Jonathan Liew's Blog, page 23
July 15, 2024
Euro 2024 news: England and Spain squads return home after final – as it happened
England and Spain flew back to their respective countries, while the Football Association got into gear by writing up a shortlist to replace Gareth Southgate
The BBC’s superior viewing figures were probably helped by the fact their broadcast didn’t have long ad breaks. Michael Hogan argues ITV’s coverage was of superior quality:
BBC won the battle of the viewing figures in this year’s final.
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Turning point: the England throw-in that encapsulated 58 years of hurt | Jonathan Liew
Tired, muddled thinking soon after equaliser handed momentum straight back to Spain
Bukayo Saka turns towards the crowd and pumps his arms like an orchestra conductor, demands more noise, and the noise explodes like thunder, lifting the Olympiastadion off its stone foundations. Back in the England goal, Jordan Pickford is waving an imaginary lasso. There are 75 minutes on the clock in the Euro 2024 final. Cole Palmer has just scored a spectacular equaliser to make it 1-1. England have an attacking throw-in deep in Spanish territory. How can this be the end?
But it is the end and Gareth Southgate, even through his haze of distress and disappointment, the noises still ringing in his ears, the consequences and the contingencies, will identify this as the end. Can a throw-in change the course of nations? Can a throw-in decide a game? Can a throw-in encapsulate 58 years of English tournament dysfunction? Let’s find out.
Continue reading...Euro 2024 news: Bellingham admits England ‘didn’t quite deliver’ in final loss to Spain – live
The BBC’s superior viewing figures were probably helped by the fact their broadcast didn’t have long ad breaks. Michael Hogan argues ITV’s coverage was of superior quality:
BBC won the battle of the viewing figures in this year’s final.
Continue reading...July 14, 2024
Southgate oversees familiar failure – a tale of hope but lacking a clear plan | Jonathan Liew
Perennial contenders may have been tournament’s great triers but that was not enough against a far superior side
The metal crinkle of squashed pilsner cans runs up the train carriage like electricity. A song goes up: “His name is Johnny, Johnny fucking Stones, de-der der der der der de-de-de-de der.” An announcement: “Nächste station, Olympiastadion.” Another song: “Phil Foden’s on fire and he’s playing the Germans off the park.” Doors slide open. The air smells of sweat, piss, bratwurst and possibility.
There is a montage on the big screen. There are some rondos on the pitch. There is a largely forgettable musical hors d’oeuvres which sounds like a group of guys trapped under the rubble of a collapsed nightclub, screaming for help over a pounding disco beat. Pennants are exchanged. Flags draped over the barriers like beach towels. The Spanish comfortably outnumbered. This could be Benidorm or anywhere.
Continue reading...Euro 2024 final: Spain v England updates before game in Berlin – as it happened
All the latest updates as we count down to Sunday’s European Championship final in Berlin
Spain v England: join Rob Smyth for our MBM blogSo, Spain v England is essentially Spain v Spain. Football really will be the winner tonight. According to Barney Ronay: “It is basically coming home whatever happens on Sunday night. Because the home of elite football, right now, is Spain.”
What we have here are two teams hugely influenced by the success of the Spain-Barcelona-Dutch dynamic over the last quarter-century. How Spanish is this final? Twenty-three players across the two squads have a Spanish club coach, or 27 if we allow Xavi to remain in the count.
Continue reading...July 13, 2024
Euro 2024: England players leave training camp and set off to Berlin for Spain final – as it happened
Ollie Watkins detects a winning demeanour similar to that of the Champions League winners Real Madrid in an England side one game away from a historic achievement in Berlin.
The Aston Villa star said: “You see someone like Real Madrid in a Champions League game: they are comfortable without the ball, they have that confidence that when they get the ball they are going to score.
