At the end of a very controlled final, like the whole of its tournament, Spain won against England (2-1) this Sunday, July 14 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. After ten years without a major trophy, La Roja finally returned to the top of European football and became the most successful nation in the competition with this fourth title, which adds to those of 1964, 2008 and 2012. As in 2021, England lost once again in the final and failed to win its first trophy since 1966.
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Spain is once again on top of Europe! At the end of a masterful run in which they dominated the debates, the players of La Roja completed the renaissance of Spanish football by winning the final (2-1) of Euro 2024 in Berlin against an England team once again deprived of its dream of the title at the very last moment.
True to form, the Spanish took control of the game from the first minutes of the match, forcing the English to regroup in front of their area to contain their advance. The contrast between the two teams quickly became striking, as is often the case against La Roja: while Southgate’s men had a hard time getting forward, the Spanish had no trouble getting into their area, such as Nico Williams’ breakthrough sent for a corner by Stones (12th) or Le Normand’s acrobatic overhead kick (13th).
After a listless first fifteen minutes, the Three Lions finally came out of their torpor thanks to a good combination between Saka and Walker, whose cross back did not find a taker in front of the Spanish goal (16th). If the domination of the Roja was well and truly in place (70% possession), it remained sterile after 20 minutes without any shot on target to report for Luis de la Fuente’s players despite the overflowing activity of the impetuous Lamine Yamal on the right wing.
Most of the English attacks were nipped in the bud by the Spanish pressure, with the exception of a solitary ride by Shaw who took advantage of Mainoo’s recovery without creating a real opportunity (25th). After the 30th minute, the English’s rise in power began to be felt with increasingly rough duels between the two teams. Just before half-time, Morata was launched into the area but lacked the skill to put Guéhi in the wind and offer himself a shooting window (42nd). In the process, Foden offered himself the best English opportunity by taking a free kick at the far post without managing to get the better of Unai Simón (45th + 1).
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English resilience was not enough
After seeing the English gradually balance the debate after 45 minutes, the Roja players moved up a gear despite the loss of their playmaker Rodri through injury. Deflected to the far post by a perfectly adjusted pass from Yamal, Nico Williams only had to cross his shot to open the scoring for Spain at the start of the second half of this final (47th, 1-0).
Very effective on his side, the Bilbao player then got himself another cross shot (49th) and a shot from 25 meters which grazed Pickford’s left post (56th). On the verge of seeing his men crack after this cannon start to the period from the Spaniards, Southgate took off his captain Harry Kane, far too discreet, in favor of the joker Ollie Watkins, he who had snatched victory in the semi-final for the Three Lions.
After a missed attempt (64th), Bellingham made up for it by offering a back ball to Palmer, who had come on three minutes earlier, who equalised for England with a low shot deflected just in front of the Spanish goalkeeper (73rd, 1-1). Already blocked by Pickford a quarter of an hour earlier, Yamal once again had the chance to double the lead but did not curl his shot enough to deceive the English goalkeeper (81st).
But by dint of dominating, Oyarzabal ended up finding the fault for the Roja after a low cross propelled into the English goal with the tip of his foot (86th, 2-1). The Lions thought they had equalised once again on the wire, a habit in this Euro, but Simón’s spectacular triple save after headers from Guéhi and Rice put a definitive end to the English title hopes (90th).
La Roja therefore concludes its 2024 European Championship with a perfect record of seven victories in as many matches played and wins the fourth European title in its history after those of 1964, 2008 and 2012. Spain also becomes the most successful nation in the history of the competition ahead of Germany (3 titles) and marks the return of its selection to the summit of European football.