Spain wrap up perfect Euro 2024 campaign with victory over England

Daryl Finch

Malaga

Monday, 15 July 2024, 00:55

Spain have been crowned champions of Europe for a fourth time after a hard-fought and deserved 2-1 win over England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday night.

Victory in the Olympic Stadium was a culmination of an incredible journey over the past month as Luis de la Fuente's side won all seven of their matches, a feat never before achieved in the tournament. This run included some unforgettable performances against giants of the sport such as Italy, Germany and France.

The side carried their positive momentum into the Sunday's final, largely outplaying an England side that only managed two clear chances throughout the match - both in the second half.

That said, just before the break, Harry Kane had a half chance blocked by Rodri, which led to the Manchester City man not re-emerging in the second half.

While that appeared to be a major boost for England, just two minutes after the restart, the impressive Nico Williams, who had terrorised Kyle Walker in the first half, found the opening goal.

The Athletic Club winger was picked out perfectly by his partner in crime, Lamine Yamal, and added the finishing touch to a fast-paced move with a first-time finish past Jordan Pickford.

This goal signalled the start of the brightest period of the game for Spain, who started to find plenty of space between the lines.

First, Dani Olmo flashed a shot wide before Álvaro Morata had an effort cleared off the line by John Stones.

Williams then almost doubled his tally with an excellent long-range strike that whistled past the post.

Lamine, who just turned 17 the day before the final, threatened the England goal again, drawing an excellent low save from Pickford in the 65th minute after cutting in onto his left foot.

Seeing that the momentum of the game had firmly switched, England boss Gareth Southgate, having already removed his captain, made another bold substitution, replacing Kobbie Mainoo with Cole Palmer.

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That change paid almost immediate dividends as the Chelsea man curled the ball into the bottom corner after a neat lay-off by Jude Bellingham.

Having squeezed past Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands in the previous rounds, often benefitting from a stroke of luck, England had hope once more. However, their conservative approach in the final ten minutes was insufficient against a Spanish side still brimming with confidence.

Despite the setback, Spain went in pursuit of the winning goal. Lamine forced another save from Pickford in similar fashion to his previous chance before substitute Mikel Oyarzabal sealed the victory for La Roja.

With just four minutes of normal time remaining, the Real Sociedad forward swept home Marc Cucurella's low cross from the left to ensure it wasn't "coming home" once more.

"Today, I won't be able to fully get my head around what we've achieved, the magnitude of this title. It has been the perfect European Championship," said De la Fuente following the match.

"There's still a lot more this side can achieve but I hope you recognise the merit of this group and give credit where it's due."