• Friday, 27 December 2024
UEFA EURO 2024: Spain shatters England’s hopes after a 2-1 win in the finals

UEFA EURO 2024: Spain shatters England’s hopes after a 2-1 win in the finals

England’s quest to end 58 years of pain and disappointment ended in failure as they were beaten by Spain in the Euro 2024 final at Berlin's Olympiastadion.

Gareth Southgate's side were sunk by Mikel Oyarzabal's late winner to leave England heartbroken again in a second successive European Championship final and unable to end the long wait for success for the men's team.

Spain's young star wingers combined to give them the lead two minutes after the break as Lamine Yamal's pass opened up space for Nico Williams to beat England keeper Jordan Pickford with a powerful low finish.

England captain Harry Kane was out of sorts once more and was substituted on the hour and it was Cole Palmer - on for Kobbie Mainoo - who raised hopes of another dramatic comeback with a composed left-foot strike after 73 minutes.

It was Spain, however, who snatched the win four minutes from time as Oyarzabal slid home Marc Cucurella's cross to leave England the nearly men once more.

England’s hopes of crossing the great divide that has separated them from the major prizes were snatched away by a superior Spain side on a tough night in the German capital.

The iconic stadium was a sea of white as the massed ranks of England supporters vastly outnumbered their Spain counterparts, in the belief that the near misses of previous years were about to end.

And when Palmer’s smooth finish against the run of play 17 minutes from time drew England level, confidence surged. Many will have felt that Southgate's side were about to mount the sort of comeback that rescued them against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands earlier in Euro 2024.

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