England’s gritty win against Spain bodes well for Euro 2022 chances

England winning all three group games with an aggregate score of 14-0 might have given the impression that tournament football is straightforward, but the quarter-final victory over Spain showed it is far from that. England had to work extremely hard to stay in the game and needed to change tactics to get the better of their opponents, which will be beneficial going into the semis and, hopefully, final.

There is no doubt Spain are the best team England have played and offered a very different challenge from those in the victories over Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland. England needed to put into practice a different gameplan to deal with life without the ball. I thought at times they might be playing within themselves and that doubt was creeping in, but they just grew stronger and stronger as a group as the game went on.

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Some of the younger players have not played in a major tournament before and facing Spain made them realise how hard it is this summer and will be at next year’s World Cup. The amount of off-the-ball work carried out in the first half stifled England’s attacking play because the wingers had to drop so deep and the No 10s were doing the same because England could not get to grips with the game as Spain dominated possession. They had to learn on the job. In the group games England were flawless but they found a really gritty way to get through against Spain. Tournaments are not about performances, they are about winning and getting the job done.

It is good for this group of players to have had a test. Ideally England would have liked to win 3-0 but it shows they have got to learn. Adversity helps a team bond; when you have