Their squad is dominated by La Liga experience and four have senior international caps (compared to one in England’s).
Make no mistake: Spain will be a significant step up in class. The age of passion and physicality is over, here England are technically proficient now. There is a fluidity of movement in the final third that was necessary without a recognised centre-forward starting. Players are happy to receive the ball facing their own goal and have the temerity to take on opponents. They play out from the back and then quicken the game through midfield.
It is a source of immense regret that most of the games – Channel 4 has acquired the rights to the final on Saturday – have been only available on Uefa’s streaming app, because England have been courageous in possession and startlingly watchable. That squad was full of talent: Dean Henderson, Fikayo Tomori, James Maddison, Phil Foden, Harvey Barnes, Mason Mount, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tammy Abraham and more. They then went to San Marino to perform a different trick, losing a lead three times against Croatia. In Cesena, we watched as England conceded five goals after the 85th minute in their first two group games and crashed out. Since reaching the European Championship final in 2009 (and 11 of that squad played senior international football), England have been routinely awful at U21 level. It is a compliment that they are not here.Įngland began this tournament with a more pressing aim: righting the wrongs of previous cycles. If Emile Smith Rowe is the only senior international present, four players in the latest senior squad (Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher) were all eligible for the U21s in Georgia. Of the 20 outfielders picked for this tournament, 16 played top-flight football last season and the other four were Championship regulars (two of those four gained automatic promotion as loanees). England’s squad has roughly the same theme.
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