Spain feel like such a deserving Euros winner

I hope everyone got a chance to watch the Euro final on Sunday. On the off chance someone who’s interested in this newsletter hasn’t gotten a chance yet: Yes, it is well worth your time.

Spain capped off a tournament run on hard mode with a 2-1 win over England, previously having to defeat co-favorites France, host country Germany, and defending champions Italy. Spain won 7 out of 7 games and finished with a 15-4 goal differential across all matches. International tournament winners don’t get much more deserving than that.

There were a ton of things about Spain’s run that impressed, and I felt compelled to talk about how much I enjoyed them today. Some stuff that stood out:

They did it without their starting midfield

England manager Gareth Southgate caught some criticism from fans earlier in the tournament when he suggested that his team did not have a direct replacement for Kalvin Phillips, limiting his tactical options. It looks especially whiny when his opponents in the final did not have any of their first choice starting midfielders for the second half.

Rodri, who was named player of the tournament, went off injured at halftime. Pedri was unavailable after suffering an injury in the quarterfinals, and his Barcelona midfield mate Gavi — the Golden Boy and Kopa Trophy winner, probably the best young midfielder in the world — didn’t make the squad due to suffering a torn ACL in the fall.

Martin Zubimendi, Dani Olmo, and especially Fabian Ruiz deputized spectacularly, causing Kobbie Mainoo and Phil Foden to have virtually no impact on the game. Ruiz’s all-around performance as a ball progressor, winner and retainer was especially impressive, and Ted will have more on him tomorrow.

The team was so well balanced

You don’t really need a deep analytical dive to figure out that a team with 15 goals scored and 4 allowed over a 7 game tournament was excellent. But I was very impressed by how well balanced Spain was, and how many problems they caused for opponents in all phases of play.

Their shots were a lovely combination of well-worked big chances and absolute bangers. Yes, 15 goals from 10.57 xG is pretty significant overperformance, and you can’t count on scoring a 0.03 xG rip from 30 yards every tournament, but I still love the variety here. There are shots preceded by dribbles, through balls, and passes into feet, as well as a couple headed goals from close range. Spain were impossible to defend because they had so many different kind of threats.

But I was even more impressed by Spain’s defense, mostly because of how comprehensive it was.

Their pressing was well above average, and they won the ball high up the field. When they failed to win the ball high and early, they settled into shape well. When opponents got the ball into the box, they prevented high-quality shots well. And when their opponents did get shots on target, Unai Simon was excellent, allowing just 3 goals from 4.87 post-shot xG faced, plus he saved a penalty.

Spain also limited set piece chances, a part of the game where you might think taller and less skilled teams might be able to give them some problems. They only conceded 0.16 set piece xG per 90 and did not concede a set piece goal.

Lamine Yamal steals the show

What Lamine Yamal did for Barcelona this season ahead of the Euros was outrageous. Tallying 5 goals and 5 assists — pretty much bang on his xG and xA — in 2196 La Liga minutes is bonkers for a 16-year-old. You’re going to have to endure a bunch of cringe “NEXT MESSI” stuff that is entirely unfair to him, but he genuinely is about as good as players his age ever get. If he hardly improves at all he’ll still be a 99th percentile professional footballer.

He came into the Euros with no real expectations on him because, well, he was 16. It would be nice if he had a highlight or two while he got some good experience. Instead he racked up 4 assists, including a gorgeous one in the final, and scored the goal of the tournament.

Breakdowns of transfers are likely to remain the bread and butter of this newsletter for quite some time, and I cannot imagine we will ever analyze a Yamal transfer. Barcelona would rather pull the 57th lever, which is probably a literal deal with the devil, than accept a €1b offer for this dude. Congrats to Barca fans, please enjoy the next 20 years.

— KM

News and rumours

• Barcelona are close to being in a financial position that would let them sign Nico Williams. We say let the levers begin!

• The sad video from Moise Kean’s Fiorentina unveiling? It exists because he let kids beat him in a shooting competition. Not because he is so incredibly washed or depressed, as reported by various accounts over on the social medias. We hope he does well for the Viola this season.

• Young Spurs forward (22) Troy Parrott sealed a move to AZ Alkmaar over the weekend. AZ typically recruit very well, so we’re interested to see how this one works out, as a number of Spurs fans we know would have preferred him staying in North London this season.

• Raphael Varane is considering moving to Como now that his Manchester adventure is complete. No, not JUST to leave in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but also to play football in Serie A. There’s a sense of Como becoming Cesc Fabregas and Friends in the same way Inter Miami is Lionel Messi and Friends, but we want to look at the squad at the end of the summer before making any judgments.

• Alvaro Morata + StatsBomb 2014. Make that Euros champion Alvaro Morata. Has his career been a success? Yeah, probably. It’s certainly been a windy road though, and he did not end up becoming the next Lewandowski. Anyway, he’s rumoured to be headed to AC Milan, who currently have an opening for handsome, older strikers after Olivier Giroud’s move to LAFC.

• “Arsenal, Manchester United and Aston Villa are in the running for Girona and Ukraine winger Viktor Tsygankov, 26.” from AS. We do not believe you.

• Romano is reporting Liverpool have begun negotiations to buy Marc Guehi. Going to keep an eye on that one, because if it’s true, it could progress quickly.