Spain wins the soccer Euros, England keeps crying
The Spanish Football National Team is the European Champion 2024: In the atmospheric final at the Berlin Olympic Stadium, the clear favorites, the Spanish team, defeated England 2:1 (0:0). Mikel Oyarzabal was the match-winner for the Spaniards. England remains titleless since 1966.
Spain's unbeatable ball wizards around Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal completed their flawless success run historically. The favorite climbed the EM throne in Berlin's Olympic Stadium again with a 2:1 (0:0) against England twelve years after the last triumph. While England missed out on the long-awaited trophy once again, the team coached by Luis de la Fuente wrote history.
Williams (47.) scored the lead after a pass from the prodigy Yamal, who is now the youngest European champion ever at 17 years old. Mikel Oyarzabal (86.) sealed the deal: Spain celebrated like in 1964, 2008, and 2012. With the seventh win in the seventh match, Spain took the lead in the European Championship list from Germany (three titles) and surpassed the previous French EM record of 14 goals from 1984.
Southgate goes home empty-handed again
The German team's summer fairy tale ended Spain's progress in the semifinals abruptly. In the Olympic Stadium, where the team coached by de la Fuente had started the tournament on June 15 with a 3:0 against Croatia, Morata and Co. also dashed England's hopes for the first EM title - despite the equalizer by Cole Palmer (73.). After the dramatic penalty shootout defeat against Italy in their own country three years ago, the team coached by Gareth Southgate left empty-handed once again.
On the bench, King Felipe of Spain cheered alongside Prince William and Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Freshly crowned Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz had hoped for another Spanish victory after his triumph against Novak Djokovic. De la Fuente had not wanted to know about being a favorite in the preliminary phase and had urged his team to "be the best version of themselves."
Always Williams
For the showdown against England, Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand returned to the starting lineup after being suspended in the semifinal against France (2:1). Jesus Navas and Nacho took a seat on the bench as a result. Luke Shaw replaced Kieran Trippier in England's midfield and kept the upper hand against Youngster Yamal in their first encounter.
Early on, the ball moved frequently to the Spanish left side, with Williams dribbling towards the English penalty area repeatedly, but was stopped by John Stones (12.). De la Fuente's team started the match in control and with a lot of ball possession, but couldn't capitalize on it. Neither team created dangerous scoring opportunities initially. England became more active, but Rodri blocked a shot from England's captain Harry Kane just before halftime. Shortly afterward, Phil Foden (45.+1) missed the best opportunity of the game so far after a free kick, failing to score past Spain's keeper Unai Simon.
After the break, Spain's wing pairing took over, with Yamal providing the assist for Williams to take the lead. Williams almost set up a goal for himself shortly thereafter, but Dani Olmo missed (49). Williams himself missed a shot wide (56), and Yamal was denied by Jordan Pickford (66). Spain continued to press, and Palmer brought England back into the game. Spain then squeezed the opponent and finally scored the decisive goal through Oyarzabal after a pass from Marc Cucurella. The left-back was sent off for handball against Germany in the quarterfinals and served a 90-minute suspension.
In the excitement following Spain's victory, Jude Bellingham expressed his admiration for Spain's performance, particularly highlighting the impressive performance of Nico Williams, who scored the opening goal at the age of 17. England's next opportunity to compete in the European Football Championship will be in 2028, with the tournament being held in England and Germany. Despite the loss, Harry Kane remained a formidable force for England, creating several chances throughout the match.
