Live: Absolute heartbreak for England as Spain wins Euro final

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Live: Absolute heartbreak for England as Spain wins Euro final

It’s not coming home.

England has been left devastated and Spain are champions of Europe yet again.

The Spaniards dominated their opposition in Monday morning’s Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin and landed the decisive goal in the 86th minute to crush England’s growing confidence.

England’s hopes of ending its 58-year wait to win a men’s major international football tournament were shattered when Spain went ahead 2-1 and held on to win the trophy.

There was late controversy in the match when replays showed the match-winning goal could have been taken off Spain because of a potential offside ruling.

Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal turned home in the 86th minute after Nico Williams sent Spain ahead early in the second half, but England substitute Cole Palmer pulled the Three Lions level in the 73rd minute.

England almost equalised at the ****** but Dani Olmo headed Marc Guehi’s effort off the line to safety.

Spain lands the hammer ***** in controversial moment

Mikel Oyarzabal has scored to put Spain ahead 2-1 in the 86th minute.

Marc Cucurella whipped in a perfect cross and Oyarzabal made no mistake with his tap-in past keeper Jordan Pickford.

The goal was looked at by the VAR with replays showing Oyarzabal may have been offside.

Camera IconThe match-winning goal. Photo: Optus Sport. Credit: Supplieddata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==Camera IconThere was nothing in it. Photo: Optus Sport. Credit: Supplied

Despite the drama, there is no denying Spain was the better team and deserved the victory, having gone through the tournament winning all seven games.

Spain lost influential midfielder Rodri to injury at half-time, but shrugged that off to take the lead within two minutes of the restart through Nico Williams, who was set up by his fellow star winger, Lamine Yamal.

England came from behind as they have done so often at this Euros, as substitute Cole Palmer drove in the equaliser on 73 minutes, moments after entering the fray.

But their resurgence in the game was cut short as Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad forward, turned in a cross in the 86th minute to hand Spain a record fourth ********* Championship crown, and a third in the last five editions.

They previously won in 1964, 2008 and 2012, the last two titles coming either side of their triumph at the 2010 World Cup during the golden era of Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta.

Whether this generation, led by the brilliant Yamal who was playing here a day after his 17th birthday, manage to repeat the achievements of that magnificent side ******** to be seen, but theirs was a fitting victory.

England had hoped to finally claim a first men’s international title since their fabled victory at the 1966 World Cup, but fell just short in their first ever final on foreign soil.

After the agony of their defeat on penalties to Italy three years ago, they are the first side ever to lose back-to-back Euros finals.

Captain Harry Kane, meanwhile, is left at the age of 30 still looking for the first trophy of a career so rich in goals, this defeat coming after a season in which he also won nothing with Bayern Munich.

“Our players are absolutely devastated and I remember four tournaments ago when they played Croatia in the World Cup semi-final I said, ‘I wonder if you will be here again lads’ and they have been here again and again and I have no words for them as they must be absolutely devastated.

“The fans here behind the goal are absolutely devastated, this feels like one time too many for us, it just feels like, how long can this go on for?”

England great Gary Neville said on ITV the whole country has been left “absolutely devastated”.

English legends Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker both said they expect Southgate to stand down from his position.

Lineker said on the BBC: “I suspect Gareth Southgate may have had enough. It is a tough, gruelling job”.

England equalises from out of nowhere

England has equalised against the run of play to set up a grandstand finish.

Spain had been dominating possession and had been peppering the England box with dangerous passes, but it was a counter-attacking goal for England that has flipped the match on its head.

Bukayo Saka started the movement with a long run down the side of the field before his ball into the box ended up with a pass back to Cole Palmer.

Palmer stepped up from outside the box and slotted a classy finish into the back of the net.

Spain breaks deadlock in ‘******* punch’

After a sound defensive performance in the first half, England lasted just one minute before conceding in the second.

Nico Williams had arguably been the player of the first 45 minutes and received the ball with plenty of space before driving his shot home past Kyle Walker and Jordan Pickford.

England will once again have to come from behind if it’s to end its trophy drought.

Spain has been in control since the start of the second half and there were worrying signs for England as soon as they walked back onto the pitch.

“What a calamitous start to the second half,” Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett said from inside the Olympiastadion.

“England were half asleep.”

Former England international Matt Upson described the goal as a “******* punch”.

England were desperate to find a way back into the match and manager Gareth Southgate rolled the dice with his biggest gamble of the tournament by taking off captain Harry Kane in the 61st minute.

Kane struggled to get any touches during the first half and Southgate‘s decision to inject Ollie Watkins into the game did not come as a total surprise.

“Losing in a final is as tough as it gets,” Kane said.

“We done really well to get back in the game at 1-1 and then we couldn’t use our momentum to push on. It’s as painful as it can be in a football match.”

He said he and Southgate will now both take time before deciding on their international careers.

