Euro 2024 final – Spain 2-1 England: Mikel Oyarzabal breaks England’s hearts as Spain clinch trophy

Mikel Oyarzabal’s late sucker punch earned Spain the Euro 2024 trophy via a 2-1 win over England, whose wait for a trophy will go into a 60th year.

Spain controlled possession and applied pressure which resulted in Nico Williams’ opener just two minutes after half-time following Lamine Yamal’s excellent run and pass. It was the perfect boost to losing Rodri to a half-time injury.

But after England captain Harry Kane was taken off following a disappointing display up front, Cole Palmer was the latest England hero off the bench as his superb strike levelled matters up. The Chelsea man rifled home Jude Bellingham’s lay off and it threatened a turning point in Berlin.

Extra-time was looming and England felt momentum shifting – but then Spain put the pressure back on. Jordan Pickford denied Lamine Yamal, afterwards named the young player of the tournament, with a superb stop.

It was one of two brilliant second half stops by England’s No 1, as he denied Spain’s 17-year-old star at 1-0.

But then, eventually, came Spain’s moment. Marc Cucurella’s cross was turned home by Oyarzabal with four minutes of normal time remaining, leaving the Three Lions with little time to roar back.

England thought they had levelled when Declan Rice met Palmer’s corner unmarked. Unai Simon parried it as far as Marc Guehi who nodded the ball towards the line, but Dani Olmo cleared it away. Rice put another rebound over.

It ended up being one comeback too many for England, as Spain became the first team to claim four European Championships.

Analysis: More heartbreak, so do England need to change?

Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz:

While Spain broke their record, England became the first team to lose consecutive European finals. Why is that?

No penalty heartbreak this time, but this was similar to Italy three years ago. England were accused of not showing enough in the big moments.

England should have made a statement when Rodri came off injured for Spain, but they fell behind. They had Spain a little rattled after Cole Palmer’s equaliser, but didn’t have a shot before Spain scored again.

Instead, there was a reliance on the late, ‘limbs’ moment. But it was one too many.

It presents a dilemma for England, who have the best 26-player squad in terms of quality and depth. There’s little doubt about that, the sheer number of substitute goals back it up. And Gareth Southgate should be praised for that.

But could that depth be used better? Southgate has done wonders in changing the perception of England, but does that perception now need to change again?

This is an exciting team, can it become a winning one?

Devastated Southgate: We didn’t do enough

England manager Gareth Southgate on ITV Sport:

“I’m devastated for everybody really. The players have been incredible, I’m so proud of what they’ve done, but we’ve just fallen a little bit short.

“We had a little bit of momentum at the time of the equaliser, and a big chance at the end to equalise as well, but probably across the 90 minutes I’m not sure we did quite enough.

“I just think against Spain, they press well, you have to keep the ball when you win it back.

“Defensively we were fine in the first half, you just have to retain the ball a little bit better. In the end, maybe that’s the bit that takes a little bit out.”

Neville: It’s becoming a problem for England now

Sky Sports’ Gary Neville on ITV:

“Spain had a lot of chances. We got back into it, but we could have been 2-0 down before that and to not control the biggest games has been a problem for England teams in many, many tournaments.

“To have to play from behind the ball and move your whole team up the pitch from the edge of your box to the other end of the pitch is very difficult.

“You can win the odd game doing that, you can win two or three games, but eventually you play a team with too much quality and that is what we found tonight.

“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?”

So what next for Southgate?

Sky Sports’ Gary Neville on ITV:

“It’s a big question, something doesn’t sit right inside me talking about Gareth’s future right now after what he’s done in the last seven or eight years.

“I would think he’ll take a long, hard look in the next week and decide whether it’s the right time.

“The sentiment in this tournament has been tough for him at times, he’s called it an unusual environment earlier in the competition.”

England captain Harry Kane on BBC Sport:

“We made it clear we love the manager, but that’s his decision [whether he wants to stay on]. Now’s not the time to talk about it. It’s down to him, he’ll go away and think about it. But we’re all just hurting.

“Losing in a final is as tough as it gets. We did really well to get back into the game and get level, but we couldn’t quite use the momentum to push on. We couldn’t quite keep the ball and got punished. It’s as painful as it can be in a football match.

“We didn’t keep the same intensity, keep the ball well enough. It’s the last stage of the tournament, there’s a lot of tired legs and mentality. It’s down to big moments, we had one at the end which they cleared off the line, but it’s really disappointing.

“It’s been a tough tournament. We’ve had to show a lot of resilience, me personally and the team. It’s been a difficult ride and we’ve done extremely well to get here. But ultimately we’re going to be judged on this game.

“We wanted to do it so badly for ourselves and the fans, and everyone who’s believed in us the whole way. Right now, it’s just huge disappointment.”

Stats: Story of the match