Spain became European champions for a record fourth time. This victory looks like a logical result of a tournament with one stable top team, but in the decisive match not everything was so simple. Not even without a miraculous rescue — the Sport correspondent shares the details of the gorgeous show at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
Euro 202414 July 2024 • starts at 22:00Finished
EnglandEngland
47' • Nico Williams (Lamin Yamal)
86' • Mikel Oyarzabal (Mark Cucurella)
73' • Col Palmer (Jude Bellingham)
«Red furia» approached the final as the undisputed favorite. The Spaniards were the only ones to pass the group stage with three wins in three matches, and in the playoffs they beat the sensation of the tournament Georgia, the hosts of the championship Germany and the always dangerous, but unusually lackluster France at this Euro.
What about Gareth Southgate's team? During the tournament, only the lazy did not scold her. Even English fans criticized the coach for his overly cautious style, boring and unspectacular play… Phil Foden, who had a great season, did not show his level, and team captain Harry Kane did not always live up to the expectations placed on him.
England's «boring» style extended to both halves of the pitch. In the first half, Spain had more possession of the ball, but there were no dangerous chances in front of either Jordan Pickford or Unai Simon. The fans had to wait until the last minutes of the first half for the first shot on target. And, contrary to the pattern of the game, the British delivered it: Foden, while falling, completed a cross from a free-kick, but the Spanish goalkeeper competently took his position and collected the ball.
And how everything changed with the start of the second half! The alarming substitution of Rodri for Subimendi due to injury did not at all affect the Spanish dominance. Already in the 47th minute, Carvajal launched the ball into the opposing half of the field, and Lamin Yamal and Nico Williams sorted it out. The first pushed the ball into the free space to his partner, and the latter easily hit the far corner.
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Separately, it is necessary to note Yamal’s performance at this Euro. The Barcelona prodigy not only broke a ton of records, but was also an asset to the team throughout the tournament. He has a goal and as many as four assists (the best result in assists at the tournament).
A minute after Williams' goal, Dani Olmo could have finally buried the English hopes for the long-awaited title. He received the ball in the penalty area at approximately the same point where his attacking partner scored, but the Leipzig midfielder's shot failed and the ball went wide.
It seemed that after the goal conceded, the English team fell apart. The opening 10 minutes of the second half included not only Williams' goal and Olmo's shot from a killer position, but also dangerous moments from Morata and (again) Williams. Gareth Southgate's team snapped back with a shot from Jude Bellingham from outside the penalty area. Real Madrid's «five» turned around with the ball in Zidane-style, leaving two of the opponent's defenders out of work, but the shot lacked precision.
At this Euro, the England team only starts to really play football after conceding a goal. Especially in the playoffs — the British bounced back in the match with the Slovaks, and the Swiss, and the Netherlands. They pulled off their trick on Sunday: Saka ran down the left flank, passed into the penalty area to Bellingham, and he rolled under Cole Palmer, who had entered the field three minutes earlier. The leader of Chelsea's attacks was accurate.
The Spaniards rushed to restore their advantage and succeeded again. Defender Mark Cucurella crossed into the penalty area from the left flank, and fresh Mikel Oyarzabal, miraculously avoiding offside, poked the ball past Pickford. According to the graphics shown later, it became clear that millimeters separated the Spaniards from canceling the goal.
In the 90th minute, the British could save themselves again. Palmer took the corner, Declan Rice's header was parried by Simon, but the ball landed right on the head of Mark Gehi, who was in the goalkeeper's area. The Crystal Palace defender finished off the goal, and Olmo cleared the ball from the goal line, ruining a great chance at the opponent's goal in the first half.
Olmo saved the Spaniards from possible extra time and even a penalty shootout, while at the same time becoming one of the top scorers in the tournament. For the first time in the history of the Euro, there were six of them at once: in addition to Olmo, the Golden Boot was shared by the Dutchman Cody Gakpo, the Georgian Georges Mikautadze, the German Jamal Musiala, the Slovakian Ivan Schranz and… Kane. The England captain had no chance to improve his result — Southgate removed him from the game in the 60th minute in favor of Ollie Watkins.
Rodri was recognized as the best player of the tournament. The Manchester City midfielder left the field at half-time due to injury, but throughout the tournament he routinely did a huge amount of work: tackling, passing and even scoring. We take into account the excellent season at the club, the performance at the Euro… We get a strong bid for the Golden Ball.
* * *Southgate’s England this time did not have enough safety margin, which allowed them to recoup from match to match, snatch victories, play boring games draws in the group stage and endure endlessly. The Spaniards won each of the seven matches at the Euro and rightly took a record fourth trophy. And, given the impressive performance of Yamal and company at the tournament, this team still has something to say at the American World Cup 2026.
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