Tactical puzzle at the centre of Spain's trophy ambitions

We're a little over a decade since Spain's back-to-back triumphs at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 and the national team have been through an entire lifecycle since then, it feels.

- KARL MATCHETT

In four of the five tournaments thereafter, they have exited at the group stage or last 16; only at Euro 2020 did they show any kind of competitive edge, reaching the semi-finals in enormously fortuitous fashion after an extra time win over Croatia, a win on penalties over Switzerland and then a shootout defeat of their own against Italy.

A lifecycle of the team, a generation of players.

Some of those stars of three straight triumphs are now managers in their own right – successful ones, in some cases like Xavi and Xabi Alonso – but in the modern era, Spain are still trying to get it right, still trying to find the right combination of head coach and managers, formation and tactics, ball-playing and cutting edge.

The final third, in particular, has been a sore point at times for Spain: dominant in possession terms, they have nonetheless struggled to finish teams off in tournaments, not always had that virtuous blend of shifting the pace as well as the direction of play. For head coach Luis de la Fuente, his selection of Spain’s third starting midfielder at Euro 2024 will arguably dictate whether they move on from that struggle this time.

Half of the front six looks set already.