The stage and the systems
Spain national football team vs France national football team lineups; they impose identities. When they collided in the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final in Munich on 9 July 2024, the teams’ lineups telegraphed everything about their intentions: Spain’s aggressive, press-friendly 4-3-3 full of ball-carriers and line-breakers, versus France’s power-packed, transition-minded 4-3-3 built around Kylian Mbappé’s gravity and a midfield shield. The selections, minute-by-minute substitutions, and shape-shifts weren’t background noise—they were the plot. Spain won 2–1, but the how rests squarely in the names on the sheet and the timing of the changes.
Spain’s starting XI: balance, verticality, and wide threats
Luis de la Fuente doubled down on speed and incision from the wings and control through the core. Unai Simón started in goal behind a back four of Jesús Navas (RB), Nacho (RCB), Aymeric Laporte (LCB), and Marc Cucurella (LB). In midfield, the metronome-destroyer tandem of Rodri and Fabián Ruiz framed Dani Olmo as the high-risk, high-reward connector. Up front, Álvaro Morata led the line, with Lamine Yamal right and Nico Williams left two wingers who pin back full-backs and attack gaps on the half-turn.
This wasn’t Spain’s “classic” geometric tiki-taka; it was a slider moved toward dynamism. Without Pedri ruled out after the quarter-final knock Olmo’s inclusion wasn’t merely a like-for-like; it gave Spain an extra carrier between lines and a late-arriving finisher. That tweak mattered: Olmo’s ghost-runs and wall passes destabilized the French block and turned defensive retreats into panic.
France’s starting XI: solidity, speed, and star power
Didier Deschamps chose Mike Maignan in goal and a back four of Jules Koundé (RB), Dayot Upamecano (RCB), William Saliba (LCB), and Théo Hernandez (LB). In midfield, N’Golo Kanté and Aurélien Tchouaméni patrolled the pivot, with Adrien Rabiot offering box-to-box balance. The forward line? Ousmane Dembélé wide right, Randal Kolo Muani centrally, and Mbappé mask off, burden on off the left. On paper: control the middle, spring the flanks, and let Mbappé’s gravity bend the match. On grass: an early punch, then a struggle to create clean looks against Spain’s counter-press.
France drew first blood through Kolo Muani, ghosting between the Spanish centre-backs to nod home from Mbappé’s delicious delivery. The plan to win the ball, attack quickly looked live. But the balance between solidity and creativity remained brittle; as Spain increased circulation speed, France’s midfield became stretched, pulling Kanté and Tchouaméni into emergency work that dulled their distribution.
The benches and the turning points
Lineups don’t end at kick-off; they breathe. Spain’s bench usage—Dani Vivian for the booked and tiring Navas, then Mikel Oyarzabal and Mikel Merino for fresh defensive legs and vertical outlets—kept the block compact and the counters honest. Late came Ferran Torres and Martín Zubimendi to chaperone the result in stoppage time. Every swap nudged the probability of control a little higher, particularly after Olmo’s match-swinging purple patch.
For France, Deschamps sought spark: double change on 62′ (Kanté and Rabiot off; Antoine Griezmann and Eduardo Camavinga on), Bradley Barcola for Kolo Muani on 63′, and Olivier Giroud on 79′ for Dembélé. On paper, it added craft (Griezmann), ball security and thrust (Camavinga), and late-box presence (Giroud). In practice, Spain’s staggered substitutions blunted the aerial bombardment and smothered cutbacks, leaving France chasing half-chances rather than high-value looks.
How the XIs mapped onto the goals
The first act belonged to France: Mbappé, 1v1 and unmasked, created separation and stood up an irresistible cross for Kolo Muani’s header. Spain’s response arrived via audacity and structure. First, Lamine Yamal—16 years old and utterly unmoved by the stakes—curled a left-footer off the far post and in from distance, a record-breaker and a momentum transfusion. Minutes later, Dani Olmo slalomed into the box, his touch forcing a finish that deflected past Maignan. Two goals in five minutes, both produced by the very roles de la Fuente had prioritized: a winger with license to dare, and a free No. 8 arriving between lines.
Yamal’s strike wasn’t just viral; it was historic, making him the youngest scorer ever at a European Championship finals. The subtext: Spain trusted a teenager in a semi-final spotlight and shaped the lineup to empower him. That courage—in selection and structure—paid out.
Micro-tactics baked into the selection
Spain’s press traps. With Olmo shadowing Tchouaméni and Yamal jumping passing lanes into Koundé, Spain forced France to play to Hernandez under pressure. Rodri’s defensive positioning, never too far from the cover shadow, shut down the vertical set to Dembélé’s feet. The choice of Nacho (defensive timing) next to Laporte (first-pass clarity) reduced the risk of getting burned by Kolo Muani’s channel runs. All of that is encoded in the XI: not just who plays, but why that blend exists.
France’s trade-off. Kanté + Tchouaméni + Rabiot is steel; it’s also a creativity tax. Without a natural line-breaking 10 from the start, France depended on Mbappé and Dembélé to self-create against a set block. The later introduction of Griezmann and Camavinga attempted to rebate that tax, but by then Spain had rehearsed the rotations and adjusted rest-defence to funnel crosses toward safer zones.
The Pedri pivot and Olmo’s license
Pedri’s injury in the quarter-final forced Spain to rewire the left interior role. Rather than pure control, de la Fuente sought thrust and end-product. In came Olmo—less tempo, more turbulence—and the payoff was direct: a goal, a constant threat between the lines, and pressure on France’s centre-backs to step out, which opened space for Morata’s decoy runs and Williams’ diagonal darts. Sometimes a forced change informs a better shape for the opponent at hand.
Full lineups and key substitutions (for quick reference)
Spain (4-3-3): Unai Simón; Jesús Navas (off 58′ Dani Vivian), Nacho, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Dani Olmo (off 76′ Mikel Merino); Lamine Yamal (off 90+3′ Ferran Torres), Álvaro Morata (off 76′ Mikel Oyarzabal), Nico Williams (off 90+4′ Martín Zubimendi). Bench used: Vivian, Merino, Oyarzabal, Ferran, Zubimendi.
France (4-3-3): Mike Maignan; Jules Koundé, Dayot Upamecano, William Saliba, Théo Hernandez; N’Golo Kanté (off 62′ Antoine Griezmann), Aurélien Tchouaméni, Adrien Rabiot (off 62′ Eduardo Camavinga); Ousmane Dembélé (off 79′ Olivier Giroud), Randal Kolo Muani (off 63′ Bradley Barcola), Kylian Mbappé. Bench used: Griezmann, Camavinga, Barcola, Giroud.
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What the lineups decided
In one sentence: Spain selected and then protected superiority on the wings and between the lines; France selected and then chased creativity they didn’t start with. Spain’s XI allowed them to press higher, recover quicker, and constantly threaten the inside-left and inside-right half-spaces with Olmo and Yamal.
Deschamps’ late creativity injection was real but overdue against a team already comfortable defending a narrow lead with possession and intelligent fouling. The result—a 2–1 Spanish win—was the logical endpoint of the selection gambles both managers made before a ball was kicked.