Spain won its record fourth European soccer championship, getting an 86th-minute goal from Mikel Oyarzabal to beat England in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday in Berlin.
Spain won all seven games it played at Euro 2024, being crowned champions to cap one of the most dominant international tournament performances in history.
“I couldn’t be happier. To see the fans, to see the players,” Spain manager Luis de la Fuente said. “For me, they are the best in the world and today I confirm that definition.”
Nico Williams provided the first goal for Spain, scoring less than two minutes into the second half after a scoreless opening 45. Spain looked the better team throughout the match, but England’s Cole Palmer scored the tying goal in the 73rd minute.
Spain previously won the tournament in 1964, 2008 and 2012 and were tied with Germany as the only three-time champions.
This is England’s second consecutive runner-up finish, having lost to Italy in the final of Euro 2020. The country has never won a European championship and its last major international tournament win was the 1966 World Cup.
“Losing in a final is as tough as it gets,” England captain Harry Kane said postgame.
Here’s how Sunday’s match unfolded:
Spain substitution Mikel Oyarzabal scored off an assist from Marc Cucurella in the 86th minute, the go-ahead goal in the dying minutes of regular time.
England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford sprung into action with a big stop on Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal in the 82nd minute. Spain continues to win the ball high up the pitch and England is defending furiously in the final minutes of regular time.
Minutes after coming on as a substitute, Cole Palmer scored the equalizer for England, a low-left footed shot from outside the penalty area in the 73rd minute.
The goal came out of nowhere for England, but it was quite a move with Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham setting up Palmer in the build-up. The 22-year-old has a breakout debut season with Chelsea, scoring 22 Premier League goals after a move from Manchester City.
England’s 19-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was subbed off in the 70th minute, replaced by the more attacking-minded Cole Palmer for the last 20 minutes of the final with Spain up 1-0.
Spain removed captain Alvaro Morata for the final 20 minutes, replacing him with wide midfielder Mikel Oyarzabal.
England’s semifinal hero Ollie Watkins replaced captain Harry Kane in the 61st minute, with manager Gareth Southgate trying to find a spark trailing 1-0 in the final.
Watkins scored England’s winner in the 90th minute against the Netherlands after coming on as a substitute.
Spain has kept up constant pressure in the 10 minutes since Nico Williams’ goal, winning the ball high up the pitch to create multiple scoring opportunities, with Dani Olmo and Williams each having a look and John Stones being required to clear near the goal line.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Spain’s Nico Williams smashed past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford for the first goal of the game. The score finished off a sweeping move featuring 17-year-old Lamine Yamal slotting the pass through to Williams.
Williams, who plays for Athletic Bilbao, turned 22 years old on Friday.
Spain’s midfield star Rodri was removed at halftime of the final, being replaced by Martín Zubimendi due to injury.
The 28-year-old Rodri has won four consecutive English Premier League titles with Manchester City and is considered perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the world.
It was an entertaining first half at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, with Spain dominating possession. Spain kept the pressure up throughout the first 45 minutes – though England has very much settled into the game – forcing six corners to England’s one.
England has defended well as a unit, but Nico Williams has looked dangerous on the left side of Spain’s attack.
England captain Harry Kane received a yellow card for going spikes-up into a challenge. The booking was just minutes after Kane was seen speaking to referee François Letexier over Dani Carvajal not getting a yellow card for bringing down Bukayo Saka to end an England attack.
England defender Kyle Walker came up limping after a tackle along the sideline, but has remained in the game for the time being. Manager Gareth Southgate now has potential substitution Kieran Trippier warming up.
Walker looks to be alright though, powering forward from the back line in the 15th minute to force a corner kick with a low cross.
Spain has had 83% possession in the first 10 minutes of the Euro 2024 final, completing 86 passes to England’s 13.
Spain has had plenty of the ball around England’s penalty area, but they’ve been unable to find a breakthrough. England has defended well, but the damn may have to break at some point.
The 2024 European championship final is underway at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. England has never won the Euros, while Spain is trying to win for the fourth time – which would break a tie with Germany for the most of any country.
