Euro 2024: Spain strike late, beating England 2-1 in final

Spain's men sealed their record fourth European Championship title after Mikel Oyarzabal's late strike earned his side a narrow 2-1 win over England in Berlin on Sunday night.

After a cagey opening 45 minutes, Luis de la Fuente's side took the lead seconds after the restart when standout teenager Lamine Yamal played in winger Nico Williams, who steered the ball past Jordan Pickford.

It was a fourth successive knockout match in Euro 2024 when England fell behind but substitute Cole Palmer drew his side level on 73 minutes to the delight of a packed Olympic Stadium.

However, with just four minutes left in the match Mikel Oyarzabal stretched to meet Marc Cucurella's low cross into the box to the delight of the Spanish players and fans.

"I did my job and what I had to and was lucky enough to score the goal for the win. When you are among the 26 names to be picked, that is special enough, but then to get to help the team like I did, that is the most important part," substitute Oyarzabal said after the game. 

Stylish Spain claim third Euro win in five tries

It almost felt fated that Spain would be crowned champions, given that Spanish sides both at an international level and at a domestic club level have won all of the last 22 major finals they participated in.

While Spain had been the toast of Euro 2024, with their free flowing, attacking football making them a joy to watch, England's dour and defensive play had also drawn attention at home and abroad.

Yet, both teams looked nervy and unable to make inroads in the opening exchanges of the match, with poor decision making on the ball and a lack of precision in the final pass the hallmark of the first half.

Although Spain lost their defensive stalwart Rodri, who was named player of the tournament, at half time to injury, Spain came sprinting out of the blocks at the resumption of play. 

Teenager Yamal was released on the right, before cutting in the box and sliding a pinpoint cross to pick up his fourth assist of the competition as Williams kept his head to cooly slot past Pickford.

But it was left to an unlikely hero in substitute Oyarzabal to seal Spain's men's first major title since 2012, and their third European Championship in the last five, surpassing Germany's tally of three titles. 

"I couldn't be more happy. Today has been a wonderful day, a team has deservedly been crowned European champion. Today I'm even more proud and I hope this momentum can bring even better days," Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente said after the game.

England's long wait for a trophy will reach 60 years

In contrast to their opponents, England had struggled throughout the tournament to find their feet. They had relied more on individual moments of excellence like Jude Bellingham overhead kicks and Bukayo Saka long shots to guide them to a second successive Euros final.

Captain Harry Kane, so often the team's talisman at the top of the pitch, failed to inspire throughout the competition  — although he did end up as one of a record six players to score three goals and share the tournament's Golden Boot. 

"It's an opportunity missed," Kane admitted. "These finals aren't easy to get to. You have to take it when it comes and we haven't done it again. It's extremely painful and it'll hurt for a long time."

The lack of attacking threat England's all-time leading scorer offered his team was indicative of the side's struggles, with Gareth Southgate's side looking far more menacing once Kane was substituted for Ollie Watkins just after the hour mark.

For most of Euro 2024, the substitutes have provided the pace and tenacity to bail England out of challenging positions.

In Sunday's final, it was Cole Palmer making an almost instant impact with his long-range deflected shot into the bottom corner just three minutes after his introduction.

This briefly gave the thousands of English fans, audibly outnumbering their Spanish rivals in Berlin, reason to hope at least for extra time and possibly another penalty shootout. 

But in the end, they were faced with the all-too-familiar sight of distraught Engalnd players falling just short of the grand prize. 

"We've been coming from behind all tournament, we've got it in the locker," Kane said. "We didn't take the next step and win it. We got caught with a cross and that's the final."

No title but rehabilitation for tournament hosts Germany

Deutsche Bahn may well have taken on more than it could handle, stranding fans from Gelsenkirchen to Hamburg following late night finishes, but the monthlong festival of football was also often celebrated in Germany.

The colorful and buoyant competition boasted breakout youngsters like Yamal and Bellingham making their mark on the international stage and passionate visiting fans from the Netherlands and Turkey's large German diaspora. It also helped console German supporters after three uncharacteristically poor major tournaments.

Although hosts Germany were felled in the quarterfinals by eventual winners Spain, it did little to spoil the party mood inside and outside of the grounds — even though some German fans were still booing Spain's Marc Cucurella during the final, angry about a handball call that didn't go the hosts' way over a week ago.

For all the joy, there were moments of political controversy, too. Albanian player Mirlind Daku banned for two matches for leading a nationalist chant and Turkey's Merih Demiral receiving the same punishment for making a controversial political gesture.

Edited by: Mark Hallam