Pre-tournament favourites can pose hosts new problems but England look better equipped than ever to handle them
. Small and slippery, García’s main strength is in running at defenders, isolating them, taking them on. Against the physical, deep-set defences Spain have encountered she has often been crowded out. England, meanwhile, will not simply sit back and allow Spain to play, which has the potential to generate an entirely different dynamic.
“We’ve played teams who didn’t want the ball,” the defender Laia Aleixandri said. “England will open up more.” And the tussle for supremacy of the ball will be one of the more fascinating subplots all over the pitch. In midfield Keira Walsh has been outstanding but will need support if England are to compete in that area. The quick long diagonals to Beth Mead and Lauren Hemp, so devastating against Norway, will need to be played more sparingly against a better-organised defence.
Beth Mead, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White celebrate during the rout of Norway that demolished the very idea of Norwegian football.susceptible to pressure. Arguably their underwhelming progress from Group B has been a product of the immense expectation invested in a team that have not reached a major tournament semi-final since 1997. Their buildup play is also vulnerable to disruption from a team that presses and chases as ruthlessly as England’s front three.
England can win this in any number of ways. Spain, on the other hand, will need to play an almost flawless game to do so. A restless and partisan home crowd will also have a role to play: keeping England’s tempo high, fortifying them at the back.
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