[FM23] El Caballero Pálido (Manchester United, 2029/30)

[GIMN]

We'll keep it light, as the final friendlies are mostly about making sure we enter the Euros with good conditioning.

Friendly: Germany 1-2 Spain

 

Went with the 4-3-3.  A tricky fixture, as I forgot to add the Germany fix when I started the game.  As a result I had zero information whatsoever about the players I was facing.  We did however, continue our tendency to start games quickly - Elustondo breaking forward unopposed before firing in at the near post.  Oyarzábal added a second after intercepting a loose pass and firing an absolute thunderbolt from the edge of the area.  Germany had a couple of big opportunities in quick succession, as we once again displayed our tendency to switch off once we get a comfortable lead.  Hermann tapped in from 3 yards out as we let a cross dribble across the box, before then firing over after being set through from deep.  We switched to the 4-4-2 in the second half and very much controlled the rest of the game.

Friendly: Spain 3-1 Uruguay

 

3-4-3 this time out, as I wanted to see how it fared against a team that I expected to do better than Egypt did.  Pedri did well to find Porro in space, with the wingback firing neatly across Muslera to give us the lead.  Moreno doubled the lead after bringing down Galán's lovely dinked ball over the top.  Williams headed in our third at the far post just minutes after coming on.  A late Rodríguez header pulled one back, but it was quite comfortable.  The xG suggested the game was closer than it was, largely due to an early Gómez shot (blocked by García) being considered a rather generous 0.74 xg, despite having both a defender and goalkeeper in the way (double the xG of Williams' unmarked far post header from inside the 6 yard box).

[GIMN]

With us on the cusp of the European Championships, it's a chance for me to do embrace my favourite way of presenting updates.  Text inside images from a media perspective.  Each section is a separate image, so you should be able to highlight a specific area if you want to quote!  We'll do a group at a time in the lead up, and then possibly a summary for each game round.

Edit:  Obviously I meant "Euro 2024 Preview", not "World Cup Preview" 

Also, just to clarify - the Germany bit is in jest, and just a reference to the fact that they have no real players.

Edited February 6, 2023 by GIMN

[GIMN]

[13th Man]

Here comes the bread and butter of the international job!  Good warmup fixtures and a favorable group.  Got to have some luck to win the tournaments and it's nice to have things a bit easier in the earlier parts of a tournament.  Hopefully get some rotation in before the knockout rounds.

Got to say, it's refreshing to see a Spain side that's not just Real Barcadid!

Edited February 6, 2023 by 13th Man

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

8 hours ago, 13th Man said:

Here comes the bread and butter of the international job!  Good warmup fixtures and a favorable group.  Got to have some luck to win the tournaments and it's nice to have things a bit easier in the earlier parts of a tournament.  Hopefully get some rotation in before the knockout rounds.

Got to say, it's refreshing to see a Spain side that's not just Real Barcadid!

The draw for both the qualifying group and the Euros has been exceptionally kind.  Whilst we obviously can't go into those games thinking we've already won, there's a very good chance that we'll be able to secure a spot in the knockout round by game 2.  Of course, that means I've got to get to that point in the game, and I'm quite enjoying milking the build up to the tournament first!

I'd love to claim that the football hipster in me wanted to eschew the big-team bias and find those hidden gems who will help us be more than the sum of our parts, but that would be a lie.  I expect that had players like Ferran Torres, Marco Asensio and Eric Garcia been playing regularly, they would've been in the squad.  Their output in limited game time was pretty good, but it was literally match sharpness that held them back.  That said, it has opened the door for the likes of Jose Marsà and Yeremy Pino, and for that I'm grateful!

[SixPointer]

Love those detailed updates dude. What a beautiful writing style when you do these!

[GIMN]

On 06/02/2023 at 16:32, SixPointer said:

Love those detailed updates dude. What a beautiful writing style when you do these!

Appreciated.  Although the more of these I do, the more I notice my reliance on certain phrases and sentence structures.  I possibly need to be a little more sparing, but I've still got 3 more groups to go!

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

[AndreiBaNee]

I love these statistics. We wait the statistics about your group.

[GIMN]

On 08/02/2023 at 12:51, AndreiBaNee said:

I love these statistics. We wait the statistics about your group.

I want to pretend that I waited a couple of days to try and build tension.  In reality, I had to work in the office, so have had less free time...but finally got the final write up done.

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

European Championships 2024: Group F, Round 1 - Sweden

We're finally here.  All players available as we head into our first game.  Nico Williams gets the nod ahead of Oyarzábal as I felt he offered more of a goal threat.  To ensure we have some experience in that frontline, Moreno starts.  Otherwise, it's probably the expected starting lineup.  With Sweden fielding a 4-4-2, we've gone for the 4-3-3 to try and assert midfield dominance.

The decision to play Nico Williams pays dividends, as the Bilbao man rises at the far post to head in our opener inside 2 minutes.  It started with good work from Pino in the channels, holding up the ball before bringing Pedri into play in the half space.  Pedri's cross was hung up to the far post and Williams did the rest.  Our next two both came from keeping pressure on after corners.  Laporte scored the goal of the first round, with an absolute thunderbolt from 30 yards out into the top corner.  Had it not been for the net, a spectator might've been killed.  Fabián got our 3rd, firing through a crowd from just inside the box after Rodri's cut back.

The Man City midfielder was having a great game, having picked up two assists and being pivotal in our build up play, but sadly his tournament has come to an end just as it began.  A torn hamstring injury will see him out for at least 2 months.  Obviously we came into the tournament intending to win, but now we have an extra sense of purpose.  Let's win this for Rodri.

As we tried to adjust, Kulusevski pulled one back for Sweden.  Isak played a delightful ball through to find his run, and whilst Pau Torres got his foot to the ball, Kulusevski was able to poke it past Simón.  That could've been the catalyst for a collapse, and the next few minutes looked like it might be the case, as Sweden pumped the ball forward early and put our centre-backs under pressure.  A switch to a back-3 helped calm things down and we got the match back under control.  Williams, who was a constant threat, did well to get down the side of Lindelöf and draw the foul for Moreno to finish of the game from the penalty spot.

