key events
Meanwhile, France, Would like to rely on Spain in midfield. Easier said than done, of course, because where once they had the little guys that you couldn’t find, now they have the big guys that will find you. Otherwise, they will try to play off Kolo Muani and get their wingers behind when in possession, and try to attack on the counter when not in possession.
So where is the game? Spain will look to create holes in France’s back four with the intention of feeding balls in behind for Olmo, Morata and the wingers. But they will also be trying to move it quickly from one side to the other, to get those wingers one-on-one with their full-backs. And from there, they will try to loft balls across the box for Morata, or try to score a goal themselves.
“Dinner over, coffee in hand, TV on, bring…” says Krishnamurthy V. “I’m supporting Spain today as I did in 2010, because Didier insulted the entire watching world with the statement ‘If it’s boring go watch something else’. Hubris comes before autumn and I Celebrating autumn tonight.
I have no objection to him saying this – he can manage his team as he wishes, and he is not answerable to anyone except the French people. But where he and I disagree is on the benefits of his methodology: I don’t want France to play differently to please me, I just think they would be a much better side if they played differently.
However this is the real battle: Casa de Papel v. Le Bureau.
I think Didier Deschamps is changing the style a bit. Against Portugal, France played a number 10 behind the two strikers, whereas tonight they have gone for a front three. I think they will look to stretch the pitch and contain Spain in midfield and on the counter, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rabiot and Kante move forward through the middle.
Then again, Spain has a bit of a problem. At his peak, Jesus Navas was a good winger at times, and now, in his prime, he is expected at right-back to stop Mbappé in the tournament semi-finals; Good luck old friend.
On the other hand, we have seen Nacho come into a team and defend like Baresi – he was brilliant in the second leg of the Champions League tie against Real Madrid – so I’m not worried for Spain in that area – but the anti-team Pedri The world is poorer without.
As far as France is concerned, Adrien Rabiot returns for Camavinga after suspension, while Antoine Griezmann has lost out to Ousmane Dembele.
Spain is without Pedri, Tony “Bites Yer Legs” Cruz won in the quarterfinals with the suspended Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand. So Dani Olmo, who scored against Germany, retains his place in midfield, with Jesus Navas and Nacho at right-back and centre-back respectively.
I will write to them, Then we will think about what they mean.
our teams
Spain (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Jesus Navas, Nacho, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamin Yamal, Olmo, Williams; Morata. Sub: Raya, Ramiro, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Ferran Torres, Grimaldo, Alex Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Fermín López, Pérez.
France (4-3-3): Megann; Kaunde, Upamecano, Saliba, Hernandez T; Kante, Tchoumeni, Rabiot; Dembele, Kouli Muani, Mbappé. Sub: Samba, Areola, Pavard, Mendy, Camavinga, Griezmann, Giroud, Thuram, Zaire-Emery, Fofana, Koman, Kloss, Konate, Barcola.
Ref: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)
Preface
Style and substance are often presented as dualities, but in fact the relationship between them is very close – so close that almost inevitably, each brings with it the other. So we can criticize Oscar Wilde, say, for giving us too many prosperity messages… but at the same time we can also realize that while the prosperity messages are there, he is advising us How do we enjoy our lives? Likewise, we can complain that Jeffrey Archer isn’t the greatest prose stylist of all time… or we can remind ourselves that maintaining a thrilling story is a genre of its own.
So presenting today’s little feud as a battle of style versus substance doesn’t do justice to what we’re about to see – and how ridiculous it feels to write the words to set it up when the simple fact of it, Spain vs. France, European Championship semi-final, says more than any Smartarse writer. But we’re here, that’s why we’re here.
So far, Spain have been the best team in this tournament – not much praise, it’s true. And because they are committed to a particular way of playing, they are seen as style traders, but the reality is more nuanced. At first they are – in the best possible way – cynical, spiteful and nasty. But more than that, the way they play is neither a service to football nor to us; Rather, in their opinion and experience, it is the way they are most likely to succeed. There has never been a method in the history of the game more difficult to defeat than his, which means even Alvaro Morata can’t dilute the substance oozing from his every pore.
On the other hand, France – like England and like Portugal – are unbearable disappointment to watch because the players they have are much better than they should be. But although they couldn’t be any less fun, the whole approach is based on Kylian Mbappe, and we’re certainly not going to accuse him – or William Saliba, or Jules Kounde – of lacking style.
In other words, our teams are more similar than we thought. Spain prefers control, but no midfield featuring Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchoumeni and N’Golo Kante is going to rush out to give the other team the ball, while France may plan to wait and counter, but No one with Lamin Yamal and Nico Williams will attack. Hesitate to do the exact same thing.
This is all great for us, because it means none of us have the slightest idea how this is going to happen – not even @TactixSzn on Twitter. There’s a very strong chance the game won’t stream, but a very slim chance it won’t be tight, intense and epic, the most embarrassingly compelling event taking place on the planet this evening – and there’s nothing more stylish or important than that. Welcome here!
Start: 9pm local, 8pm BST
