Why one extra day could be secret to England getting revenge on Spain

The Guardian

25-07-2025

What do the past three Women's World Cups, the past three men's World Cups and the past four men's European Championships have in common with this summer's men's Club World Cup? The answer may give England fans an extra glimmer of hope for Sunday's Women's Euro 2025 final because all of those competitions were won by the team who contested the first semi-final, 24 hours earlier than their opponents in the final.
Most women's football tournaments used to schedule the semi-finals for the same day but, since that began to change about 20 years ago, it has been a trend in international tournaments for the winners to have come from the first semi-final. As the Lionesses prepare to meet Spain, who came through their semi-final against Germany a day later than England's comeback win over Italy, it begs the question: how much of an advantage could it offer to Sarina Wiegman's team?
Darren Robinson, a performance specialist and accredited sports psychologist who holds the Uefa pro licence coaching qualification, told the Guardian: 'Having that extra time, from a physiology point of view, helps with muscle recovery; you'll have a reduction in soreness with an extra 24 hours. Particularly in a multi-sprint sport like football, you do generally have a lot of muscle soreness; it's multi-sprint, multi-turn, jumping, landing and all of these things create extension forces that cause muscle soreness, so that extra 24 hours helps a team be a bit fresher.
'I would suggest one of the benefits England have is resources, with the expertise that comes out of St George's Park and supports the national teams: specialists in recovery, hydration and nutrition, meaning the players should benefit from some of those marginal gains, so the governing body has played its part when they've won games in the dying stages.'
England overcame Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals and Chloe Kelly's 119th-minute goal enabled them to edge past Italy in the semi-finals, setting up a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final in Australia. But in Sydney they were beaten by a Spain side who had played the first semi-final.
Excluding the 2017 Women's Euros, when the semi-finals were on the same day, all the past 12 men's or women's Euros or World Cup finals were won by the first semi-finalists. Starting from Women's Euro 2005, 18 of the 20 tournaments have had semi-finals on different days and of those 80% of men's Euros or World Cups and 87.5% of the women's Euros or World Cups were won by the first semi-finalist.
Nile Robbins, women's high performance coach at the University of Stirling, told the Guardian: 'How you schedule your sessions and your recovery looks completely different, based on whether you've got three or four days before you play your next game. But sometimes the main impact is not just physical, it's mental. Take Spain v Germany, for example; Germany's quarter-final game will have been far more emotionally and mentally draining than Spain's.'
It appears it takes a great team to defy the disadvantage of playing in the second semi-final. Germany's formidable women's team managed it when cruising past England in Euro 2009's final, and the all-conquering Spain men's side managed to win Euro 2008 and 2010's World Cup after playing second, exemplifying their rare excellence, but no other side have managed it in the past 20 years. Many will feel this talented Spain side, full of Barcelona stars, could be another such team capable of defying their shorter turnaround.
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Robinson, who has also held various head of performance roles, mostly in the men's Championship, including at Hull and Birmingham, said: 'The other aspect which will be really important is they're going to play the Spanish, who have controlled and dominated matches. Against a Spanish team capable of dominating possession, you need to be at full capacity.'
How teams recover from late-night matches varies, naturally, depending on the coaches and the regime but Robinson says: 'Having protein shakes, hydration and carbohydrate replenishment, within the dressing room, that would start instantly after a game and the first 20 minutes are crucial, replenishing that lost energy.
'The challenge of course is after sport your appetite is suppressed, and particularly after a big game you're celebrating and having something to eat or drink is the last thing that you want. And you can't treat the whole group the same. While you're piling food into the starting XI, you don't want the players who didn't play overeating. That's why the culture and the discipline is so important. On the day after a game, we would definitely promote active recovery, so it could be things like going in the pool or jogging, exercise bikes or go for a walk together as a team.'
As some England players walked near their hotel on a hillside in Zurich on Thursday, perhaps their confidence grew, knowing that Spain also played 120 minutes in their semi-final. But Robbins, who has also worked at the University of Glasgow, says: 'All of these things don't automatically mean England will win but it does mean that they have those little advantages, and when the differences at the top level are so small, as little as 1% can make a huge difference.'