Round 1 Roundup

Marcel Sabitzer dispatched an 87th minute penalty to give Austria a shock 2-1 win over hosts Germany in the tournament opener.  Norway join them at the top of Group A, beating Slovenia 1-0 courtesy of Haaland's second half penalty.  In Group B, Ciro Immobile rolled back the years, scoring twice for Italy in a 2-0 win over Croatia, whilst Sudakov took advantage of Pavlović's error to give Ukraine a 1-0 win over Serbia.

João Félix takes an early lead in the golden boot race, netting a hat-trick as Portugal ran riot over Hungary.  A 4-0 win puts them top of Group C, where they are joined by Belgium who secured a 1-0 win over England thanks to De Bruyne's low finish from just inside the area.  An Mbappe penalty and tap-in from close range gave France a narrow win over Bosnia.  They have a 2 point lead over Poland and Scotland in Group D, as a late Stuart Armstrong penalty cancels out Szymański's 4th minute opener.

In Group E, Slovakia and Switzerland play out the tournament's first goalless draw, whilst Netherlands can thank Steven Bergwijn for his 75th minute winner over 10-man Czechia.  The goal came barely 5 minutes after Hložek received his second yellow card, with the game looking like it was also going to finish goalless.  A trio of headed goals from set pieces gave Denmark a comfortable 3-0 win over Finland, which would have been enough to send the Danes top had it not been for Spain's 4-1 victory over Sweden.

[GIMN]

European Championships 2024: Group F, Round 2 - Denmark

Just the one change, as we switch to our 3-4-3 formation.  Pedro Porro is in for the injured Rodri.  It's a mirror match, as Denmark will also be playing in a 3-4-3, although Braithwaite and Damsgaard are playing in the more traditional attacking midfield strata.  I am a little concerned about losing Rodri's height against Denmark's set-piece prowess, but hopefully the back 3 plus 6'2" Fabián will be enough to allow us to compete in that area.

Not quite as electric a start as the Sweden game, but we once again got an early lead thanks to Moreno's penalty, awarded after Pino played a lovely ball into the channel for Porro, who was then bundled over by Kristiansen.  Schmeichel guessed the right way, but wasn't able to get a hand to it.  We should've scored a second earlier; Pino denied by Schmeichel after beautifully chesting the ball down and hitting on the volley, before Pau Torres slammed a header against the post from Gayà's free-kick.  Williams eventually doubled our lead after a delightful run from outside in was found by Fabián.  Williams took a touch away from the defender and then, on his weaker foot, swept the ball across the keeper into the far corner.

Denmark came into the second half with more intensity, and almost pulled when back when Braithwaite got free down the right and found Damsgaard with the pull-back.  The Brentford man should've scored, but his effort was well blocked by Elustondo.  With the game looking stale for large parts of the second half, Denmark eventually made the breakthrough.  Maehle drove at Laporte, whose tackle fell into the path of Daramy.  Daramy's drilled cross was palmed away by Simón, straight into the path of Poulsen, who fired high into the roof of the net from 6 yards out.  That should've been the catalyst for a late onslaught, but we did a good job of keeping the ball and nullifying any momentum.

With Sweden beating Finland, we've secured our spot in the 2nd round.

Round 2 Roundup

An 87th minute close-range finish from Haaland rescued a point for Norway.  Austria had taken the lead through a Sabitzer penalty, but were reduced to 10-men after Grillitsch picked up his 2nd yellow card with 10 minutes remaining.  Germany bounced back from opening day disappointment with a 4-0 rout over Slovenia.  In Group B, Immobile scored his 3rd goal of the tournament as Italy beat Serbia 2-1, whilst an injury time winner from Gabriel Vidović gave Croatia victory over Ukraine.

Belgium and Portugal booked their places in the 2nd round after victories over Hungary and England respectively.  Alexis Saelemaekers was instrumental in Belgium's 3-0 victory, setting up Trossard and Castagne, before rounding off the victory with a goal for himself.  Joao Moutinho's 2nd half free-kick was the difference between Portugal and England.  An early exit for England surely means the end of Gareth Southgate's tenure.  Edin Džeko scored the pick of the goals, finding the top corner from 25-yards out, as Bosnia & Herzegovina fell 1-3 to Poland.  France ran out to a first half 3-0 lead on route to a 4-2 victory over Scotland.  Griezmann, Kimpembe, Mbappé and Nkunku all scored, whilst Scotland's Stuart Armstrong has a contender for goal of the tournament with a sensational first-time volley from just inside the box.

Netherlands secured qualification thanks to Memphis Depay's cheeky 93rd minute chip in a 1-0 victory over Switzerland.  Czechia were victorious in the Velvet derby, as David Pavelka's shot squirmed under Dúbravka's body in a 1-0 victoria over Slovakia.  Sweden put 3 past Finland, as Isak marked his return to Signal Iduna park with two goals.  Denmark and Sweden face off in the final game to determine who will join Spain in the 2nd round, after Iniesta's side won 2-1.

Edited February 16, 2023 by GIMN

[13th Man]

Good solid start.  Not surprised Denmark gave you a bit of a game at the end, but you're through to the knockout stages with a chance to give some players rest and maybe test out some player combinations or tactics.

[PassionOfCruyff]

I just want to echo what others have said: You've taken a pretty dull aspect of the game in international management and doubled that with picking an 'easy' side but have somehow managed to make it an amazing read. I'm learning loads and have been entertained every step of the way! Good luck as you progress through the tournament, I've got a feeling you're going to do very well...

[SixPointer]

Eagerly waiting the rest of the tournament!! Interesting to see you switch formation in the tournament as well. 

[GIMN]

It's the final round of fixtures for the group round...

...Germany have turned things round to top Group A.  Helped a little bit along the way by Benjamin Šeško taking his opportunity to showcase his talents at a major tournament, scoring Slovenia's 1st, 2nd and 3rd goal of Euro 24.  Immobile takes the lead in the golden boot race, picking up his 5th goal, whilst Serbia's win over Croatia makes it a 3-way tie for 2nd in the group.  England restore some pride.  Poland shock France to top Group D.  Denmark secure 2nd spot in our group.

