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4 months ago
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UEFA has released its technical report following the Euro 2024 final that saw Spain be crowned European Champions with a 2-1 victory against England.
The report, which is drafted by a panel of UEFA's Technical Observers, assesses the trends, data and coaching observations throughout the tournament and aims to deliver practical insights for coaches currently operating in the game.
The panel, which is made up of several renowned coaches - including Rafael Benitez, Fabio Capello, Frank de Boer, Avram Grant, David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, among others - have also delivered their verdicts on how Gareth Southgate's side were beaten by Spain in the final.
After Cole Palmer had cancelled out Nico Williams' opener in the second half of the match, Marc Cucurella would slide in a cross to Mikel Oyarzabal who crushed England's hopes of ending a 58-year wait for a major trophy with a late winner.
But the panel have now revealed just how England succumbed to Spain in the final. They listed their reasonings under the header 'England's energy levels drop', and stated that the Three Lions waned out of the game after being out manoeuvred by Spain.
A panel of UEFA technical observers, including David Moyes and Fabio Capello, have given their verdicts on how England lost the Euro 2024 final against Spain
The Three Lions became the first side to suffer back-to-back losses in the final of the tournament following a 2-1 defeat by Spain
Gareth Southgate (pictured) stated after the match that England had struggled to control possession and that their energy levels had dropped
According to Moyes, England just did not use the ball well enough when they had the chance and that was why England tired faster than their opponents.
'England couldn’t get on the ball as well as Spain and couldn’t find a way to build better,' the former West Ham manager said.
The panel added: 'This inability to keep hold of the ball was another reason why their pressing became less effective as the second half progressed (ultimately taking a physical toll too).'
That is also something that Southgate noted in his post-match press conference, with the England boss stating his side struggled to keep the ball and advance out of Spain's press.
England made 31 pressures in the first half, with Spain beating England's press five times. Dissimilarly, De la Fuente's side were pressed 30 times by their opponents in the second half and beat England on 11 of those occasions.
The report also identifies that there was a positive correlation between the number of chances Spain had in the first 45 minutes, three, to their numbers after half-time, which rose to 11.
Spain, meanwhile, were crowned European Champions for the second time, and did so by breaking through England's press in the second half of the match
Former Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (right) was also included in the panel
Moyes also noted that England struggled to keep the ball against Spain and that was perhaps why their press laboured in the second half
The panel added England had tired in the second half, with Spain having more chances on goal after half-time
Cole Palmer's strike would be only England's second shot on goal of the match and came in the 73rd minute, indicating England's lack of creativity in the final.
The panel, reflecting on Palmer's goal, noted: 'It fitted a pattern of big moments from individual players during their run through the tournament.'
Speaking of goals, the panel also gave their verdict on the best strikes of the tournament, with Jude Bellingham's sensational over-head kick placing second in the rankings, to Lamine Yamal's goal in Spain's 2-1 victory against France. Xherdan Shaqiri's stunning long-range effort against Scotland in the group stages came third, while Ollie Watkins' last-gasp winner against the Netherlands was ranked eighth by the technical observers.
While it was a difficult tournament for England, who were criticised for their lack of creativity and lacklustre performances, the panel did outline several key points about the Three Lions that impressed them.
Firstly, the panel lumped praise on 'influential goalkeeper Jordan Pickford' who they said made 'key saves'. The Everton No 1 notably helped England advance to the semi-final by saving a penalty from Switzerland's Manuel Akanji during their quarter-final shootout.
Equally, the panel praised the 'solid centre-back pairing of John Stones and Marc Guehi' while also hailing 'Bukayo Saka's one-on-one ability and creativity from the right wing'.
Jude Bellingham's stunning bicycle kick goal was ranked the second-best goal of the tournament by the panel
Lamine Yamal's epic strike against France was ranked by the panel as the best goal of the tournament
While Southgate had received criticism for not being more proactive with his changes throughout the tournament, the panel also lumped praise on the former England boss
Saka would go on to score a crucial goal against Switzerland to seal a late 1-1 draw in 90 minutes and send the match to extra-time.
The panel also noted the 'impact' that several of Southgate's substitutes had, particularly highlighting Watkins and Palmer's influences in games.
While Southgate had received criticism for not being more proactive with his changes throughout the tournament, the panel also lumped praise on the former England boss for the work he has done in his tenure as Three Lions boss.
'Typically with England, the Olympiastadion was awash with flags of St George, but there would be no first trophy since 1966 to reward the impressive advances made during Gareth Southgate’s reign, which ended with this defeat.'
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