against her and out for an England goal kick.
The second call was switching her wingers. Lauren Hemp had only played on the left in this tournament, but she was switched to the right flank and lasted 120 minutes without tiring. Lauren James was moved to the left and was an early threat before going off injured. Her replacement, Kelly, decisive as a substitute against Sweden with her crosses from the left, provided a pinpoint delivery for Alessia Russo's towering header. 'We wanted to switch the play and come in behind a little bit on the inside,' said Wiegman of her inverted wingers. 'So with Lauren James and Chloe Kelly from the left with the right foot, and Lauren Hemp on the right with the left foot.'
The third big decision was altering the position of Lucy Bronze, asking her to move inside into midfield — a role she has previously suggested she dislikes. This opened up the passing lane into Hemp. It gave England an extra option in the engine room. 'We know with Spain they're very aggressive when they have to defend,' said Wiegman. 'So we wanted to get out of that first press. We wanted to create a midfield overload and create space a bit down the wing to bring Lauren Hemp a little lower at moments.'
'I think they changed,' Tome said of England's tactics on the night. 'In the first half, they had an additional player in the middle, and I think we managed that.'
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And that was fair. None of these things ever gave England full control or unlocked the Spain defence, but it did help to nullify the world champions — the best possession side in the competition by miles. It did help England to compete. And 1-1, as a final score, was all fair enough, really. Call it a draw?
Not in tournaments, of course, and on penalties, you consistently back this England side. This is four shootout wins in a row: Brazil in the Finalissima, Nigeria in the World Cup, Sweden in the quarter-final in Zurich, and Spain in the final in Basel. England's penalty record was not even any good in this tournament — only six of their 12 were scored — but they still won both shootouts. And doesn't that just sum it all up?