At 3:00 AM Beijing time on July 15, Spain defeated England 2-1 in the UEFA European Championship final, winning the title. After the match, renowned host Zhan Jun discussed the game and analyzed the reasons for England’s failure in the European Championship once again.
Zhan Jun said, “If Luke Shaw could have kept tight on Jamal’s inward run at the start of the second half, if Saka could have chased back in time before the second goal to block Cucurella’s cross, if Walker could have blocked his cross, if the three consecutive headers from the corner kick in the dying minutes had a bit more luck… England did not lose because of these details. After all, Jamal also had two great chances in the second half. Spain’s offensive variations were simply too many, and relying solely on defense was not enough to compete with this rejuvenated Spanish team. Despite being the joint top scorer, captain Kane was in average form, lacking sharpness and failing to better fulfill his role as the lone striker. He failed to spark with Foden and Bellingham behind him.”
In addition, Zhan Jun added, “England lost due to ‘philosophy.’ Southgate has done an excellent job over the past eight years; he is the most successful head coach in major tournaments for England since Sir Alf Ramsey led the team to victory in the 1966 World Cup. Personally, I believe that not taking Grealish to Germany was still a wrong decision. Southgate was the best coach at implementing Plan B in this tournament, but in the knockout stage, they conceded first in all four matches. The Three Lions need a new coach with a more proactive tactical philosophy and offensive design to solve the coexistence issue of this group of young talents.”
