Sunday, July 14, 2024, will go down as a memorable day in the history of Spanish sports.
Sergio Garcia earned his first title in four years by besting India’s Anirban Lahiri in a playoff at LIV Golf Andalucia. Carlos Alcaraz repeated as the men’s champions at Wimbledon by beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
To top it all off, the Spanish men’s team defeated England in a dramatic Euro 2024 final courtesy of substitute Mikel Oyarzabal’s winning goal in the 86th minute.
Here’s a recap of Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.
THE RESULT
Spain 2, England 1 in Berlin: Match report || Match stats
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Spain: 7 games, 7 wins – the class of the tournament
From start to finish, Spain was the best team at Euro 2024 and La Roja are deserved winners of a record fourth European championship. Spain won all seven of its games in Germany, never needing the benefit of a penalty shootout, dumping the hosts out of the tournament, topping a difficult group that included defending champions Italy, defeating No. 2-ranked France in the semifinals and beating a pesky England side in the final.
Much has been made of the resilience that England has shown at Euro 2024 (more on that later), but don’t discount the determination that the Spanish displayed at this tournament, especially in the final. The Spaniards completely outworked and outplayed their English counterparts through the opening 45 minutes, but went into halftime knotted at 0-0. Influential midfielder Rodri was subbed out at the start of the second half, a big blow for a team that was already missing the equally impactful Pedri due to injury.
The Spanish didn’t lose their focus, though, and took a deserved lead in the 47th minute through Nico Williams. It was a just reward for manager Luis de la Fuentes’ side who carried the overwhelming majority of play up to that point. And even when Cole Palmer equalized for England on a quick counterattack after a failed scoring chance at the other end of the pitch, Spain quickly regrouped and reasserted itself, confident that its patient possession game would be too much for the English to handle.
And so, it was. Spain tightened the screws on England with wave after wave of attacking pressure before the levee finally broke when Mikel Oyarzabal scored the game-winner with four minutes remaining in regulation time. Spain’s deserved victory over England was a testament not only to their skill and determination but also to its belief in the style of football it has become famous for playing.
No comeback this time for England
England’s passage through to the Euro 2024 final was secured on the strength of its resilience rather than its overall quality. The Three Lions went down in each of their previous three knockout stage matches. Each time they came from behind to win and advance to the next round. But there was no comeback for an uninspiring English side this time around as playing not to lose finally caught up with them against the far superior Spanish.
Gareth Southgate’s team defended well in this tournament, making it tough for opponents to break them down. At the same time, England showed a shocking lack of interest to attack or force the issue in the final third of the pitch. Only when they went down in games did the English start to come to life, as was the case on Sunday. Down 1-0 after Nico Williams’ goal, the Three Lions suddenly roared to life as their life flashed before their eyes. Changes by Southgate resulted in the equalizer by substitute Cole Palmer just minutes after he stepped onto the pitch.
But old habits die hard and England regressed into its defensive shell and invited Spain to come at them, rather than use Palmer’s equalizer as inspiration to go looking for a second goal. They paid for that lack of bravery with substitute Mikel Oyarzabal’s game-winner. Fifty-eight years on, the English men’s team is still waiting for it to “come home.”
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Spain hoisted the Henri Delaunay Trophy as champions of Europe for a record fourth time:
SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY
Spain’s Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal remained tied at the hip both on and off the field during this entire tournament:
AMAZING STATISTIC
FC Barcelona youngster Lamine Yamal was one the best players at Euro 2024 and created more chances than anybody else at the tournament, which was even more impressive considering he only turned 17 on Saturday:
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
Nico Williams (Spain): Drove the Spanish attack forward with his probing runs down the left flank and scored the opener with a smart finish from a tight angle off a feed from Lamine Yamal.
Lamine Yamal (Spain): The Spanish teenager set up Williams’ goal and unbalanced England’s defence with his pace and skill on the ball in the second half after a quiet opening 45 minutes.
Marc Cucurella (Spain): The Chelsea fullback did an excellent job of helping to marshal a Spanish back line and collected the assist on Mikel Oyarzabal’s late-game winner.
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. TFC Republic can be found here.