The last two explosive matches between Spain and France have clearly given the impression that a battle for the very soul of football is taking place. And it will be no different when they meet in Munich on Tuesday night in the Euro 2024 semi-finals.
The Red one reached the Allianz Arena after forcing the doors and then stormed with laughter, music, joy of life and the kind of “follow the group, there’s going to be a party somewhere” spirit that makes them (with the noble exception of Germany) the only team in the tournament that is as colourful, encouraging and worth watching as the various fan marches over the last few weeks have shown.
France played an uninspired, joyless, cheap and risk-averse game that, if you were an alien fresh from some remote corner of the universe, would have locals in Germany asking you: “Tell me about this NFL you’re talking about… or basketball, or rugby, or tennis or chess or anything but this awful football thing I watch!”
If you’re French, if you’ve ever suffered a terrible sunburn on holiday in Spain or, I suppose, if you have the chance to win a few dollars by winning the office raffle, then I can almost forgive you for silently crossing your fingers for Blues To pull this off, as they are doing now, thanks to a lucky shot deflected by a floodlight. Otherwise, anyone who loves sport played with vivacity, daring, risk, ambition or, God forbid, a smile of pleasure on the faces of the fighters, must seriously support Spain. If Luis de la Fuente’s reigning Nations League champions manage to win the tournament, they will overtake Germany as the tournament’s all-time winners.
Let me explain the crude language I used.
While France may well go into this encounter as slight favourites – partly because of their fiercely competitive attitude and tournament results over the last 26 years, and partly because Spain are badly hurt by the loss of three starters in the previous round – there is a gulf between how these two teams have managed to reach the gateway to the final.
Spain are the top scorers at Euro 2024, with 11 goals, while France have not scored other than from penalties or own goals, netting just three times in their five matches. The Red one Spain have won all five of their matches so far, France have won two of their three draws. Spain have had 102 attempts to score, 35 of which have been on target, while France have had 89 and 21 respectively.
This begs the question: are tournaments just about winning and nothing else? No joy, no thrill, no adventure, no verve or sense of sweeping aside the opposition to attract new fans to the sport?
My point is that if Spain can ignore the loss of Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand and Pedri – horrible absences to deal with – and somehow beat France despite having several key players who could barely walk with cramp and fatigue in Stuttgart on Friday night, then it will be an advertisement for the idea that you can win major tournaments by playing brilliantly, attacking with vigor and engaging in entertainment.
Some coaches and players who have been here in Germany but left without really being there will say, ‘You made a mistake.’ Next time you should play on the front line and play to win, not to cross the finish line.
Trends in football tend to stick and can be hard to break, but they are also better fuelled by inspiration and fun than pragmatism and boring purgatory.
What explains France’s dismal record is that Didier Deschamps’ players are clearly lacking physical and mental freshness after a long and exhausting season. He is a truly formidable coach, with absolutely divine players, but when they are exhausted, pragmatism is called for.
After eliminating Portugal in the quarter-finals on penalties on Friday, Deschamps, who has enjoyed an exemplary career as a player and coach, responded to a question about France’s semi-final opponent by saying: “Spain are without a doubt the best team in the tournament. I’ve seen some of their games, they’re doing good things and we have to congratulate them.”
Harsh words, yes, but beware, friends: they were a carbon copy of what a French coach said the last time these two nations met at a European Championship in 2012.
At the time, France were under the command of Laurent Blanc, Deschamps’ teammate at the 1998 World Cup. Before the quarter-final, Blanc had said of the reigning European and world champions: “Any football fan must love the way Spain play. Spain have created something special in the last four years. It’s a pleasure, a gift to watch them play!”
Despite these bouquets of flowers, he opted for thistles in his selection. By leaving out attacking and talented players like Samir Nasri, Jeremy Menez and Hatem Ben Arfa, Blanc used a “double right-back” system to try to neutralize The Red oneSpain’s left-sided attack opted for a defensive and stifling tactic and failed to attack properly until Xabi Alonso scored twice, allowing Spain to establish a grip on the game and march towards what would be a tournament victory.
Then as now, Spain showed flair, fun, audacity and offensive verve against a conservative football, more oriented towards percentage and “win as you can”. A battle for the soul of the sport, if you are not afraid of the argument.
2:03
Leboeuf calls for Kylian Mbappé’s departure
Frank Leboeuf believes that if Kylian Mbappé has difficulties with his mask, he should be ruled out of the Euro 2024 semi-final against Spain.
For your information, I also mentioned the drama of the last meeting between France and Spain in a tournament. It was in the 2021 UEFA Nations League final at the San Siro in Milan; Blues won thanks to a goal from Kylian Mbappé that should have been flagged for offside but wasn’t, ultimately leading the International Football Association Board to recalibrate the law.
We reported it this way:
“For Mbappé’s winning goal, he was clearly in an offside position when Theo Hernández attempted a through ball, but Spanish defender Eric García put the forward offside by touching the ball as he attempted to intercept the pass. Although the IFAB insisted that the law itself had not been changed, a new list of guidelines for “deliberate play” has been published. This means that only controlled play on the ball, such as a misplaced pass, will now reset the offside phase. As Garcia’s attempt to stop Hernández’s pass was an instinctive stretch, Mbappé’s goal would now be ruled offside.”
The last time Spain and France met, the impact on football was truly seismic, and it could be the same on Tuesday. If Spain prevail with their usual tactics, competitive football can be shown at its best. Munich can be a source of inspiration and idealism.
I wish Deschamps’ team the best of luck in getting the most out of their overplayed and exhausted troops and in dealing with Mbappe’s obvious pain from his nose injury, as well as their generally lackluster performances. I’m not attacking them, but I am pointing out what a disappointing summer it has been for a team that, in all honesty, should excite and entertain us if they weren’t drained of energy and drive.
Football needs the playful joy of Lamine Yamal to thrive; it needs the imperious, elegant and avant-garde stride of Fabián Ruiz to thrive; it needs the explosive thrills of Nico Williams to get through the night and entertain not only all of us who will be in this wonderful arena, but also the hundreds of millions of people around the world who still want tournament football to be magical, memorable and beautiful.
At least during Euro 2024, Spain is the team you can count on if you want to eat, have fun and be creative with joy. So, with all due respect to Blues … Long live Spain!
