Spain lined up in their oft-seen back three, with “true” wingers Marta Cardona and Mariona Caldentey on the flanks in place of typical fullbacks, such as Ona Batlle, Marta Corrdera, or Leila Ouahabi.
It was an aggressive move and signaled Spain’s desire to dominate proceedings and take the game to their opponents.
The Netherlands also went fairly offensive in their selection and ended up defending primarily in the uncommon 4-3-3 mid-block, with Lieke Martens, Jill Roord, and Vivianne Miedema staying high and narrow. This may have had dual objectives: blocking off central passing lanes and ensuring that counter-attacking outlets existed as soon as the ball was won.