England will have to make it work against Spain’s full-backs. Gareth Southgate has already said that his team find it hard to go through the middle of the pitch, and that has been a feature of this tournament. Their best hope is putting pressure on Spain’s full-backs, both of whom have had good Euros.
In Bukayo Saka, as a wing-back, England have one of the best attacking players of the tournament and much will come down to whether he can past the Chelsea defender.
Cucurella faced Saka in April 23 when Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-0 at the Emirates. In the past, Cucurella has been very physical against Saka.
Control Rodri’s influence
Easier said than done. The great midfield general of Manchester City and Spain has been exceptional again this tournament. He is the ultimate fall-back option whenever his team is in danger of being overwhelmed. He can keep possession. He can win the ball. He scores important goals. He will have a huge influence on this game whatever England try to do.
It will be interesting to see whose job it is to occupy Rodri. It will surely fall to one of the deeper No 10s, his team-mate Phil Foden or Jude Bellingham.
There is no way of negating Rodri’s influence. He is the best midfielder in Europe. The question will be whether England can stop him controlling the game.
Stopping Yamal and Williams
Again, it is unlikely that England will keep them quiet for the whole game. Both Spain’s wingers have played with great freedom this tournament and Lamine Yamal has shown how dangerous he can be if permitted to switch inside on his left foot from the right side.