Continue reading...England and Spain have reversed roles since the ransacking of Seville
Southgate’s counterattacking side enjoyed a Nations League win in 2018 but have become more possession based
Little quiz for you, before the Euro 2024 final. Team A have completed the most passes of any side in the tournament, as well as the most short passes and the most touches in midfield, and can boast three of the four players with the most touches in total. Their tournament possession is 58%.
Team B, meanwhile, sit joint-top on the list for goals and shots created on the counterattack. They have won 57% of their aerial duels, completed the most crosses, and have the third-highest rate of cross completion in the tournament (a fraction below Euro 2024 cross completion rate champions Scotland, you’ll never sing that, etc). Now: which team are England and which team are Spain?
Continue reading...Euro 2024: no injury concerns for England as all 26 players train before Spain final – live
Ollie Watkins detects a winning demeanour similar to that of the Champions League winners Real Madrid in an England side one game away from a historic achievement in Berlin.
The Aston Villa star said: “You see someone like Real Madrid in a Champions League game: they are comfortable without the ball, they have that confidence that when they get the ball they are going to score.
Continue reading...July 12, 2024
Watching England will be another grievous ordeal, but sit back and soak up the vibes | Jonathan Liew
We know that winning or losing the Euro final isn’t going to change anything. But after a panoply of dismal days, one magical night will feel like the world
“Stop the boats, Nigel Farage,” sing a group of England fans as they step out of Dortmund station. No, that’s not it. Too mean-spirited, too fringe. Maybe it’s The Killers, screening the last few minutes of the semi-final at their London concert, and then launching straight into Mr Brightside after the final whistle. No, too contrived. Maybe it’s Alfie Moon and Martin Fowler discussing Ollie Watkins’ winning goal against the Netherlands in a frankly discomforting level of detail on Thursday’s hastily-rewritten episode of EastEnders. No, too try-hard. Maybe it’s a £7 pint spinning through the air at a branded leisure park, showering rows of clammy young people with droplets of tepid Madri. Too cliched?
But then perhaps this is the defining quality of English football mania: there isn’t one. No one motif can ever hope to express this chaotic, snowballing tale of bemused delight, uncaged euphoria, wry smirks and cocaine-flecked gums. No one image can capture the unique blend of ferment and foreboding, exclamation mark and question mark, tub-thumping and navel-gazing, that accompanies England on their passage to any major tournament final. Is this brilliant? This is brilliant! Is this fun? This is fun! Nobody really knows how we got here. Nobody knows what happens next. Nobody – and I mean nobody – has the faintest idea what any of this means. Welcome to Spain v England, the final of Euro 2024.
Continue reading...July 11, 2024
Reined-in Kane can thrive despite weird Euro 2024 for the alpha dogs in attack | Jonathan Liew
The most prolific No 9s have not been able to dominate – so a restricted role for the captain might benefit England
Last week, after Portugal were eliminated by France, I wrote something about Cristiano Ronaldo which ended up getting a fair bit of pushback from his many charmingly devoted followers around the world. It actually took a few days for the abuse to materialise, along with the usual unsolicited direct messages and the Instagram follower requests. Presumably this is because it’s quite hard to type with your weaker hand. But the principal gist of the criticism went thus: hey, corrupt English media, CR7 is by no means the only big-name striker having an absolute stinker at Euro 2024. Why don’t you write about Kylian Mbappé? Why don’t you write about Harry Kane?
Well – for one thing – these situations are not all alike. Mbappé is demonstrably one of the world’s great forwards, assisted a goal against Spain on Tuesday night, and played most of his tournament with a grisly facial injury. Kane is the joint-top scorer and will probably win the Golden Boot if he scores in Sunday’s final. And yet, in their obliquely condescending way, the Ronaldo bot squadron had half a point. The alpha dogs have had a weird month. Robert Lewandowski barely left a footprint. Romelu Lukaku, the top scorer in qualifying, went four games without a goal. The hotly tipped Benjamin Sesko and Rasmus Højlund, both coming off a strong vein of club form, also blanked.
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