"We're almost thirty minutes into the first half of the UEFA European Championship final now."
"Spain look like they know exactly what they're doing, while England don't look like a team playing in a European final at all."
"These are elite stars from the biggest clubs in the Premier League, yet when you put them together, they're not producing elite-level football."
"This isn't right. The whole feel of the match is wrong. A UEFA European Championship final shouldn't look like this. England need to adjust, and quickly."
As a former midfield maestro, Scholes could read plenty of the tactical details unfolding on the pitch, and he simply couldn't accept how conservative Southgate had been.
At the very least, now that England were behind, Southgate needed to let them attack.
But Southgate kept waiting.
Even with Leo and Busquets completely cutting off England's rhythm in midfield, he still refused to send his team forward in an all-out press.
It wasn't until there were just over ten minutes left in the first half that Southgate finally gave the order for England to attack.
Foden began carrying the ball into more dangerous areas, especially toward Busquets and Laporte.
Kane also started moving more actively inside Spain's penalty area, looking for chances to link play.
He wasn't just looking to shoot himself. He wanted to create opportunities for his teammates as well.
The 39th minute.
"Saka finally has a rare chance to attack down the right. He's carrying the ball straight at Alba."
"If this comes down to pace and a direct one-on-one duel, I think Alba could have real trouble against the younger Saka."
Saka drove toward Alba, then suddenly cut inside, changed direction, and accelerated.
Alba was beaten.
But he immediately reached out and grabbed Saka's shirt, stopping the move.
"Saka's run is stopped by Alba's foul, and the referee shows Alba a yellow card."
"Rice is going over to Alba now. Looks like he wants a word with him."
Rice clearly wasn't happy with the foul and went over to confront Alba.
Then Leo appeared beside Alba and looked directly at Rice.
"You've got something to say to Alba, Rice? Say it to me. Let me hear it."
Rice spread out his right hand.
"What gives him the right to foul Saka like that?"
Leo pointed toward the spot where Rice had dragged him down earlier.
"Didn't you foul me the exact same way?"
"This is football. Sometimes you make that kind of foul because you're trying to win. Was what he did outside the rules?"
"Alba got a yellow card. You got a yellow card too. So why can't Alba foul Saka the same way?"
"He didn't hurt him."
Whenever one of Spain's players ran into trouble, Leo was always there to step in.
And no matter which team they faced, their opponents respected him.
So whenever Leo got involved, people were usually willing to show him some respect.
England had finally begun attacking, and Saka was at the heart of it.
At Arsenal, Saka was the main player on the right responsible for cutting inside and creating chances.
He played the same role for England.
England won a free kick on the right.
Almost every England player pushed into the penalty area.
Only Rice and Henderson stayed outside the box for protection, while Trippier remained alone as the deepest player.
England were throwing so many bodies forward that Spain had no choice but to pull most of their own players back into the box.
That way, even if England's attack broke down, Spain wouldn't have enough players left high up the pitch to launch an immediate counter.
Foden looked over the positions of his teammates in the penalty area, then delivered the ball toward Kane.
Laporte stayed tight to Kane to limit his jump, while Gaya attacked the ball in the air and successfully headed Foden's delivery clear.
Every England and Spain player immediately looked toward where the ball was dropping.
As it fell from the air, a figure appeared underneath it, ready to take control.
The Spain players instantly grew excited.
The England players felt a surge of fear.
Because the player waiting for the ball was Leo.
"Everyone back! Get back now!"
Southgate shouted again.
Kyle Walker used all his pace to recover, while Rice also sprinted toward his own goal.
Trippier hurried backward too.
Whatever happened, he could not afford to face Leo one-on-one in midfield.
Leo brought the ball down in front of himself and immediately accelerated.
Walker was running without the ball, yet somehow he still couldn't catch him.
"Lin is flying forward!"
"Walker's right behind him, but I've never seen Kyle Walker look this slow before!"
"In the Premier League, it's usually everyone else struggling to keep up with Walker when he's carrying the ball."
Trippier watched every one of his England teammates get left behind.
Now only he and Pickford remained between Leo and the goal.
Leo had planned to keep dribbling.
Then he looked up and noticed that Pickford, perhaps because he was nervous, had positioned himself too far off his line.
Leo immediately shot.
A lob.
Pickford sprinted backward and stretched as far as he could, just managing to get a hand underneath the ball.
His touch sent it into the underside of the crossbar.
The ball dropped straight back down and struck Pickford in the stomach as he landed from the save.
After bouncing off him, it still threatened to fall toward the goal.
Pickford immediately grabbed it with both hands.
Only then did England finally escape without conceding a second.
"If Pickford had somehow bounced that off his own stomach and into the net, that would have been devastating."
"Lin's technique really is exceptional. That lob was inches away from going in."
Every England player had rushed back.
That attempt had clearly frightened them.
"England are supposed to be the team attacking, so why do I still feel nervous every time Spain get the ball?"
"I keep feeling like Spain could score a second goal at any moment."
"England need to simplify things."
"Just get Saka and Foden combining more with Kane, then attack the areas around Laporte and Alba."
"They should be able to create chances there, especially with Alba already on a yellow card."
Scholes' thinking matched Southgate's.
After Southgate adjusted things from the touchline, Saka began attacking Alba aggressively.
Trippier started joining him as well.
Alba already had a yellow card, so he could no longer afford to defend recklessly against Saka.
With Saka and Trippier combining down that side, England were bound to find openings.
Rodri came over to help Alba defend, but even that wasn't particularly effective.
The 43rd minute.
"England aren't rushing the ball forward now. We're almost at halftime."
"Trippier drops back into the right channel. Walker plays it wide to Saka."
"Saka lays it back. Trippier receives it and finds Kane. Nice three-man combination."
"They've got in behind Alba!"
"Saka is making the run. Kane with the through ball!"
Kane slipped the ball through to Saka.
As Saka received it, he shaped with his right foot as though he were about to cross.
Instead, he dragged the ball behind himself.
Then he adjusted it with his left foot and, before Alba could recover, fired at goal.
There was nothing wrong with the shot.
But De Gea saved it.
And there was nothing wrong with the save either.
De Gea got down and smothered the ball against the turf before pulling it safely into his chest, giving England no chance at a rebound.
"Who can still question whether De Gea deserves to start at the UEFA European Championship?"
"I respect Unai Simon, but you can never say De Gea isn't good enough!"
...
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