Whichever system is selected, Gareth Southgate must implement one thing if England are to beat Spain at Euro 2024, writes MARTIN KEOWN
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Once again, Gareth Southgate is on the verge of greatness, taking England to within one win of our first men’s trophy since 1966.
Looking back on the journey to here, Southgate has given us every reason to trust him tactically after showing how skilled he is at adapting his team structure to the opponents in front of us.
He swapped systems in order to see off Switzerland in the quarter-finals. He subtly countered the Netherlands’ changes at half-time of the semi-final by switching from a back three to a back four, as he brought on Luke Shaw and told Bukayo Saka to move more central.
For this final, Southgate will have been agonising over whether to stick with his 3-4-2-1 or twist by using a 4-3-3 in order to match up with Spain. Whichever system is selected, there is one must — there needs to be a specific plan in place to stop Rodri from bossing yet another game of football.
He is the jewel in the Spanish crown, unbeaten in nearly 500 days for his country. As their deepest-lying midfielder, Rodri will always make himself available to Spain’s defenders when they are playing out from the back so he can progress play.
Gareth Southgate has shown his tactical flexibility in the knockout stages at Euro 2024
The England boss cannot let Manchester City's Rodri run the game for Spain in Sunday's final
He could put Jude Bellingham on Rodri to limit the Spanish midfielder's space in the middle
He could also call upon Rodri's Man City team-mate, Phil Foden, to keep a close eye on him
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The best example I’ve seen at Euro 2024 of a team tying down Rodri was Germany, who had Ilkay Gundogan sit on the Spaniard. Ultimately it was a cross and a header in the 119th minute which eliminated the Germans.
With Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo bound to be kept busy by the other Spanish midfielders pushing up the pitch, the task of tracking Rodri will fall to either Jude Bellingham or Phil Foden.
Whoever gets that job will need to show discipline without the ball, but a willingness to express himself once England are in possession.
As much as we would like to see free-flowing football from England, there needs to be an appreciation for how Spain are the best 4-3-3 team on the international stage.
If the English high press is proving unsuccessful, there is nothing wrong with Southgate ordering all his players — Harry Kane included — to get behind the ball.
Throwing up the Thames Barrier could be what stops that Spanish flood from breaking through.
England can't get fooled by Spain's left-side ploy
Celebrating his 17th birthday on Saturday, Lamine Yamal is football’s newest sensation who should still be in school but taught France a lesson in Spain’s last game.
How England handle his movement will be vitally important. Yamal likes to step inside from the right wing, whereas Nico Williams stays glued to the left wing.
Most of Spain’s attacks at Euro 2024 have originated from the left, as the team shifts over towards that side to create overloads; getting Yamal on the right one-on-one with his defender where he can use his skills to beat his man and do damage.
Against France, 58.7 per cent of Spain’s attacks came from the left, 22.5 from the centre and 18.8 from the right. As talented as Williams is, I’m confident Kyle Walker can handle him with help from Bukayo Saka on England’s right.
Gareth Southgate faces a huge dilemma on our left side where he must choose between the left-footed Luke Shaw and right-footed Kieran Trippier.
With Yamal moving inside, it might be best to have a right-footer dealing with that threat.
That way, Trippier would feel much more comfortable stepping into central positions while using his stronger foot to produce tackles or blocks, with Shaw having also not started a match since February.
The majority of Spain's attacks come down the left, freeing up Lamine Yamal on the right
Nico Williams (pictured) has been brilliant for Spain, but Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka should be able to handle him between them on the right hand side of England's back line
England cannot leave teenage wonderkid Yamal in one-v-one situations on the opposite flank
Spanish will have learnt from Koeman's tactical tinkering
The best 45 minutes produced by England at these Euros came in the first half against the Netherlands when we outnumbered them in midfield.
Southgate would love it if we were afforded that same level of freedom all over again. But Spain will have spotted how Ronald Koeman made changes to combat that.
When forced to remove Memphis Depay after 35 minutes, he brought on an extra midfielder in Joey Veerman, and then at half time, he told Xavi Simons to move inside to level up the numbers.
There were multiple moments when we saw Simons with Rice, Veerman with Mainoo, Jerdy Schouten with Bellingham and Tijjani Reijnders with Foden.
Ronald Koeman tweaked his tactics to stop England outnumbering his Dutch side in midfield
One suspects Spain will have noted that in their analysis and will not let England outnumber them in that area. If Southgate and his players are to immortalise themselves, they know it will not be easy overcoming such powerful opposition.
But I tipped England to win this tournament in my predictions at the very start and if the tactics fall into place, history can be made.
