For the second European Championship final in only three years, football is not coming home. And for the fourth consecutive major tournament, England have come close to ending decades of heartbreak on the international stage.
The Three Lions fought valiantly but were deservedly beaten 2-1 by Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
This means that England’s trophy wait will extend to 60 years by the 2026 World Cup, after they had reached this year’s showpiece by being a side that never played well but still managed to capitalise on moments thanks to clutch contributions by their top players.
Spain, on the other hand, have become the first team to win four European Championships as they won all seven matches in this edition. It was a dominant showing from start to finish for La Roja and there can be no arguments that they were truly deserving winners.
It was a combative first half in the final that left little between both teams as they effectively cancelled each other out. For once, it appeared as though Spain’s breathtaking wingers could actually be stopped, and Rodri’s half-time substitution felt like a swing in momentum for England.
As it were, Kyle Walker and Luke Shaw had only delayed the inevitable as the Spanish wing duo combined within 70 seconds of the second period. Lamine Yamal burst down the right flank and as he cut inside a disorganized England defence, rolled across to Nico Williams in space to drive into the far corner of the net.
This final had finally burst into life and Gareth Southgate predictably rolled the dice by bringing on semifinal heroes Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer. Bukayo Saka led a counterattack and found Jude Bellingham in the box who laid it off for Palmer to find the far bottom corner of the net.
The Chelsea man had only been on the pitch for two minutes and it looked like Southgate’s changes would save the day again. However, the superior Spaniards restored their lead with four minutes of normal time left as Mikel Oyarzabal found Marc Cucurella wide who rolled it back across for the former to slide in for the match-winner.
A significant victory for football
Despite England banging on the door in recent tournaments, it is Spain who leave Germany as champions and La Roja could be about to carve another dominant era in international football.
Spain have a great mix of youth, experience, fight, desire and pride in their history. They defeated all of Croatia, Italy, Germany, France and England to achieve this latest silverware and worked their socks off while at it to leave no doubts that they were by far the best team at Euro 2024.
Indeed, the Royal Spanish Football Federation is vindicated by their decision to hire Luis de la Fuente after parting with the eccentric Luis Enrique following the 2022 FIFA World Cup. After winning the under-19 and under-21 Euros with Spain’s youth teams, the 63-year-old won the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League before pulling off this thrilling quartet of continental achievements.
The Spanish team played with conviction as they took the game to every single opponent who had the misfortune of coming up against them. This was particularly refreshing in a tournament that had produced far too many boring games because of negative tactics.
Entertaining football captures the hearts of fans and neutrals but Spain showed that it still wins major tournaments. Only a few hours before Argentina equalled their achievement of winning three consecutive competitions, Spain had gone clear as record Euros champions while England became the first nation to lose consecutive European finals
This was a case of beauty beating the beast as front-foot, attacking football triumphed over pragmatism and being reactive. For the umpteenth time, England failed to keep the ball and control the game in big moments when they needed to.
Although Southgate deserves massive credit for changing the culture of the Three Lions and getting them closer than they’ve ever been to silverware since 1966, his in-game tactics fell short once again at the highest level.
Southgate’s persistence with his preferred starters and habit of making changes only when the team went behind – they conceded first in all their knockout games – only proved detrimental to the team’s potential.
Harry Kane’s unwillingness, or perhaps inability, to offer his team a solid outlet upfront was a particular sticking point as he often joined Bellingham and Phil Foden in congested central areas. Without enough willing runners off the ball, England lacked forward thrust while Kane was uninterested in getting into the box to finish off chances.
Pertinently, the England captain and record goalscorer had missed the end of Bayern Munich’s season while Bellingham faded in the second half of the campaign after 18 of his 23 club goals had come before the turn of the year.
Although Kane predictably had another miserable outing in the final but ended up in a six-way tie for the Golden Boot (alongside Dani Olmo, Cody Gakpo, Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze and Ivan Schranz), he looked well off the pace and has now lost two finals as England captain and is still yet to win a single trophy for club or country.
Southgate explained his captain’s underwhelming showings:
“Physically, it’s been a tough period for Harry. He came in short of games and didn’t quite get up to the level we’d all hope.
“We felt Ollie’s freshness would allow us to press a bit better and offer us a threat in behind. I thought they both did what we wanted.”
England had the best squad in terms of individual quality and depth, and the sheer number of game-altering substitutions back it up. But Southgate could have better utilised this squad by setting up to go for the win from the start of games, rather than sticking with his lieutenants and hoping for subs to deliver clutch moments.
Pertinently, England’s historical underperformance at major tournaments have also defined the four crucial matches in which Southgate has failed to get his team over the line. They failed to take the initiative in possession and had less of the ball than their opponents.
The inquest now begins and although the 53-year-old refused to discuss his England future in TV interviews after losing the final, the FA reportedly wants Southgate to remain beyond his contract that expires in December.
Individual glory
Had England won, Bellingham would have been a shoo-in for the Ballon d’Or award following his La Liga and Champions League victories at club level. With Real Madrid teammate Vinicius Junior also getting knocked out of the Copa America with Brazil in the quarterfinals, the prestigious honour has to go to someone else.
Rodri seems to be that deserving individual after capping off yet another memorable campaign with the Euro 2024 Player of the Year award following his Premier League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and now Euros triumphs.
The elite defensive midfielder has been synonymous with winning teams over the past two years and having added clutch goals to his game – including the winner in the 2023 Champions League final – there is arguably no better midfielder in world football at the moment.
“I know legendary midfielders have never achieved it, but I would love for a defensive midfielder like myself to win it,” the Manchester City man told France Football.
“That would mean a lot, both for the recipient and for young players who want to play in that position, so they know they have the right to be recognised, even if they don’t score goals or aren’t particularly flashy in their game.” Rodri said.
The consummate team player is what makes Spain and Man City tick, and having had a long unbeaten run when he’s been on the pitch, few players are more deserving of football’s biggest individual recognition.
In a year of forward players not standing out, it is time for a serial winner to extol the virtues of a team game.
