Women’s Euro 2022: How allowing Spain to have possession allowed Germany to take the victory – tactical analysis

With two of the favourites to win the Women’s Euro 2022 facing off against each other in the second round of group stage matches for a spot in the knockout rounds, it was always going to be a spectacle. Both Germany and Spain had won their first matches of the tournament with this being the first look at how they match up against the top opponents. Germany were clinical to punish Spain’s mistakes to win 2-0 on the night, with tactical decisions from the two managers key to the outcome.

This article will be a tactical analysis looking at the core tactics deployed by Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s German team to win this battle between the two titans of the women’s game, and trying to understand why Jorge Vilda’s Spain side couldn’t convert their possession into a victory.

Lineups

With the game being a great benchmark for the two teams for the later stages of the tournament, both managers chose the best starting lineups at their disposal. Germany made just one change to the starting lineup as, the goalscorer from the first match, Lea Schüller made way for Alexandra Popp, who also found the back of the net as she scored the final goal against Denmark in the 4-0 win. After the first half, Germany decided to change formations from their 4-3-3 to protect their two goals as they lined up with a 4-2-3-1. Five substitutes were made by Die Nationalelf as they successfully kept their second consecutive clean sheet at the Euros.

Jorge Vilda made similar changes to his starting eleven as Sheila Garcia took Esther Gonzalez’s place in attack for the side and Irene Guerrero was swapped for the more defensively-minded, Man City midfielder Laia Aleixandri. The ex-Real Madrid youth player, Jorge Vilda, also tinkered with his formation pulling back the wingers from the 4-3-3 to create a more defensive 4-1-4-1 which aided Spain’s dominance in the build-up, but may have reduced the creativity in the attack that proved important in this match.