I forgot an important detail.  With 6 groups, that means the 4 best 3rd place teams also qualify for second place.  That means England's blushes are spared, whilst Sweden managed to creep in on 3 points despite a -2 goal difference.

Reporting it this way has ruined the suspense of our final group game, but we were through anyway, and it was a much rotated side.

Williams enters the golden boot race with another brace.  As is starting to become common-place, he met a Porro cross at the back post to head us in front, and scored our final goal by sidefooting in Vencedor's angled cross.  Finland pinned us back immediately, but it didn't take long for us to restore the lead, as Olmo timed his run to perfection to meet Oyarzábal's flick.  Overall a professional performance, although I am a little concerned that we've conceded in every game.  Gavi also picked up an injury after coming on as second half substitute.  A twisted knee means he's likely to miss around 8 days.  If we make it through the 2nd round, he might be available for the quarter finals.  Thankfully he's not a key starter in this side at the moment, so hopefully if we do get that far, we're not relying on his return.  That said, that's another midfield injury and we're starting to look a little thin in that area.

27 minutes ago, SixPointer said:

Eagerly waiting the rest of the tournament!! Interesting to see you switch formation in the tournament as well. 

Seems as appropriate moment as ever to respond.  I really expected to be wedded to the 4-3-3 with the other formations there just in case we came up against a team it wasn't working against.  Rodri's injury definitely changed my outlook, but with another injury I'm finding myself somewhat relieved that we'd spent time working on these alternatives.

On 15/02/2023 at 06:47, 13th Man said:

Good solid start.  Not surprised Denmark gave you a bit of a game at the end, but you're through to the knockout stages with a chance to give some players rest and maybe test out some player combinations or tactics.

Very grateful we got a chance to rotate for the final game.  Even moreso that it's against a team we've played twice before, too, and despite numerical inferiority in midfield, I knew they struggled with runners from deep.  Hopefully being able to keep starters fresh will serve us well in the next round.

On 15/02/2023 at 17:38, PassionOfCruyff said:

I just want to echo what others have said: You've taken a pretty dull aspect of the game in international management and doubled that with picking an 'easy' side but have somehow managed to make it an amazing read. I'm learning loads and have been entertained every step of the way! Good luck as you progress through the tournament, I've got a feeling you're going to do very well...

Ta very much, and I'm glad you're enjoying it.  Whilst I'm often inclined to play down our chances, I am genuinely concerned about our ability to defend against the better teams.  There's a lot to like about this side going forward, and we seem defensively solid most of the times, but it feels like we are guaranteed to make at least 1 mistake every game.  Against a France or Italy that could be enough to see us dumped out of the competition.

Which leads us to the knockout rounds.  The draw is in:

It's an absolute brutal half of the draw.  England have sputtered so far - whilst I don't want to discount them entirely, we should feel confident.  If we do progress, it's highly likely we'd meet France in the Quarters, then Italy in the Semis.  It's going to be a huge ask to reach the final.  It looks like Portugal or Netherlands are the favourites in the bottom half of the draw.  Both obviously very good teams - Netherlands are reigning World Cup Champions, after all - but neither strike fear into me as much as France or Italy do.

[GIMN]

European Championships 2024: Second Round - England

The teamsheets are in and you can imagine my surprise when I discover that Scotsman Willie Collum has been put in charge.  Sure, Scotland might have a separate national team, but he holds the same passport as every single English player and, quite frankly, this is an astonishing set of circumstances.  My confidence prior to the game is certainly starting to dwindle.

We've made 1 change from the Denmark game, as we revert back to our starting XI.  Pedro Porro drops to the bench as Unai Vencedor comes in.  We're going 4-4-2, with Pedri as a wide playmaker, in the hopes we can reduce the threat from Saka and Foden and funnel England into the centre.  I'm acutely aware that England have a fully fit squad, and an additional 2 days rest coming into this game.

A very nervy game.  Moreno gave us the lead after being slipped through by Williams.  The angle was tight, but Moreno took it early and fired across Ramsdale and into the far corner.  Kane had a chance to equalise from a corner almost immediately, rising at the far post but heading wide.  England seemed to have a shoot on sight policy - looking to hit Kane early, try and pick up the loose ball and then spank it goalwards regardless of distance or how many bodies were in the way.  It's not sophisticated, but it was effective - Saka sent through on goal after an effort deflected into his path only for him to blaze over when one-on-one.  He later had a goal correctly disallowed for offside, a good 2 yards between him and the defender after Foden's angled through ball.

At half time we decided to be more aggressive in the press, looking to close down their midfield more urgently to restrict those long shots.  It worked, with England really struggling to create chances outside of a Bellingham header from a free-kick that went harmlessly over.  We should've had a 2nd midway through the second-half, Pedri's low cross somehow fizzing just beyond the reach of both Williams and Moreno.  We switched our set up late in the half, pushing Williams onto the wing, Pino up front and swapping Pedri to the other flank.  Pino and Williams combined to set the latter free down the wing.  His ball back into Pino led to a rash challenge from James just inside the box.  Moreno, as so often before, sent Ramsdale the wrong way to secure the win.  It was a reckless challenge from James, and I'm not sure how he avoided a 2nd yellow card, but let bygones be bygones.

Job done.  Now to prepare for France...

...or not.  Absolute scenes in Gelsenkirchen as Jakub Jankto scored in extra time to give Czechia a shock win over tournament-favourites France.  That might have been the surprise result of the round had it not been for Scotland doing a job on Netherlands.  It was a tale of two extra time penalties, as Weghorst screwed his 98th minute one wide, before Billy Gilmour settled the tie with just 4 minutes remaining.  Germany are hitting form and have home advantage, and the winner between them and Italy must be considered favourites for the tournament now.  Immobile is now on 6 goals, and has a 2 goal buffer from our duo of Moreno & Williams.  Mbappé is also on 4 goals, but obviously his tournament is now over and his chances of surpassing Thierry Henry as France's leading scorer will have to wait a little while longer.

