Who is Spain’s most important player ahead of Euro 2024 final vs England?

Berlin could be the stage where La Roja wins their record-breaking fourth European Championship, surpassing Germany’s three championships.

Luis de la Fuente, who took over from Luis Enrique following a disappointing 2022 World Cup campaign, has quickly turned Spain’s fortunes around.

Heading into the competition, very few believed in them, but they have since garnered support for their pleasing brand of football.

Undoubtedly, it’s been a collective effort, but some standout performances are worth highlighting. So, who is Spain’s most important player heading into this latest UEFA showpiece event?

Who do pundits think is Spain’s best player?

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has identified two players who could cause trouble for England.

“Trust me, if we let Rodri and Fabian Ruiz play in midfield, their [full-backs] jobs will be a lot harder,” he said on ITV.

“So it’s really important, the most important thing is to get people up against them two.

“If they’re releasing the passes to those two wide players (Yamal and Nico Williams), then full-backs for England on Sunday will be in trouble.

“Get against Rodri, get against Fabian Ruiz, try and deal with them and you’ll stifle a lot of attacks forward.”

Neville’s former club and international teammate Wayne Rooney has meanwhile compared Nico Williams to all-time great Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Williams, for me, is exceptional. He reminds me of Cristiano Ronaldo when Cristiano was young,” he told The Times.

“He’s a big lad, he’ll take the ball and sometimes tries too much but usually makes the right decisions.

“He is an incredible threat in one-on-one situations and scores goals as well. England need to be really careful with him.”

Rio Ferdinand hailed Lamine Yamal — who has had 13 shot involvements following a ball carry at Euro 2024 (six shots, seven chances created), at least three more than any other player — after Spain reached the final.

“It’s the calmness with which he plays,” he told BBC Sport. “He plays like somebody who’s been playing for a long time. He makes quick decisions and he just picks the right pass at the right moment.

“The simplicity with which he plays, it’s so difficult to do. We know what it’s like when you’re a young player that comes into any team, let alone the national team. You’re thinking about proving to people why you’re there, so you over do it.

“Nine times out of 10, young players, you see them at some point in the game where they overcook it or overpass it or he’s tried to do too much with it.

“We’ve not said that once about this kid. Invariably, he makes the right decision nine and a half times out of 10. At 16.

“The question is, how do you stop him? That’s the conundrum now for his opponents. You go close and get tight, he can jink. If you stand off him, he can pass.

“Normally a winger, he’s really quick and he can run at you, but he doesn’t have the knowledge to pass. He can.”

Ally McCoist praised Dani Olmo, who came into Spain’s starting lineup after Pedri’s injury in their quarter-final match against Germany.

“I don’t know if you agree or not but you need little things to go your way sometimes in tournaments and Toni Kroos’ tackle on Pedri in the first 10 minutes of the game, as tragic as it was for Pedri, they’ve given them another gear with Dani Olmo,” he said on Talksport.

“He was magnificent when he came on against Germany and he’s carried that form on and it’s amazing how things in tournaments just sometimes go your way, even if the things that go for you end up going for you and that’s an example of that.”

Which Spain player is most likely to win Euro 2024 Player of the Tournament?

If the Spanish national team is triumphant over England, then someone among them will be named player of the tournament. The prize is often heavily weighted in favour of attacking players, which should be to Yamal’s advantage, especially if he has a spectacular final.

The recently turned 17-year-old has already broken several historical records at Euro 2024 and would be a popular choice to follow in Gianluigi Donnarumma’s footsteps.

However, there’s a strong case to be made that Rodri makes this Spain team tick: the kernel around which the rest of the side’s panache can be constructed. It’s been a well-documented opinion by several teammates of the Man City midfielder that his lack of individual success, with some suggesting he doesn’t have a large enough profile, is a concern.

To his credit, Rodri stresses that the collective comes before the individual, but few would begrudge him taking home this accolade if it came to pass.

Fabián Ruiz, who has settled into Spain’s midfield, can be described as a surprise package at this tournament, so he can’t be ruled out, with the same going for Olmo, co-leading the Golden Boot, and Nico Williams, another credible long-distance shout.

Who are Spain’s statistical leaders?

Spain have scored 13 goals so far at Euro 2024 — only France in 1984 (14) has scored more at a single edition of the UEFA European Championship — spread across nine different players: Dani Olmo (three), Fabián Ruiz (two), Ferran Torres, Mikel Merino, Dani Carvajal, Álvaro Morata, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal, and Rodri (all one).

Regarding chance creation, at least three players have produced ten or more chances: Yamal (16), Pedri and Williams (both 10), with Olmo and Ruiz just one chance behind heading into Sunday’s final. Yamal is also Spain’s leading assist-maker with three; Olmo and Ruiz each have two, and four more players have one assist each, including Mikel Oyarzabal, who is likely to come off the bench.

Spain’s first-choice goalkeeper, Unai Simón, who England’s enigmatic attack should test, has so far kept three clean sheets while making 13 saves (2.6 per game). Regarding the defensive side of the game, full-backs Dani Carvajal and Marc Cucurella have produced a team-high six interceptions (1.5 and 1.2 per game, respectively), while Rodri has made no fewer than 13 tackles (2.6 per game). Aymeric Laporte is responsible for 21 clearances (4.2 per game).

In terms of accumulated playing time, four players have surpassed 450 minutes: Simón (480), Rodri (476), Cucurella (456), and Ruiz (452), while Yamal (417), Morata (386), Oyarzabal (174), and Merino (176) have participated in each of Spain’s previous six matches. All but Oyarzabal and Merino should line up against England, although the latter has proven to be decisive off the bench, notably scoring a dramatic 119th-minute goal against Germany in the quarter-finals.