Women's Champions League tactical analysis: Eva Navarro's decisive crossing shows importance of precision from wide areas
Thursday, February 19, 2026
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UEFA Technical Observer Gemma Grainger analyses the impact of Player of the Match Eva Navarro in Real Madrid’s second-leg victory over Paris FC.
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Eva Navarro "played a huge role in Real Madrid's attacking play," agreed the UEFA Technical Observer Group after the 25-year-old helped Real Madrid secure passage to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Women's Champions League with a Player of the Match performance against Paris FC. "She was directly involved in both goals: the first came from the excellent quality of her cross, while the second stemmed from her high regain and delivery that led to the own goal."
UEFA Technical Observer Gemma Grainger analyses what made those deliveries so difficult to defend during Madrid's 2-0 second-leg win in Spain: "The switch of play, and the positioning of Filippa Angeldahl to create an extra pass in the switch, fixes the defender who jumps out, which allows Navarro space on the outside and time to take her touch, with the defending player finding it hard to affect the action because of the extra pass.
"Then the technical execution of the cross, with the inside of her foot, in behind the defensive line and between the defence and the goalkeeper, makes it a very difficult ball to defend, with Naomie Feller applying an excellent touch in the middle of the goal.
"The height of the cross is also very important to miss the first defender, but when it arrives in the centre of the goal it is not a cross that is easily dealt with because it is at mid-body height. It can’t be headed cleanly and it can’t be dealt with easily on the floor either."
"This detail in terms of the execution of the cross makes it a high-quality delivery, along with the area that it is put into, between the goalkeeper and the defence,” Grainger continued.
"The early cross between the back line and the goalkeeper, especially from the right, looked to be a clear tactic, and this came as a result of having more numbers in wide areas and more midfield rotation after the half-time substitution, allowing Angeldahl to take a higher position in the absence of Caroline Weir (who was replaced by Sandie Toletti).
"These crosses are hard to defend because the goalkeeper will often not come for them, and the defenders are running back towards their own goal, facing their own goal, where any kind of contact can sometimes result in an own goal."
Coaching observation: The evolving full-back
The return leg of this knockout phase play-off tie also highlighted the continued evolution of the full-back role, with attacking contribution and positional versatility increasingly defining the position at the highest level of the women's game.
"The modern day full-back role has evolved with the attacking qualities of this position becoming more highlighted both in wide and central areas, with many examples of this throughout the men's and women's games. In this position, excelling in possession helps teams to create overload situations and crossing situations with more quality," explained Grainger.
Eva Navarro herself has developed into that profile. The Spaniard had plenty of offensive experience at youth level, including being top scorer for her country at the 2018 Women's Under-17 EURO won by Spain, when she also made the Team of the Tournament. "I had never played as a full-back before, but [Real Madrid coach] Pau Quesada spoke to me at the beginning of the season and told me to have confidence in that position. In the end, I'm fast and I think I've improved a lot defensively. And, being a winger, I always have the ability to get forward. I'm happy to help the team in this position," commented Navarro post-match.
Gemma Grainger began her managerial career in women’s club football with Leeds United and Middlesbrough before moving into international coaching with The Football Association, where she spent over a decade leading various England youth teams. She is a former Wales WNT head coach and now serves as the head coach of Norway’s women’s national team.
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