[SixPointer]

Strange that you think a Scotsman would be bias to the English. If he’s a good Scotsman like myself he would do it everything in his power to stop England. Perhaps let’s say a late penalty 🤣

Great result for the Czech Republic!! Assuming you will have watched the game to get a feel for your next opponent. I would imagine they would deploy the same sort of game-plan for you as they did France 

[PassionOfCruyff]

Now that makes things interesting! A very tough draw has opened up for you nicely. Obviously you have to beat what's in front of you and you won't take Czech Republic lightly but that maybe makes the winners of Italy v Germany your final. A Spain v Portugal final would be good viewing too but I make you favourites!

[GIMN]

13 hours ago, SixPointer said:

Strange that you think a Scotsman would be bias to the English. If he’s a good Scotsman like myself he would do it everything in his power to stop England. Perhaps let’s say a late penalty 🤣

Great result for the Czech Republic!! Assuming you will have watched the game to get a feel for your next opponent. I would imagine they would deploy the same sort of game-plan for you as they did France 

Yeah, I didn't actually think Willie Collum would provide an advantage to England, but it was odd to see a referee from within the kingdom given the game.  Manufacturing a little bit of fake outrage to build that siege mentality might seem completely ridiculous when dealing with virtual players who can't actually benefit from that approach, but...umm...nope actually I can't find a way to justify it!

The Czechia result was incredible, and whilst France absolutely should've won, it wasn't just a smash 'n' grab.

Czechia should have scored twice before full-time.  Schick missing twice after being put through one-on-one, and there are clear patterns of play where they look to get the ball out wide and play angled balls into the channels.  France struggled with that all day, but it's something I think we'll be able to combat quite easily just by deploying the 3-4-3 formation.  It is worth pointing out that you can't ignore the 4.01 xG conceded.  It seems that Czechia's defensive strategy might be religious in nature: pray that Jiří Pavlenka has a great game!

12 hours ago, PassionOfCruyff said:

Now that makes things interesting! A very tough draw has opened up for you nicely. Obviously you have to beat what's in front of you and you won't take Czech Republic lightly but that maybe makes the winners of Italy v Germany your final. A Spain v Portugal final would be good viewing too but I make you favourites!

We are the highest ranked team remaining in the tournament now.  There's obviously a lot of games to go, and if Italy beat Germany I'm not confident that we can stop Immobile, but France's defeat definitely opens things up.  No disrespect intended to Czechia, but I can perhaps look at a bit of rotation too which might help keep a couple of players fresh for the later rounds.

[GIMN]

European Championships 2024: Quarter Finals - Czechia

Quite a few changes for this one.  We're back to the 3-4-3 as alluded in the previous post as I feel this helps us minimise Czechia's threat in the channels.  Laporte is suspended after picking up his 2nd yellow card of the tournament, so David García and Jose Marsà come in.  Javi Galán, Thiago and Oyarzábal also get starts as we look to keep the team fresh.  Once again we come up against a team who have had an extra days rest, so I'm mindful that we might be a little behind in the fitness battle.

Possibly the most incredible opening 10 minutes, as the game could've easily been 2-2 by the time Oyarzábal opened the scoring.  Hložek's 30-yard thunderbolt was heading for the top corner until Simón pulled out an incredible save, whilst Williams left Čelůstka for dead before before smashing his effort off the upright.   Hložek then hit the woodwork himself, after being put through by Barák.  He went for power, when a bit more control would've been warranted.  And then we scored.  Moreno drifted out wide, creating space for Oyarzabál to be played in.  Čelůstka got across to block the shot, but only got enough on it to wrong-foot Pavlenka.  From the kick off, Pedri forced a turnover, drove forward, checked inside and bent a left foot effort from just inside the box marginally over.

There was enough action in those opening exchanges to account for a full game, and it was perhaps no surprise that things petered out eventually.  Moreno should've done better from near the penalty spot after Williams had played him in, whilst Porro blazed wide from the edge of the area when he should've squared the ball.  We were very much in control.  To compound matters further, Tomáš Holeš decided he'd had enough.  A two-footed lunge on Marsà earned him a straight red card.  Sadílek replaced Jankto, and with that Czechia sacrificed the width that had made them dangerous against France.

Galán should've made it 2-0 early in the second half, but screwed wide when well placed.  It wasn't long before our 2nd, though.  Substitute Dani Olmo was able to get on the wrong side of Ladislav Krejčí, and a desperate challenge from the Czechia left-back resulted in a penalty.  Oyarzábal stepped up and sent Pavelnka the wrong way.  From that point on we looked to conserve energy, and just see out the game.  Onto the next one...

Italy get the job done, eventually.  A 4-2 penalty win wouldn't have been necessary had Immobile not seen a first-half spot-kick saved.  That said, they were staring at defeat after a solo effort by Germany's Thomas Mayer gave them the lead just before half-time in extra time, only for Giacomo Raspadori to equalise with a rapsing effort into the roof of the next from 10 yards out with barely 4 minutes left on the clock.  Donnarumma was ultimately the hero, as he saved 2 of Germany's first 3 penalties, to set up a Semi Final against us.

Austria produce the shock of the round, defeating Portugal on penalties 5-4 in an absolute rollercoaster of a game.  An early penalty gave Portugal the lead before second half goals from Sabitzer and Kainz put Austria in control.  With the game looking over, Austria keeper Niklas Hedl completely misjudged a long ball over the top which allowed Gonçalo Guedes to tap into an open net in injury time.  Heroes became villains, and villains became heros - as Hedl saved 3 penalties, including the match-winner against João Moutinho - the man who'd given Portugal the lead from the spot in the 4th minute.

In what was surely considered to be a match of little consequence, Denmark overcame Scotland courtesy of two set-piece headers from Kjaer and Braithwaite.  Scotland did equalise in the 81st minute, but Ross Stewart was correctly judged to be offside.  With Austria beating Portugal, Denmark now have a very real chance of making the final.

