Deep down, England always knew it would come to this. They woke on Thursday with their assignment crystal clear: outwit a seemingly invincible Spain if they are to cement their place in history and retain the European Championship title on Sunday.<\/p>\n
A thankless task? It has been billed that way but there were elements of encouragement during a sapping, knife-edge semi-final<\/a> in Zurich that Spain could easily have lost. For the first time this summer they were taken to the wire and the thought occurred that, if a weakened Germany could run them to within an Aitana Bonmat\u00ed masterstroke of the full distance, the Lionesses\u2019 haphazard winning machine stands a fighting chance of curtailing the favourites\u2019 party.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like the hard work has paid off,\u201d the Spain manager, Montse Tom\u00e9, said after they had edged through. They were tested to the limit by a Germany team that squeezed space and, when opportunities arose, flooded forward. The goalkeeper Cata Coll made a handful of decisive saves and England will spend the coming days poring over the ways in which she can be exposed further.<\/p>\n They will certainly have noted how Germany, happy to give up possession in the first two-thirds of the pitch, caused intermittent havoc on the counter. Lauren Hemp may take particular interest in how Klara B\u00fchl, whose blend of power and trickery deserved greater reward, exposed them repeatedly on Germany\u2019s left side. B\u00fchl was never afraid to let fly and worked numerous positions in which to do so, although her best chance came when Spain were caught cold by a long pass by the keeper Ann-Katrin Berger.<\/p>\n Jule Brand, a sparkling presence on the other side, caused headaches of her own. If England can expose the Spain full-backs, Ona Batlle and Olga Carmona, there will be opportunities to make hay. The question is whether Sarina Wiegman would willingly encourage the kind of punchy, sometimes scrappy showing Germany produced to invite them on. Like Spain, the reigning European champions would rather have the ball: they have dominated it in all of their five games, comprehensively in most cases. Do England have it in them to set up for a smash and grab?<\/p>\n Evidence that they may do presented itself in February, when Wiegman\u2019s side won 1-0 at Wembley<\/a> with a triumph of guts over guile. They had 41% of possession but nicked the spoils through Jess Park and could consider the outcome deserved. Two-thirds of the starters from this week\u2019s semi-finals also began that game; perhaps the concern is that, since then, England have neither looked similarly solid nor fluent enough to compensate.<\/p>\n Linda Dallmann (left) and the Germany midfield put pressure on Spain during the semi-final. Photograph: Philipp Kresnik\/SheKicks\/SPP\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n Spain appear perfectly aware of that judging by Mariona Caldentey\u2019s unprompted acknowledgment during the post-game melee in Zurich that England are yet to truly sparkle. It remains possible that they will not need to. Wiegman may also note the way Germany\u2019s midfield of Elisa Senss, Sara D\u00e4britz and Janina Minge set into their counterparts whenever danger threatened.<\/p>\n Bonmat\u00ed was, bar a couple of silky incursions, restrained until her angled bolt from the blue; Alexia Putellas was uncharacteristically quiet and few of those little pockets, the half-gaps between the lines, in which Spain love to wreak chaos were made available. If Wiegman wants to take inspiration then the insertion of Grace Clinton, who shone in that Nations League triumph five months ago, alongside Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway could generate a similar energy.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Moving the Goalposts<\/p>\n No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women\u2019s football<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n It may ultimately be lost to time that Spain were breached three times in the group stage, twice by Belgium and via an unexpected Italy opener, but England will have their chances. Balls down the centre-backs\u2019 sides also caused occasional trouble on Wednesday night. But for all these shoots of encouragement, they will require a far more clinical edge than Germany proved capable of mustering.<\/p>\n Perhaps, in such a delicate match-up, intangibles come into play. It was clear from the extent of Spain\u2019s celebrations that debuting in a continental final, and a first win over Germany, meant the world. \u201cAn infinite joy,\u201d Tom\u00e9 said. A weight of expectation accompanies that opportunity to make the next step, especially when you have been heavily backed to cruise home. Failure stings, just as seven of Spain\u2019s likely starting lineup will remember from Barcelona\u2019s Women\u2019s Champions League final<\/a> against Arsenal two months ago, when the English side played the upstart role to perfection.<\/p>\n