How England can beat Spain in Euro 2025 final

Euro 2025 final: England v Spain

Venue: St Jakob-Park, Basel Date: Sunday, 27 July Kick-off: 17:00 BST

Coverage: Live on BBC One (15:40 BST), iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live. Text commentary, in-play clips and video highlights on the BBC Sport website and app

Are England going to win Euro 2025? Surely they have to. We can't have gone through all this suffering for them to not win.

With a mixed bag of results coming into the competition, there was concern that the Lionesses wouldn't even progress from their group - which included high-ranking France and the Netherlands.

Every round it has felt like they were almost going out. But the Lionesses keep sending themselves - and us - to the brink and then finding a way to thrive.

Weirdly, reaching the final against Spain feels like a bonus with all the trials and tribulations and the emotional rollercoaster we have all been on with this team.

But England know they have not performed to the levels we all know they are capable of and world champions Spain present another huge test.

Here are some of the key areas that could prove crucial in Sunday's final.

England can learn something from Germany's performance in the semi-final against Spain - that was a really good blueprint for how you can exploit their high defensive line.

Spain's defenders leave so much space between themselves and the goalkeeper - Cata Coll - and that is a big area that they have to try and defend if they don't get their pressing structure and out-of-possession play spot on.

The likes of Irene Paredes, Laia Aleixandri and Maria Mendez like to get tight to forward players and don't allow space and time for their opponent to face up and turn, which I think is a good thing for England.

All of England's dynamic and creative forwards are capable of exploiting that and with good hold-up play, which Alessia Russo has, you can get at Spain.

Russo will need to draw pressure, bring others into the game, win first and second balls and get flick-ons in behind for the creative forwards.

The biggest thing England need to improve on is being more connected and getting better support to Russo both underneath and with runs in behind to force defenders to fret about the space behind them.

Support for Russo allows England to pick up the first and second balls and play direct passes in more central areas, although it might require the wide forward to be more narrow at times to have a more direct route to goal.

You could argue that Chloe Kelly has played herself into the starting line-up and I would like to see her play instead of Lauren Hemp.

Hemp coming into the game later with her electric speed, dribbling capabilities and ability to go one on one against full-backs could make an impact.

We know that Kelly is a weapon coming off the bench. She seems to embrace that role, thrives on that responsibility and wants to be the difference while teenager Michelle Agyemang has also been brilliant with two dramatic goals that have kept England in the competition.

All of the substitutes have brought a contagious energy while collectively England have shown spirit and a 'never give up' mentality.

Spain have a midfield packed with talent with Ballon d'Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati the standout players.

But the biggest thing for England will be stopping supply to pivot midfielder Patri Guijarro, who links build-up play but is also happy to drop slightly deeper to get on the ball.

Bonmati and Putellas like to play like two 10s, in the pockets between midfield and defence.

England will have to stay compact enough that they limit space for Spain's midfielders to operate in so they're not in behind the Lionesses midfield but they have to drop in front of it to try and get on the ball - that will be key to stopping those passing lanes.

People are probably saying England will be happy to let Spain have the ball and dominate possession.

I don't know if it's a case of them being happy to allow that, it's just that Spain are so good they will ultimately have the ball. Their whole strategy is to dominate possession and positional play.

I think England will be happier to play in transition and manager Sarina Wiegman has the profile of players at her disposal to play that way.

Looking at England's other games, they have been the team that should dominate the ball and the game but, for whatever reason, that hasn't come to fruition.

As we saw against Italy and Sweden, England struggled to unlock and break them down. The Netherlands was arguably the best game they have played in the competition but they have struggled to be that team that command the game.

Against Spain, it would suit England to be a threat in transition but every player has to focus on their role and responsibility to maintain concentration in those desperate defensive moments.

Germany had some very good chances to score in transition against Spain in their semi-final and didn't take them, but they exposed areas of weakness in the world champions.

Overall England's team defending has shown signs of vulnerability in this competition.

One of the biggest things for Wiegman is looking at who is the best profile of player to match up to that Spain right-hand side which will likely be Mariona Caldentey, Bonmati and Ona Batlle - can England contain those players?

In the last-ditch moments and the final elements, England have been a little bit untidy defensively and Wiegman will need to find the best players to go up against Spain's forwards because we know they are technically good in tight areas.

Alex Greenwood has played left-back this tournament but is she the best player to go up against Spain's right-hand side?

England don't want to get too preoccupied with defensive play and have to think about how they can get themselves into good offensive situations.

Greenwood is arguably the best ball distributor in the defence and has displayed that all season so perhaps she is better suited to playing in her favoured centre-back position which will allow England to progress the ball.

Then it is a question of who plays at left-back. Niamh Charles is athletic and can get back up the pitch and recover or maybe Maya le Tissier or Esme Morgan can do a job there.

In Spain's semi-final, Germany's defensive organisation and diligence frustrated them and you could see that on the players' faces. England can learn from that as well as Arsenal's Champions League final victory over Barcelona.

Ten of the Spanish squad in Switzerland are Barcelona players so the way they play is very similar - out of possession they want to suffocate you.

Arsenal were defensively organised, they didn't panic when Barcelona progressed the ball around their box and the players looked ready and up for the challenge.

Arsenal matched them stride for stride and made the right challenges - Leah Williamson made an incredible tackle just inside the box which was a sign of intent to the team and that type of attitude goes a long way.

England will look at that game and how Arsenal got success and how they stayed composed to stay on the ball in the right moments and release at the right moments.

Wiegman said after the semi-final win over Italy that this tournament has been like a movie for England. Hopefully it will have the fairytale ending too.

Anita Asante was speaking to BBC Sport's Jess Anderson.