[GIMN]

European Championships 2024: Semi Finals - Italy

Here we go.  6 days since the Quarter Final and, Rodri aside, we have a fully fit squad available.  Italy, on the other hand, are missing both starting full-backs: Di Lorenzo tore a groin muscle in their victory over Germany, whilst Davide Calabria picked up his 2nd yellow card of the competition and is suspended.  That means this is a very similar Italy line-up to the one we faced in the Nations League final last summer, with only Barella (for Jorginho) and Dimarco (for Valeri) being the difference.

As a result, we revert back to our 4-3-3, and have gone for a very similar lineup to that which we fielded in that 1-0 victory.  Torres (Sergio Ramos), Gayà (Jose Galán), Vencedor (Rodri) and Moreno (Toni Martínez) were all on the bench on that day, but will start this time around.  The biggest surprise is Oyarzábal getting the nod over Nico Williams.  He deserves it for the 2-goal performance against Czechia, whilst I'm keen to have Williams available later in the game to run at tired legs!

In what can only be described as the complete antithesis of the last game, the first half was absolutely pitiful.  3 shots total.  Immobile having the best of them, with a header from the best part of 12 yards out that was easily saved by Simón.  We'd edged possession, but Italy did a good job of kettling us out wide.  Whenever we were able to progress the ball centrally, it was quickly broken up through fouling.  With Pino taking a knock, we switched to our 4-4-2 formation, and brought on Porro to play as a right-winger.  That saw us push Pedri out on the left as a wide playmaker.

We got our reward almost immediately.  Gayà and Pedri combined on the left wing, before the latter checked inside Lazzari and sent a delightful cross to the far post.  Oyarzábal had ghosted between Bastoni and Dimarco, and his header from 5 yards out was unstoppable. Raspadori had a chance midway through the second half, as he was played in from deep by Tonali.  Thankfully Torres was alert, and was able to get across and make the goal-saving block.

Substitute Williams made our 2nd, leaving Dimarco for dead before pulling it back to Porro.  His low cross was perfectly in the path of Moreno, 8-yards out, to sweep home first time.  Bastoni did stick a foot out, and the slight deflection was possibly enough to remove any chance Donnarumma had of getting to it.  With barely 5 minutes left, we had surely secured our place in the final.  That was until Zaniolo's cross was thumped in off the underside of the bar by Immobile.  We'd done a pretty good job of keeping him quiet up until then, but it was an absolute peach of a strike.  Thankfully, that was all Italy could muster as we kept our composure and, more importantly, the ball for the remaining moments.

Over in Dortmund, Austria played Denmark...

A counter-attacking masterpiece and Austria are finalists.  Their first two goals owed a lot to their high press, Baumgartner on both occasions winning the ball in Denmark's half and driving forward.  The first was a delightful daisy cutter from the edge of the area.  The second a penalty, after Baumgartner fed Kalajdžić who was summarily hacked down by Andreas Christensen.  Denmark did rally, and arguably should've equalised after Eriksen's penalty had halved the deficit.  Instead, Kalajdžić put the game beyond doubt, taking a pot shot from 30 yards out which squirmed under Schmeichel's body.

[SixPointer]

Austria shock finalists I don’t know if that’s more shocking than Scotland getting as far as they did 

best of luck for the final 

[PassionOfCruyff]

Denmark unlucky in a rip-roarer of a game! Do cards get wiped for the final or are Austria looking at some suspensions? Good luck, don't stumble now! 

[GIMN]

3 hours ago, PassionOfCruyff said:

Denmark unlucky in a rip-roarer of a game! Do cards get wiped for the final or are Austria looking at some suspensions? Good luck, don't stumble now! 

Yellow cards are cleared at the Semi-Final stage so no suspensions for the final.

[GIMN]

For the finals, I'm going to leave you in the hands of [insert generic sports broadcaster name here].  Before that, I'll give you some of my thoughts.  With 3 days between the Semi-Finals and Final, there's not much time for rest and recovery.  The scout report has suggested that Austria are going to make a lot of changes and prioritise fitness over talent.  I've got a decision to make as to whether follow suit, or reward the players who have got us here even if they're not going to be 100%...

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

[_Ben_]

Superb bit of updating here @GIMN! I think that it does kind of overshadow your performance as Euro 24 winners but that's a great reward for your hard work to date. What's next?

[GIMN]

6 hours ago, _Ben_ said:

Superb bit of updating here @GIMN! I think that it does kind of overshadow your performance as Euro 24 winners but that's a great reward for your hard work to date. What's next?

I do enjoy an unnecessarily over-the-top update for big games.  Definitely won't be doing it regularly, though.  Watching the game in full takes me about 30-45 minutes.  The update, about 6 hours 

I think we got quite lucky in the end.  We did deserve it on the balance of play, but only just...and given the gulf in talent between us and Austria, that's probably not good enough.  Both the semi-final and final I ended up changing formation at half time - I've got a lot to learn about how to prepare for these games without the Data Hub to fall back on.

As for what's next...it's a World Cup campaign.  I don't think it would make sense to pursue a club job, yet.  If we'd lost the final, that might've been grounds to resign, but I don't think it could be considered as "going out on a high" after a European Championship.  That said, I've decided that if we win the World Cup, then I'll step aside.  If we don't, but I avoid the sack, then I'll keep on going at Spain until 2026.  I know the game lets you manage both a club and national side, but that doesn't feel awfully realistic, especially with the profile of Spain.

[GIMN]

I lied.  Up next is the Nations League.  A title to defend, in fact.

I wasn't in charge for the qualifying section of the Nations League last time, and I definitely appreciate how the seeding means all the games shoud be competitive.  I can't imagine that will be the same when the World Cup Qualifying Groups are drawn, so these games are really going to be a good opportunity to try things out against a decent standard of opposition.

I'm going to cut back on the updates from hereon.  My plan is to come forward with a summary for all qualifier games, and only go into granular detail for major competitions.  I hope that might speed up progress, at least until I reach the holy grail of domestic football - As the Spain job was meant to serve as a proverbial prologue, it's possibly gone on a bit too long already.

