Euro 2024: Football needs Spain and Holland to come through

When Mikel Merino climbed ever so brilliantly to nod home the cross from the excellent Dani Olmo and give Spain a win over hosts, Germany and a place in the semi-final at Euro 2024, nobody could begrudge that win for Luis dela Fuente’s La Rojas.

They have played some truly outstanding football starting from opening group destruction of Croatia. In Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal and the aforementioned Olmo, they have the outstanding players at this Championship.

The win over Germany dug manager La Fuente out of a hole he had needlessly dug for himself with his premature withdrawal of his young wingers trying to hold on to the early lead given to them by Olmo’s lovely finish. Florian Wirtz equaliser dragged game into extra-time before Merino pounced in the last minute of ET. La Fuente won’t make the same mistake again.

Standing in the way of Spain and the final is Didier Deschamps’ obdurate and dour France. The 2018 World Cup winners have progressed this far on the back two own goals, a penalty and shoot-out win over just as bad Portugal in the quarter-final. It is crying shame that this is a scoreboard generation in football because what Deschamps has done with France and the quality of footballers that have been available to him over the years is abominable.

You rarely watch France at tournaments at the edge of your seats and expect them to entertain or play free flowing football. With the speed of Kylian Mbappe, France have been primed to play on the break always.

To underline how France are fundamentally shaped is seeing Dayo Upemacano appearing like Marcel Dessailly in his pomp. The Bayern Munich defender is protected by three naturally defensive midfielders in every game, so stands little chance of being exposed.

Football being the low-scoring sport it is means it is very possible that France’s physicality and their defensive nous will be good enough to stop Spain. With the experienced Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Moratta suspended for this match there will be way too much expectation on the young shoulders of Yamal and Williams.

Napoleon Bonaparte was once quoted, “I’d rather have lucky generals than good ones.” US President Dwight Eisenhower affirmed same more than a hundred years later, “I’d rather have a lucky general than a smart general. They win battles.” England, in Gareth Southgate, have found themselves the luckiest of lucky generals.

First, he is presiding over the most technically gifted generation of footballers the country has ever produced. Just have a look at the players they have left back home and not brought to Germany. England have made their second consecutive European Championship semi-final without beating Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland in regulation time – these are hardly world beaters but Southgate’s luck took his team down this part of the draw.

While it is very clear that Deschamps drills his Leu Bleus to be hard to beat/play against, one is never quite sure what exactly it is that Southgate wants his England team to be. It has not mattered as they are in the last 4. It is staggering watching talented footballers like Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice look confused in possession.

Waiting for England will be Ronald Koeman’s Oranje who recovered manfully to stem the Turkish tide in the quarter-final to win through. Koeman has ensured that his team have stayed true to their tradition of 4-3-3 with players encouraged to attack the opponents and run with the ball. Cody Gakpo, Tijjani Reijnders, Xavi Simons and the game Denzel Dumfries have been their standout players.

Thirty-six years ago in Dusseldorf, Bobby Robson’s Three Lions played probably their best match of his reign but they were beaten 3-1 by Holland on their way to the eventual triumph. Glenn Hoddle hit a post, an effort was cleared off the line, while it remained tight at 1-1 for a long while. The match will be remembered for Marco van Basten’s hat-trick but it was a flattering scoreline. England did get their revenge 8 years later with a quite emphatic 4-1 win but they did go on to win the whole thing.

Football never recovered from Holland (1974), Brazil (1982 and 1986) and Italy (1990) not winning the FIFA World Cup. It will not be good for football if any of France and England make it to the Euro 2024 final. It will be awful if one of them ends up winning it.