Tactical tweaks crucial at Women's Euro 2025, says Uefa technical observer

Straits Times

5 days ago

Spain's Aitana Bonmati (in red) in action against Switzerland's Viola Calligaris during their Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final in Bern on July 18.
OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland – Greater tactical flexibility has led to a marked improvement in the ability of teams to change plans mid-game at Euro 2025, former Norway coach Martin Sjogren told Reuters ahead of the semi-finals, which will see Germany take on Spain on July 23.
The Swede, who coached the Norwegians at the last Euro and is part of the Uefa group of technical observers scrutinising the games in Switzerland, said many teams had impressed him with how smoothly they changed tack.
'Women's football is developing very quickly, it looks more tactical than what it did in the last championship. There is a trend that there are clear plans for what to do in a given situation,' Sjogren said after landing in Geneva for the July 22 semi-final between England and Italy, which took place after press time.
'If a team needs to close the game to secure the result, then there is a clear plan for what to do, if they need to force a goal, there is a clear plan, so the tactical understanding and the tactical depth in all the teams, you see a clear picture, and that is a development from previous championships.'
Sjogren used Switzerland's final group match against Finland, in which the hosts needed a draw and the Finns a win to progress, as an example of the amount of tactical switching that can happen. The Finns took the lead, only for the Swiss to secure a 1-1 draw in second-half stoppage time.
'Finland set up to force a goal and managed to do so, then Switzerland changed, forcing the Finns to switch to try to secure the result, then Switzerland managed to score in one of the last kicks – it's just one example of how things can change in a game,' he said.
While impressed by the strategies employed by the Swiss in their quarter-final defeat by Spain, Sjogren said the combination of technical skills and tactical intelligence means the Spaniards, who take on Germany in their semi-final in Zurich, are still the team to beat.
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'They (Spain) don't need to play so many other types of football, they are still very secure and good in what they do as a foundation. I still see Spain as the team that looks the most homogeneous, and they are still the best,' he said.
Sjogren, who is head coach at Swedish club side Hammarby, and his observer colleagues will meet ahead of the first semi-final to discuss what they have seen, and they will produce a report on the tournament after the July 27 final.
'We'll see what the final report shows, but there's no doubt that women's football will keep developing, definitely,' Sjogren said. REUTERS