(N.B - I've switched back to my light skin.  My eyes prefer a lighter background, and I've got enough screenshots of the dark version now to last me a while)

 

[SixPointer]

Beautiful updates dude! Congratulations on the win as well. I really appreciate that writing as I know it would be time consuming. You say 6 hours. That would take me 6 days! 
 

KUTGW

[GIMN]

UEFA Nations League Qualifiers 2024-25

Split across 3 international breaks, I reckon it will be easier just to show everybody that I called up at some point ahead of the results.  Taking my cue from many of the other contributors on these forums, clicking on the pictures below will show you player attributes (well, at least as far as I see them - in range brackets).

Goalkeepers

   

Defenders

   

   

   

Midfielders

   

  

Strikers

   

   

Unai Simón has been having a tough time in the early part of this season.  I was considering dropping him before the last two qualifiers, but injury helped make that decision for me and Pau López has a good chance to wrestle away that #1 spot.  Odriozola and Maffeo get chances to earn a place in the squad at right-back, whilst Eric Garcia has finally got a run of games at Barcelona and showing the kind of form deserving of an international call up.  Thiago's time has past.  Despite being back in the Liverpool line-up, he's now 33 years old and Fabián has made that spot his own.  Hugo Guillamón gets his first call up of the Iniesta era.  Ferran Torres' move to PSG has seen him get more game time, and open up more opportunities at Barcelona for Fati.  An absolute win-win situation for Spain.  Both get an opportunity to impress, whilst Rafa Mir is called up for the first time.  He first came in to deputise for an injured Moreno, and then got a chance after some underwhelming performances from Karrikaburu.

This is getting a little silly now.  We still boast a 100% record after 27 games.  That should've ended against England at Wembley, and I'm not entirely sure how it didn't.  Both our goals were from defensive errors so poor that you'd accuse the AI of cheating if they happened against you.  Obviously, if you win all of your group games, you're guaranteed to finish top, and we'll now face Portugal in the Semi-Finals of the Nations League next June.  The winners of that game will face either France or Italy in the final.  The comes a couple of weeks after the Euro/SAM Super Cup final between us and Mexico.  I'm not sure why there's a two week break between those games - it seems like the powers that be are doing everything they can to ensure players don't get a proper summer holiday.

World Cup Qualifiers start in March.  Prior to the draw, Spanish fans were surveyed as to which teams they would most like to face.

Seems a little harsh to suggest that Euros Quarter-Finalists, Scotland, are the 3rd worst team out there, but certainly made me chuckle.  One I'm sure you'll appreciate @SixPointer.  In the end we were drawn with Norway, Hungary, Lithuania and Luxembourg.  That's two teams outside the top 100 FIFA ranking, which feels quite generous.  We should win this group, and we have to make sure that we do, as only top spot is guaranteed a World Cup spot.  Runners up go into some weird sorting table, and I have no desire to understand the mathmatics behind all that!

[anagain]

About time I caught up. Congrats on winning the Euros.

Love your presentation style. A lot of effort put in to this. 

[GIMN]

13 minutes ago, anagain said:

About time I caught up. Congrats on winning the Euros.

Love your presentation style. A lot of effort put in to this. 

Ta very much.  I firmly stand on the side of make it look pretty and hope people gloss over the lack of actual substance 

[GIMN]

Will cover all World Cup Qualifiers at the same time, so going to skip forward a little bit and cover the summer's Euro/Sam Super Cup & Nations League Finals.

Only 1 "new" player: Braga striker Abel Ruiz.  He's scored 39 goals across the last 2 seasons, while an impressive 5% of his pass attempts are key passes.  He's a solid candidate to play anywhere across the front line, and that versatility appeals to me. 

Euro/SAM Super Cup

Time for the winners of the European Championships and Copa America to face off against one another.  Now, the cynic in me might suggest this is just a meaningless friendly arranged to generate more money for FIFA, but that would be unfair.  Regarding the game itself, apparently I can only name 5 subs.  I know it's not long ago that this was normal, but I cannot overstate just how restrictive this felt.

UEFA Nations League

A sterner test follows.  Whatever happens against Portugal, we will be playing another game as there is a third place playoff.  Much like the qualifiers themselves, this is a chance to play against some genuinely top teams, and hopefully learn a bit about what we can expect in the World Cup (assuming we qualify)

A successful summer break.  Or, perhaps more accurately, a successful outcome.  Both France and Mexico pressed us heavily and the fragilities we saw against England were once again exposed.  We were particularly vulnerable when moving the ball out wide, with players dwelling on the ball despite their being support options available.  I think I need to look at dropping central midfielders back into the DM strata to ensure we have a stronger defensive structure when we do lose the ball, but doing so in a way that I don't lose the attacking support.  Lots to consider.

[13th Man]

As always, love your minute-by-minute posts of big matches.  Wow, Austria really pushed Spain to the very end, but congrats on the win.  I was starting to wonder if it'd go to penalties!

[GIMN]

7 hours ago, 13th Man said:

As always, love your minute-by-minute posts of big matches.  Wow, Austria really pushed Spain to the very end, but congrats on the win.  I was starting to wonder if it'd go to penalties!

I thought it was going to go that way.  I don't know much about Austrian keeper Niklas Hedl, but I was cursing his name on more than one occasion.  I'm also delighted it was Karikkaburu who got the winner.  He was immense for me last year in my Girona save, and it's nice to see him being able to make an impact at this level.

[GIMN]

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers - 2025/26

Introducing the 34 players who found themselves called up at one point or another during our World Cup Qualifying campaign.  It doesn't take a genius to work out which position group has the most questions, with 13 different defenders playing a part.  Most intriguing has been Alejandro Balde - he got a call up after earning the de facto starting role for Barcelona and performing well.  His reward?  Barcelona signed Jose Gayà and pushed him down the pecking order.  A similar story for Hugo Guillamón and Yeremy Pino who earned big moves to England, performed well in their first season, and then found themselves out of favour, much to the detriment of their international careers.

On the flip side, moves to France have panned out well for Unai Núñez and Toni Martínez.  Both players are now starting regularly and continuing to show the kind of performances that had them on my radar to begin with.

