England, beware: Spain wing wizards Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams can wreck Euro 2024 dream | OneFootball

The standout pair have toyed with opponents all tournament

As Gareth Southgate plots the perfect ending to his eight years as England manager, his hopes of securing it rest heavily on nullifying a right-winger who was nine when he got the job.

Space and time seem to work differently for Lamine Yamal. With very little space, he has shown at Euro 2024 that he can open up a game with his cultured left foot and with close control most top wingers would envy.

And in precious little time — he turned 17 on Saturday — he has gone from being cradled by Lionel Messi as a six-month-old baby in a now-viral photo to taking this tournament by storm as the youngest player in Euros history.

Yamal toyed with Adrien Rabiot before equalising against France in Tuesday's semi-final with a majestic, curling effort. If it was Kylian Mbappe and France whose dreams he was crushing, then why could it not be his El Clasico rival Jude Bellingham and England on Sunday? England must be very careful.

Danger men: Yamal (left) and Wiliams

AFP via Getty Images

In a twist of fate, the tournament-long saga of whether Luke Shaw is fit to start on the left ahead of Kieran Trippier took a new turn on Wednesday when Trippier felt pain in his groin before Shaw replaced him against Holland. Whether it is left-footed Shaw or right-footed Trippier, England's left wing-back must be on high alert.

Yamal craves nothing more than to cut in from the right onto his left foot, getting a shot away or laying off for a team-mate more centrally.

So, despite Shaw now being fit, this could be just the game for Trippier, if available. After all, Yamal would be cutting in onto Trippier's favoured side. The Newcastle man has defended well this tournament. It is further forward where having a wrong-footed left-back has hurt England.

The risk with Shaw is that, defensively sound though he also is, he is likely to bomb on further up the pitch than Trippier would, and further than Kyle Walker on the other flank.

Barca's Yamal will be the most direct, most mercurial player they have faced. Any space afforded to him by Shaw would spell immediate danger for England. Give him an inch and he'll take much more, and the records will continue to tumble.

Switch off down the Spanish left and there will be trouble for England, too, though. Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams terrorised Italy in the group stage and would similarly cause England serious problems if gifted enough room.

Barcelona cannot afford to buy Williams this summer, but it is little surprise they want him. Who would not want Yamal on one wing and Williams on the other? They have arguably been the two best players of Euro 2024.

The other candidate for that title is Spain's No10, Dani Olmo, and therein lies the reason why Luis de la Fuente's side pose England's biggest challenge yet.

Their attack functions not only out wide, but also through the middle, where Olmo and Fabian Ruiz have caused havoc, exchanging snappy passes that have tempted centre-backs into ill-judged lunges.

No one at the tournament has scored more than RB Leipzig's Olmo, with three, and only one player has more assists: the boy wonder Yamal. England have their work cut out.