Spain dominates possession but England satisfied

England has made a habit of conceding the first goal in the knockout stage of this tournament but successfully avoided it in the first half of this contest.

Spain dominated the ball in the opening minutes and while not troubling the goalkeeper, Nico Williams did force John Stones into a diving last-ditch intervention in the 12th minute.

England made its first serious foray a quarter of an hour in as Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka combined to release an overlapping Kyle Walker. But his cross was blocked. Still, there were signs England was warming to the contest.

Spain responded as young star Lamine Yamal finally found the ball and the possession split reached 70-30 in the favourites’ favour.

England’s frustrations boiled over as Harry Kane was given a yellow card for a reckless challenge midway through the half. But Spain wasn’t having everything its own way either and saw Dani Olmo booked too.

After half an hour there had been no shots on target as surprise England inclusion Luke Shaw did an impressive job containing Yamal.

Buoyed by their defensive stability, England finished a first half that had very little to offer neutrals the stronger. Kane had a shot blocked and then Phil Foden forced Spanish keeper Unai Simon into his first save in injury time.

Spain may have had more of the ball but you sense England will enter the dressing room just as pleased. The longer this game goes without a goal, the more they’ll like their chances.

“Disappointing first half for the neutrals. Needed an early goal like both semis,” former Socceroo Craig Foster tweeted.

“(Declan) Rice so far doing a great job on Olmo, forcing Spain wide. In which case, the wingers have a greater burden. Williams the standout but, again, like so often for City, Walker’s speed is vital.”

England pulls selection stunner

Today’s finale brings the curtain down on a month of football in Germany in which Spain — featuring teenage sensation Lamine Yamal — has been comfortably the most impressive side.

The Spaniards have already eliminated several of the continent’s heavyweights while winning all six matches en route to the final as they aim to become ********* champions for a record fourth time, after 1964, 2008 and 2012.

England, meanwhile, has often struggled against lesser opposition but produced its best performance yet in beating the Netherlands in the semi-finals, when Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score and seal a 2-1 victory.

But its not Watkins who has earned a starting position today as Southgate made one change.

Luke Shaw will make his first start since February in place of Kieran Trippier at left-back in what’s being seen by many as a surprise move.

The Manchester ******* player has only recently returned to fitness after a long spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury but has appeared as a substitute in the quarter and semi-finals.

Harry Kane will lead the ******* again with Watkins on the bench despite his matchwinning contribution against the Netherlands.

Spain welcomes back right-back Dani Carvajal and French-born central defender Robin Le Normand after both missed the semi-final due to suspension.

Southgate has led England to a second consecutive ********* Championship final as he aims to banish the memory of a penalty shootout loss to Italy at Wembley in the deciding game of the last edition, three years ago.

England’s men have not won a title since the 1966 World Cup which they won on home soil.

“I’m not a believer in ****** tales but I am a believer in dreams,” Southgate said at his pre-match press conference.

England has had several near misses in recent years — reaching the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup and bowing out in the last eight of the 2022 World Cup to France, either side of the Euro 2020 heartache.

*** media reports have suggested that England fans could account for as much as half the crowd inside the 71,000-capacity Olympiastadion, despite both finalists only receiving an official allocation of 10,000 tickets for the match.

The home of Hertha Berlin was also the venue for the 2006 World Cup final, when Italy beat France on penalties.

How both teams made it to the final

A team led by Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham arrived in Germany as one of the leading contenders but won just once, against Serbia, and scored only two goals in topping their group.

They then needed Bellingham to come to the rescue at the ****** against Slovakia in the last 16, in a tie they eventually won in extra time, before prevailing on penalties against Switzerland and edging out the Dutch.

Spain represent comfortably their biggest test yet, as the sides prepare to meet at a major tournament for the first time since Euro 96, when an England team featuring Southgate as a player won on penalties in the quarter-finals.

“Fate, the run that we’ve had, the late goals, the penalties, that doesn’t equate to it being our moment,” Southgate admitted.

“We have to make it happen tomorrow and perform at the level that we need to perform.”

Spain’s exciting new generation under coach Luis de la Fuente have taken the nation to their first men’s major tournament final since their remarkable run of victories at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

With the swaggering Rodri Hernandez in midfield and flying wingers Nico Williams and Yamal — who only turned 17 on Saturday — they have lit up what has otherwise often been a disappointing tournament.

Spain won all their group games without conceding a goal, notably beating 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and reigning ********* champions Italy.

They beat hosts Germany in extra time in the quarter-finals in Stuttgart, before a stunning Yamal goal helped them come from behind to beat Kylian Mbappe’s France in the semis.

“It’s a brilliant generation, many of them have come through successful youth levels and that usually bodes well for success,” De la Fuente, 63, told reporters on Saturday.

“We want to start to make history — and we have made history already in the run to (the final)… I trust in a great future.”

– with AFP

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