Same deal as before, click on a player to see their attributes.

Goalkeepers

   

Defenders

   

   

   

 

Midfielders

   

   

Forwards

   

   

It is worth pointing out that the first two games were played before the Euro/SAM Super Cup and Nations League Finals.  I'll delay no further:

Got to be happy with that.  Apparently Spain haven't lost a World Cup Qualifying match since April 1993, so I'm glad we've been able to keep that run going.  Can't really get much value out of games against Lithuania and Luxembourg, but I'm happy we generated over 3 xG in both our games against a Hungary side that tends to be defensively sound.  Norway deserved more from the final game, and I would normally be concerned about conceding so many chances, but given the match state (they were at home, trailing, in a game they needed to win to top the group) and the talent at their disposal, I'm not surprised.

That brings us to the World Cup draw:

I'd forgotten that the format changes in 2026.  With the best teams now split across more groups, we should feel confident of topping ours, which will see us face the runners up in Germany's group.  Realistically the new format shouldn't make too much difference to us.  We're still aiming to play the same amount of games (e.g. 7, and win the whole thing).  Friendlies have been arranged in March against Senegal and Iran, whilst I've also set up matches against Ivory Coast, Japan and USA in the window before the World Cup starts.  I'm hoping those last 3 games will be enough for us to get players to a decent level of match fitness ahead of the tournament, allowing us a little bit more flexibility with which players we call up.  Someone like Yeremy Pino, who has been so dependable for me, could be an option regardless of how much game time he gets at Man City between now and the end of the season.

[13th Man]

How do feel about your WC chances? Obviously looked good in qualifying but who are the main threats? The big European nations seemed to underperform in the EUROs but things can change quickly…

[GIMN]

7 minutes ago, 13th Man said:

How do feel about your WC chances? Obviously looked good in qualifying but who are the main threats? The big European nations seemed to underperform in the EUROs but things can change quickly…

I think a good way to answer this would be to take a look at the FIFA Rankings:

Obviously we should be the overall favourites, but I think it's more complicated than that.  We've shown the ability to win when not playing well against the other big nations, but there is also a reasonably consistent trend of us not playing well in those matches.  Luck is not a particularly good foundation to build our chances on!  I'm also not entirely sure we have the firepower to win when it matters.  Gerard Moreno's last international goal was last summer in what was essentially a glorified friendly against Mexico, and there's a real chance he might not make the final squad.  Williams scores in bunches, whilst Pino's lack of game time is concerning.  Our only consistent goalscoring threat is Mikel Oyarzábal - something I didn't expect I'd ever say, after the first couple of years where he seemed completely unable to hit a cow's bum with a banjo.

I think any of the top 9 nations have a good chance.  Brazil, somewhat incredibly, are on their 3rd manager since Tite resigned after the last World Cup.  In that time, they've only lost 2 games.  Their 2nd place ranking, however, feels a little generous as they've arguably drawn far too many games in the last couple of years to suggest they can consistently get results in a tournament format.  Much like the Euros, my money is on France.  The squad is far too talented to underperform at another major tournament.  Mexico and United States are also worth keeping an eye on as joint hosts.  I don't think either team is good enough, but I've never really paid enough attention to international management in FM to know exactly how well it simulates home advantage in these tournaments.

[GIMN]

Let's talk friendlies and, by extension, tactics.  We had two goals for these 5 games:

• Identify who will be joining us in North America for the World Cup
  • Right-footed centre-back
  • Backup left wing-back
  • Central striker
• Refine our tactical approach
  • Improve defensive support in transition
  • Ensure midfield spacing allows safe progression

Results were tertiary, but obviously I'm keen to build momentum heading into the World Cup.

    

By and large, it was a useful exercise.  I'll go into the tactical tweaks below, but we can see a progression with what we learned from the Senegal (ranked 12th) game where we were second best in both xG and possession  to the USA (ranked 11th) game where we were positively dominant.  The first thing I needed to address was our counter-press.  One issue that was repeating itself was our wing-backs dropping back immediately when we lost the ball.  Whilst the general approach was to have a split block, with us counter-pressing when it's situationally right to do so, with our defensive players falling back, I'd still expect the wing-backs to engage when in the position to do so.

This is a good example.  Diatta has nipped in to steal the ball of Gavi just outside Senegal's box.  Porro and Fati are in a good position to engage and force a quick turnover. 

Diatta is right footed, and has had to stretch to make the challenge.  The poorly drawn yellow areas are what I would expect them to do.  There is a gap (blue line) where he can clear the ball, but no outlet for him to find.  I'm happy to force that situation.  It will give us back possession and allow us to build up again.  Alternatively, he could try and keep the ball, but with immediate pressure he'd have to try and turn inside which would give Fati the opportunity to steal in.  The one thing I don't want to happen here is for Porro to immediately drop back and give Diatta space to carry the ball forwards.  I'm sure you can guess what happened.  It's moments of passivity like that which stop us from dominating games even more.

The second issue that cropped up too often was support structures, as illustrated below.

When Olmo carries the ball forward, we don't have enough players who are able to receive a pass.  There is a reverse pass into Williams (green), who may then be able to play it on to Marsa at left back, or the ambitious cross field ball to Porro (yellow) with the outside of his boot.  The biggest issue here is angles.  Both Gavi and Fati are running towards a Senegalese player rather than into the space where the referee is.  Rodri is worst culprit here.  His position does absolutely nothing.  There isn't a natural passing angle.  If Olmo does try and feed it into the gap for Gavi or play it out to Williams, Rodri's position still doesn't create a passing angle.  If he's there in case we need to recycle possession, he needs to be deeper so that he can draw Senegal out and create space as a result.

To remedy this, we're mostly going to make changes to the formation, but there are some updates to team instructions, too.  Our defensive line and line of engagement have been pushed higher, and we're now going to focus almost exclusively on trying to funnel play into the central areas.  This is, in part, to try and allow our wing-backs to press with impunity when the opportunity arises.

