UEFA has published the technical report following the 2024 European Championship final, in which Spain were crowned European champions with a 2-1 victory over England.
The reportwhich is drawn up by a panel of UEFA technical observers, assesses trends, data and observations from coaches throughout the tournament and aims to provide practical insights for coaches currently working in the sport.
The panel, which includes a number of renowned coaches – including Rafael Benitez, Fabio Capello, Frank de Boer, Avram Grant, David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – also gave their verdict on the manner in which Gareth Southgate’s team were beaten by Spain in the final.
After Cole Palmer cancelled out Nico Williams’ second-half opener, Marc Cucurella crossed for Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored a late winner to end England’s hopes of ending their 58-year wait for a major trophy.
But the panel have now revealed how England went down to Spain in the final. They summed up their reasoning under the heading ‘England’s energy levels are dropping’ and claimed the Three Lions crashed out of the competition after being outclassed by Spain.
A panel of UEFA technical observers, including David Moyes and Fabio Capello, have given their verdict on the manner in which England lost the Euro 2024 final to Spain
The Three Lions became the first team to suffer two consecutive defeats in the final of the tournament, after a 2-1 defeat to Spain
Gareth Southgate (pictured) said after the match that England struggled to control possession and their energy levels had dropped
According to Moyes, England simply did not use the ball well enough when they had the chance and as a result, England tired more quickly than their opponents.
“England couldn’t get the ball as well as Spain and couldn’t find a way to build up the game better,” said the former West Ham manager.
The panel added: ‘The inability to hold on to the ball was another reason why their pressing became less effective as the second half progressed (which ultimately took its toll physically as well).’
It’s also something Southgate noted during his post-match press conference, with the England manager saying his team struggled to keep the ball and escape pressure from Spain.
England pressed 31 times in the first half, with Spain beating English pressure on five occasions. In contrast, De la Fuente’s team were put under pressure by their opponents 30 times in the second half, beating England on 11 of those occasions.
The report also shows that there is a positive correlation between the number of chances Spain created in the first 45 minutes (three) and the number of chances after the break (eleven).
Spain meanwhile became European champions for the second time, doing so by breaking through the English press in the second half of the match
Former Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (right) was also present at the panel.
Moyes also noted that England struggled to keep the ball against Spain and that may have been why their pressing in the second half was so difficult.
The panel added that England tired in the second half, with Spain having more chances on goal after the break
Cole Palmer’s goal was only England’s second shot on target in the match and came in the 73rd minute. It showed that England were not creative enough in the final.
The panel, reflecting on Palmer’s goal, noted: ‘It fitted a pattern of significant moments for individual players during their tournaments.’
Speaking of goals, the panel also gave their verdict on the tournament’s best shots, with Jude Bellingham’s sensational header coming in second in the rankings, ahead of Lamine Yamal’s strike in Spain’s 2-1 win over France. Xherdan Shaqiri’s stunning long-range strike against Scotland in the group stage came in third, while Ollie Watkins’ last-gasp winner against the Netherlands was placed eighth by the technical observers.
Although it was a difficult tournament for England, who were criticised for their lack of creativity and mediocre performances, the panel did highlight a number of key points about the Three Lions that impressed them.
Firstly, the panel praised ‘influential goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’ who they said made ‘key saves’. The Everton No. 1 notably helped England progress to the semi-finals by saving a penalty from Swiss Manuel Akanji during their quarter-final shootout.
The panel also praised the ‘solid central defensive combination of John Stones and Marc Guehi’ and also praised ‘Bukayo Saka’s one-on-one ability and creativity from the right wing’.
Jude Bellingham’s stunning bicycle kick goal was voted the second best goal of the tournament by the panel
Lamine Yamal’s epic goal against France was judged by the panel to be the tournament’s best goal
Although Southgate had been criticised for not being more proactive with his changes during the tournament, the panel also praised the former England manager
Saka then scored a crucial goal against Switzerland, securing a 1–1 draw in the 90th minute and sending the match into extra time.
The panel also noted that several of Southgate’s substitutes had a major ‘impact’, with Watkins and Palmer in particular highlighting the influence on matches.
Southgate was criticised for not being more proactive with his changes during the tournament, but the panel also praised the work the former England manager did during his time as Three Lions manager.
‘As is customary in England, the Olympic Stadium was filled with St George’s flags, but there would be no first trophy since 1966 to reward the impressive progress made during Gareth Southgate’s reign, which ended with this defeat.’