The Criticism & Defense of Mapi León vs England
The Spanish center back was at the heart of both of England's goals, but she was only culpable for one of them
Spain suffered a heartbreaking defeat to England in the Euro quarterfinal. It was probably the best game at the tournament so far.
This post will look at the two goals Spain conceded and center back Mapi León’s role in both.
England’s First Goal
During the play for England’s first goal, Mapi was caught ball watching instead of being side on so that she could see potential threats from England in the box. She was not able to get to Ella Toone as she equalized for England.
It’s not the first time she has been guilty of this in recent times. The photo below is from the 2022 Women’s Champions League final vs Lyon.
Mapi was not at her best in either of these plays, and it’s something she’ll surely want to improve on in the future.
England’s Second Goal
Mapi is also getting the blame for Georgia Stanway’s game winning goal in extra time.
I definitely understand the critiques of Mapi’s defending here. It goes against almost everything we are taught about defending.
If she puts in a challenge or sticks a foot in, Stanway may not have scored that goal. Simple, right?
I don’t believe it’s that simple, and I don’t have a lot of criticism for Mapi for what she did on Stanway’s goal.
For starters, the shot itself didn’t have a high probability of going in. According to Statsbomb it had 0.06 xG.
Mapi is not your average defender, and she probably knew that Stanway’s shot was not a high goal scoring chance. The shot was also taken outside of the frame of the goal which made it a more difficult opportunity as well.
Rather than risk a deflection, or giving a foul away in a dangerous area, Mapi decided to retreat and make her body small.
Some who read this may not agree with it or understand it. Regardless, I highly recommend that you read this article by Chris Summersell.
In his article, he analyzes how Liverpool allow shots from low percentage locations, actively make themselves smaller when confronted with a long-range efforts and give minimal to no effort to step and put pressure on players taking these shots.
Should Mapi have done something different in that situation? Probably, but we always have 20/20 vision with hindsight.
Conclusion
Some of the defending from Spain at this tournament hasn’t been good, and as a key player in the defense, Mapi has some responsibility for that.
According to The Analyst, only 3 teams have scored 2 goals on 3 shots on goal or fewer. Spain was the conceding team on two of those three occasions (against Germany and England). When Spain do concede chances, those chances are converted into goals.
Taking a look at the bigger picture, though, it is amazing to me the tight rope that she and her center back partner Irene Paredes have to walk when they play for Barcelona and Spain.
She is also the master of all trades: she is the counterattack stopping left center back, the de facto left back, and the deep lying 6 that acts as a playmaker. Few if any players can match her versatility at an elite level.
However, in two of the most important games for club and country this season, it is the simple things that have let her down.
Interesting perspective.
That said, I disagree with the premise of allowing the player to take a shot in this instance mainly because the match was in overtime; and a "free look" not matter how low the xG may be statistically, should not be taken for granted. Perhaps that works over the course of the game as in the Liverpool discussion, but the situation analysis as it unfolded demanded a challenge.
I would also suggest that the GK was somewhat culpable by not anticipating a shot from distance and remaining on or near the goal line. Sure one can posit many "what-ifs" such as a possible pass; yet by dint of Mapi retreating, and without any other challenge by Spain occurring, it was fairly obvious that a shot would be taken..