U19 European Championship 2022: How England’s youngsters reclaimed their title against Israel – tactical analysis

Friday saw England once again crowned winners of the Under-19 European Championship after they came from behind to defeat Israel 3-1 after extra time in the Anton Malatinsky Stadium, in Trnava.

It is the second time in five years England have won the competition, as they beat Portugal 2-1 in 2017 with a team which featured the likes of Chelsea stars Mason Mount and Reece James, Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, and even the current Chilean international Ben Brereton Díaz of Blackburn Rovers.

England came into the final holding a richer history within the tournament. Competing in their 11th championship in this age group and their fourth final in total.  Before their victory in 2017, they finished runners to France and Ukraine in 2005 and 2009.

Reaching the final was a completely new entity for Israel who, on only their second participation in the tournament, are playing in the final for the first time.

Playing each other wasn’t a new experience for either team as this was the second time they faced Ian Foster’s team in this tournament, as they faced off in the group stage of the competition. England edged that match 1-0, with Liam Delap getting the only goal.

This tactical analysis will focus on the key tactics set by both England and Israel and how they helped shape the result and their performances in this match

Lineups and Formation.

England approached the game with their accustomed variant of the 3-4-3 formation. This has been Ian Watson favoured formation throughout this tournament due to its flexibility.

The 3-4-3 can switch between a 3-4-2-1 by asking your wide players to play inside, and the wingbacks allow the approach to be either a defensive formation or an attacking formation during the transition as they can help overload the pitch at both ends. As you can see in the feature below. England’s shape has varied between a 3-4-3, a 3-4-2-1, and a 5-4-1. Which is the shape the team holds when they are defending in their own half.