Spain beats England 2-1 to win fourth Euro tittle

La Furia Roja won the Euro 2024 trophy on Sunday, defeating England 2-1 in the final.

The Three Lions suffered their second consecutive Euro final defeat, this time to Italy on penalties in 2021.

The first half had its moments, but it was generally uninteresting in front of the goal. England and Spain combined for only one shot on goal, which came from Phil Foden right before halftime after he received a free kick. However, his shot was directly at Unai Simon.

Spain ended the first half with 70% possession but were mostly shut down in the attacking third, with Nico Williams the most lively down the left flank while 17-year-old Lamine Yamal struggled to get involved.

For England, the best players were left-back Luke Shaw and defensive midfielder Declan Rice, which said a lot about its lack of offensive prowess. Center-forward Harry Kane rarely got involved in the attacking third and saw a shot blocked, but he continued to provide little threat up top.

Despite Spain’s ball dominance, defensive midfielder Rodri had to be substituted at halftime with a rare injury, seeing Martin Zubimendi replace him instead.

But Rodri’s absence didn’t deter Spain’s momentum. Just two minutes into the second half, Yamal found Williams for a left-footed slot into the bottom right corner.

It marked Yamal’s fourth assist of the tournament as he continued to break out on the big stage.

Williams and Dani Olmo each had chances for Spain in the following few minutes, but couldn’t capitalize. England then started to get the ball more around the hour mark, which saw Kane get taken off for semifinal hero Ollie Watkins.

Unsurprisingly, England got into the game more following Kane’s removal. In the 73rd minute, Cole Palmer, who came on for Kobbie Mainoo, fed Bukayo Saka, who laid it off to Jude Bellingham before he laid it off to Palmer for an exquisite outside-the-box strike to level it.

At 22 years and 69 days, Palmer became the youngest ever substitute to score in a Euro final.

The game became even from there, though England’s giveaways in its own half kept giving Spain extra life.

It eventually resulted in another goal, this time seeing left-back Marc Cucurella and forward Mikel Oyarzabal combining on a give-and-go to go up.

Rice and Marc Guehi then each had headers cleared off the line by Olmo and Co. at the dying moments, seeing La Furia Roja through.

With the win, Spain became four-time champions in the tournament. The first came in 1964 — the second ever Euros — before back-to-back victories in 2008 and 2021.

Spain won all seven of its games in the tournament and proved deserving winners, with tougher victories in its run than England, too.

England’s men’s trophy drought persisted despite its wealth of talent and depth across all positions. The Three Lions have never lifted the Euro hardware.

(NBC)