England has kept a low block in the opening minutes, opting not to press Spain too high up the field.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente made two changes to his starting side for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final. After missing Spain’s semifinal win over France, defenders Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand return from suspension in place of Nacho and Jesus Navas.
LINEUP: Unai Simon (GK); Dani Carvajal, Aymeric Laporte, Robin Le Normand, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams; Alvaro Morata (c).
Manager Gareth Southgate made one change from the semifinal win over the Netherlands, bringing Luke Shaw in for Kieran Trippier. Shaw scored a goal in the Euro 2020 final.
LINEUP: Jordan Pickford (GK); Kyle Walker, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Luke Shaw; Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka; Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Harry Kane (c)
François Letexier is the referee for the Euro 2024 final, the 35-year-old Frenchman becoming the youngest-ever to handle a European championship final.
“It’s a huge event, it’s so emotional for the players and for the spectators, so we must expect the unexpected,” Letexier told UEFA.com.
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Captain Harry Kane and his England teammates are desperate to banish the disappointment of losing the last European championship final by overcoming Spain in Sunday’s decider in Berlin, and winning a first major trophy in almost 60 years.
Kane is one of eight of the squad in Germany who competed three years ago when England lost at home to Italy, beaten at Wembley on post-match penalties.
“A lot of us after that final were, obviously, heartbroken with the result. And, as always, it’s a long journey getting back to where we are now. So full credit to the boys for the resilience that they’ve shown,” Kane said at Saturday’s pre-final press conference.
“And yeah, it just speaks volumes for the mentality of this squad. So we’re really happy to be back in another European final and, of course, we’re really desperate to go that one step further than what we did last time.”
— Reuters
Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz was not on many people’s radar when Euro 2024 began after struggling to hold down a starting place at PSG and the national team.
But after a string of dazzling performances in Germany, he is finally making fans and pundits take note.
The 28-year-old, has been a motor for Spain during their six-win charge to Sunday’s final against England in Berlin’s Olympiastadion where his team are after a record fourth Euros title.
Fabian has been one of the uplifting stories of the tournament, becoming a cornerstone of coach Luis de la Fuente’s project after almost two years being overlooked by former boss Luis Enrique who left him out of the 2022 World Cup squad.
– Reuters
Spain’s Jesus Navas is retiring at the end of the year and has been nursing a hip injury for about five seasons, but nothing will stop the 38-year-old going into battle for one last big trophy in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final against England.
Navas, who has been with the team for 15 years, is the last remaining player of Spain’s golden generation that won the world and European titles more than a decade ago.
A World Cup winner in 2010 and a European champion two years later, Navas, who is retiring in December, wants to cap a sensational career with another title.
“I have been having a problem with my hip for four or five years but playing… for my country is everything for me,” Navas told a press conference on Saturday.
“Afterwards everything hurts but it is about giving it all you have on the day, to be the same person with the same kind of humility.”
– Reuters
Gareth Southgate is 90 minutes away from completing his eight-year mission to “win the respect of the football world,” when a win over Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final would finally earn England a slot on the big screen highlights reel.
Southgate gave his penultimate news conference of the tournament in the bowels of Berlin’s Olympiastadion just over 24 hours before his team will run out seeking to finally win another major trophy to go alongside the 1966 World Cup.
The “58 years of hurt” that have followed that Wembley success usually featured a routine of overblown expectation followed by massive disappointment, and Southgate felt that that boom and bust was a self-perpetuating cycle.
“We tried to change the mindset from the start, we’ve tried to be more honest about where we were as a football nation,” he said.
— Reuters
The best advice Spain’s manager Luis de la Fuente can give his players as they prepare to face England in the Euro 2024 final is to stay true to their identity of playing entertaining football, he said on Saturday.
Spain have taken the tournament by storm with six straight wins, including a comeback against France in their semi-final despite missing several key starters.
They did it without sacrificing their attacking style, a mentality and confidence that De la Fuente believes they must stay loyal to for Sunday’s clash.
“If we are not Spain, we have no chance,” De la Fuente told a press conference on Saturday.
– Reuters
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