England made history on Wednesday night when Gareth Southgate’s side qualified for back-to-back European Championship finals for the first time in the nation’s history with a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Netherlands. A penalty from Harry Kane was followed by a dramatic last-minute goal from Ollie Watkins to cancel out an opening strike from Xavi Simons to push the Three Lions through to a dramatic showdown with Spain. There the most valuable squad in the competition will take on the third most valuable squad, with several of Europe’s best players locking horns for the chance to call themselves the continental champions. So which players would make it into a combined starting XI of the two star-studded squads?
Intriguingly enough, when it comes to market values both Spain and England are notably lacking in defence. Only one player across both squads ranks in the top 25 most valuable defenders in the world and that happens to be a player that has struggled to break into England’s starting XI, in the form of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Regardless, the Liverpool star has made our team at right back. He’s followed by Crystal Palace star Marc Guéhi as the only England star in defense, with Spain’s Robin Le Normand joining the young player in the center of defense, Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Alejandro Grimaldo on the left flank, and Arsenal and Spain goalkeeper David Raya between the sticks. Interestingly enough, despite the nation’s solid defensive record at the tournament, four of Southgate’s preferred defenses are aged 30 or over. Which explains why they all have much lower market values.
Naturally, the centre of the park is where Sunday’s final may be won or lost and it’ll come as no surprise that this is where many of Spain and England’s most valuable players play their football. Jude Bellingham became the joint most valuable player in the world this season thanks to his performances for Real Madrid, which comfortably makes him the most valuable midfielder between both nations. Following in his footsteps is England central midfielder Declan Rice, who remains tied in market value with Spain and Manchester City rival Rodri with both players being valued at €120m. This remarkable trio is well ahead of the rest of the chasing pack, with the next most valuable midfielders across both nations being Pedri and Cole Palmer who are valued €40m less than Rice and Rodri. As such, there’s very little to debate over who the best midfielders are among England and Spain’s squads.
The Spain and England Combined XI
Where England may have struggled in defense, they undoubtedly thrive in attack. Despite being 30 years old, Harry Kane is comfortably the most valuable striker among both nations, with a market value of €100m. This is considerably higher than Mikel Oyarzabal (€45m), Álvaro Morata (€16m), and Joselu (€5m), who are all worth less than England’s backup strikers Ollie Watkins (€65m) and Ivan Toney (€50m). Considering the talent on each wing in the form of Nico Williams (€60m) and Lamine Yamal (€90m), Spain should be able to make a strong claim to have players in the attacking line of the combined starting XI, but both youngsters are still some way behind England’s more established Premier League stars Phil Foden (€150m) and Bukayo Saka (€140m). As such, England can lay claim to all three attacking positions although both teams will be hopeful of scoring numerous goals in the final against their foes.
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