…Nico Williams scored a sizzling opener in the game in the 47th minute after a brilliant counter attack left the English defense flat.
…England struck back in the 73rd minute, a goal drilled in low and hard down the Spanish goal by Cole Palmer.
…Substitute, Mikel Oyarzabal rewarded Spain in the 86th minute with their second goal, again after a quick counter attack
…Spain won all six games in UEFA Euro 2024, the most wins for any side in a single edition of the European Championship.
SUN JULY 14 2024-theGBJournal| The curtain drew to a close Sunday on Euro 2024 as Spain won their fourth major trophy after beating England 2-1 in the final of the European Championship at the Olympiastadion Berlin.
Spain, the highest scoring team in the tournament needed to be at their best in attacks, and they delivered.
Nico Williams scored a sizzling opener in the game in the 47th minute after a brilliant counter attack left the English defense flat.
England struck back in the 73rd minute, a goal drilled in low and hard down the Spanish goal by Cole Palmer.
Spain responded quickly, playing swift passes and using the flanks where Lamine Yama, the Young player of the tournament- on the right, and Nico Williams-on the left-operated most effectively throughout the game.
Substitute, Mikel Oyarzabal rewarded Spain in the 86th minute with their second goal, again after a quick counter attack.
The defeat for England means their 58 year long wait for a major trophy, since 1966 World Cup triumph, will linger on.
Key stats:
Sunday’s match is the third meeting between Spain and England at the European Championship, with England winning 2-1 in the 1980 group stage before progressing 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the 1996 quarter-final.
Meanwhile, England have failed to score in three of their four major tournament (World Cup/Euros) games vs Spain, with the last two matches finishing 0-0 (1982 World Cup, Euro 1996).
Spain, until Sunday, have won their last three major tournament finals, winning the Euros in 2008 and 2012 and the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
No European side has ever successfully won four consecutive World Cup/Euros finals before.
Before now, England have never lost a match in Berlin in six attempts (W4 D2), only playing more in Helsinki (8), Amsterdam (7) and Sunderland (7) without ever suffering defeat.
Spain won all six games in UEFA Euro 2024, the most wins for any side in a single edition of the European Championship.
Since the introduction of the group stage in 1980, only France in 1984 (5/5) won the competition while maintaining a 100% win rate.
Meanwhile, Luis de la Fuente’s men scored 15 goals at Euro 2024. Only France in 1984 (14) scored more in a single edition of the UEFA European Championship.
England’s five shots on target against the Netherlands in the second semi-final were their most in a single match thus far at UEFA Euro 2024.
Meanwhile, Spain have managed five or more attempts on target in four of their six games at the tournament.
Spain have applied more pressure in the final third than any other side at UEFA Euro 2024 (890), while England have had the most pressure received so far at the tournament (3,369).
Head to head:
Overall, the two nations have come up against each other 27 times, with England claiming top honours on 14 occasions. Spain have 10 victories to their name, while the duo have drawn on only three occasions.
The pair last crossed paths in the Nations League back in October 2018, with England earning a dramatic 3-2 win in Seville thanks to a Raheem Sterling double.
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