I should stop delaying the inevitable, and reveal the new formations.  But where's the fun in that!?  Whilst we will still have the 4-3-3 shape as an option, the main development is two formations that achieve roughly the same shape in possession but allow us to use different defensive structures within a game without the need for substitutes.  I humbly present Iniesta's Tres-Rombo-Tres (3-Rhombus-3).

 

N.B. There are mirrored versions of these formations, too.

The most notable change is the abandonment of the 3-striker approach.  By using a single False 9, we're able to set a much clearer expectation as to which player is responsible for dropping into the midfield line.  There would often be times where one would drop, but not the one I would want in that specific moment.  This helps us create a slightly skewed diamond (rhombus) in midfield to help progress the ball.  With a surfeit of wing-backs who can play as wingers, we also have the flexibility to switch between formations as the game needs, with the 4-4-2 variant generally giving us a deeper rhombus shape for dealing with press heavy opponents.  Pleasingly, we were able to see this structure regularly throughout our final game against the USA.

  

Sacrificing a striker obviously means we are a little less potent going forward, and that can be seen in our goal output in those final 3 friendlies.  That said, I would say the overall involvement of the advanced forward is considerably better.  With space on his outside, he's able to be much more dynamic in running the channels and helping us transition into the final third.  With the 34-year old Gerard Moreno showing signs of decline, this change might help us get the best out of our pacier options - whether that is more traditional strikers like Jon Karrikaburu, or retooled wingers like Nico Williams.

There is certainly some risk with making these changes so close to the tournament.  After all, we've done pretty well without.  Nonetheless, I expect a sterner test in the World Cup than the Euros where surprise results gave us a relatively easy journey.

[GIMN]

Time to reveal Spain's World Cup 2026 Squad.  We get an extra 3 players for the World Cup, so 26 in total, which has afforded us a little bit of luxury.  I deliberately kept the info from the friendlies light as it may have given a clue as to who made the final squad.

Spoilers contain fuller profiles for each player (attributes, traits, pros & cons) - saves you having to open a new tab for each profile, but this post would be super long if I didn't put them behind spoilers.

Goalkeepers

  

No surprises here.  With the exception of De Gea, there is a real lack of choice of goalkeepers who are both good enough and playing regularly.  Unai Simón has had a poor year for Athletic Bilbao, but has probably done enough in Spain's recent games to get the nod ahead of López.

Spoiler

Defenders

   

   

 

With players presented alphabetically by first name, the surprises here come straight at you.  Alejandro Balde's international career looked like it was over before it began, but a run of games at the end of the season meant he was match fit.  I like what I've seen from the La Masia graduate, and he definitely fits what I want in terms of a wing-back who is comfortable playing higher up the pitch.  Arnau Comas has come out of nowhere and could possibly find himself as a starter.  He's had a fantastic season for Villarreal and his combination of height and ball-playing skills makes him a very suitable option as a right-sided centre-back.  Whilst García might be better suited in a back-3 due to his relatively dimunitive frame, Comas offers balance in a back-4 that would be lacking with both Laporte and Torres starting.  It feels almost like sacrilege to even write this, but there's a good chance that Laporte isn't an automatic starter.

Spoiler

Midfielders

   

  

Those extra 3 spots compared to regular international duty means Guillamón makes the final cut.  Like Balde, Guillamón managed to regain his place in the starting lineup for Arsenal and has continued to impress.  His versatility and decision making is a blessing.  Otherwise, it's exactly as expected from the midfield unit.

Spoiler

Forwards

   

  

We've perhaps gone a little overboard on the striker front.  With us looking to primarily field only 2 strikers, 7 players might be excessive.  That said, we need difference makers if we want to win this competition.  Oyarzábal and Pino (who played in 17 of Man City's last 20 games) offer the craft; Ruiz, Williams and Karrikaburu the threat in behind.  Fati is a wildcard, but his goals against Senegal and Ivory Coast made it hard to keep him out.  Moreno is pure sentiment.  He's been a huge part of Iniesta's tenure and I'm sure his experience will be invaluable.

Spoiler

I'm feeling good about the squad.  Toni Martínez can possibly feel hard done by after a stellar season at Lyon.  Likewise for Aritz Elustondo, who had been a big part up until this season where a succession of injuries impacted his ability to get regular minutes.  Sevilla's Oihan Sancet was also a serious consideration, but his rise to prominence came just a little bit too late.  Even then, it would've been a tough job to unseat Pedri or Olmo.

Overall, it's reasonably balanced.  At 21, Gavi is the youngest member, whilst 6 players are 30 or older and 10 players have 50 or more caps.  Barcelona, unsurprisingly, have the most players in the squad (6), whilst Sociedad, Villarreal, Bilbao and Man City have all supplied 3 players.  There are 0 Real Madrid players, not because Iniesta is hideously partisan and refuses to call them up, but because the Real Madrid first team squad doesn't have a single Spanish player in it's ranks.

Only one thing left...NORTH AMERICA '26!!

[GIMN]

The over-the-top presentation style returns, but in the interest of keeping it reasonably digestable, we'll just report on lineups and whatever the game considers to be a "Key" highlight.  I expect I'll get to a point where I'll have to reuse some photos.

[GIMN]

[GIMN]

Far too many games to cover from the group stages, so I'll just provide a brief summary.  No surprise casualties so far, but Morrocco, Norway and South Korea all topped their groups ahead of Netherlands, Argentina and Germany respectively.  The expanded size has resulted in some major mismatches.  Romelu Lukaku and Alexander Isak already have 5 goals to their names, which is no surprise when you consider Belgium played Syria and Peru, whist Sweden faced Canada and Nigeria.

We say goodbye to the following teams: The Gambia, Peru, Panama, Australia, Iran, Ecuador, Qatar, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Japan, DR Congo, Uzbekistan, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Suriname and Cameroon.

Portugal vs Netherlands should be an interesting game, as is our matchup against the unlicensed Germany.  With the way the draw has shaped up there should be some interesting teams in the Quarter Finals.  One team from each of these groupings are guaranteed to make it to the final 8:

Syria, Croatia, Mexico or Ukraine
Chile, Morrocco, Serbia or Jamaica
Sweden, Uruguay, Tunisia or South Korea