After the craziness of the Round of 16 resulted in France, Germany and Portugal all being eliminated from the competition, the match that was expected to take place in the Euro 2020 final will now come to fruition. Italy and England have been the two best teams at the tournament, and the only two teams to not only go unbeaten, but win all of their games up to this point. Here is a tactical preview of the Euro 2020 final battle between Italy and England.
In a highly contested affair, Italy and Spain played out a 1-1 draw after extra time, and needed penalty kicks to settle the match. After missing just one of their spot kicks, Italy sent themselves through to the final of the tournament, extending their impressive unbeaten run to 33 matches in all competitions. Here is our tactical analysis of the match!
When establishing a style of play, all top-level managers face the same pragmatic questions: How will positional defenders become functional attackers (and vice versa) as changes in possession occur? Where is the balance between earnest advancement and cautious reserve? And how is that equilibrium expressed, implicitly and explicitly, on the team sheet?
Having progressed to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, many picked England as favourites to steal the crown at this summer's Euros. Now heading into the Quarter Finals of the tournament, Gareth Southgate's team remain unbeaten, without having conceded a single goal. Here is our tactical analysis of England at the Euros so far, and their chances of winning it all.
The knockout stage of an international tournament always serves as an emphatic reminder of what we all would claim to know: even the best laid plans can prove insufficient over the course of 90 minutes of football. And while the team who keeps their shape is often assumed to be in the ascendancy, adaptation undoubtedly preempts success; that is to say, some of the greatest examples of tactical prowess in sport are evidenced when the first blink leads to the last laugh. For instance, during their Euro 2020 round of 16 clash versus Wales, Denmark employed at least THREE different formations, modifications which ultimately tipped the result in their favor. Here, we take a closer look at the incentive and effect behind each change.
North Macedonia entered their first ever major tournament as clear underdogs. Before this, the only player of North Macedonian origin who had played in the European Championships was Blagoje Vidinic, a goalkeeper for the Former Yugoslavia in 1960. Unfortunately for North Macedonia, they failed to progress past the group stage, and floundered to the bottom of Group C. Despite that, they never looked as though they did not belong. Here is our tactical analysis of how they performed at the European Championships.
Having been placed in a group with Denmark, Russia and Finland, Belgium were certainly expected to top Group B. Roberto Martinez's side did not disappoint in the group stages, winning all three of their matches and conceding just 1 goal. Here is our tactical analysis of Belgium at Euro 2020 so far.
Nobody gave Sweden a chance at this summer's Euros prior to the tournament beginning, and even now after topping their group they will likely continue to be underestimated. But the Swedes have been more than defensively solid enough to demonstrate that they could have what it takes to challenge even Europe's elite at this tournament. Here is our tactical analysis of Sweden at Euro 2020.
