After a not very eventful first half, Nico Williams gave the Spaniards the lead in the Berlin final at the very beginning of the second half. The islanders equalized in the 73rd minute with the accurate shot of substitute Cole Palmer, but the winner was the Spanish substitute, Mikel Oyarzabal, who decided the match four minutes before the end of regular time.
1st half: In the 47th minute, at the end of a Spanish action on the right side, Yamal broke inside, then on the other side rolled in front of Williams, who arrived completely empty in the second wave, who immediately shot the long corner from 8 meters with the left (1-0).
II. half-time: In the 73rd minute, Saka pulled away from the right side, passed to Bellingham in the middle, who immediately made the ball to Palmer, who fired the ball into the lower right corner from 19 meters (1-1).
In the 86th minute, Cucurella won the running race against Walker on the left side, and after his pass to the center, the bursting Oyarzabal overtook Guehi and easily passed into the middle of the goal from 5 meters (2-1).
At the end of the ceremony leading up to the final, the previous winner, one of Italy's best, Giorgio Chiellini, brought the trophy, decorated with red-yellow and red-white ribbons referring to the participants of the final, to the platform set up next to the pitch.
Photo: UEFA EURO 2024 Twitter
In the first few minutes, both teams showed what characterized their game at the European Championship so far: the English mostly tried to pass from the back, but inaccuracy already slipped into the forward play, and the Spanish bravely took on the duels and went on the offensive.
Despite the dominance of the Spanish field, the goals were not in danger, after ten minutes Nico Williams, who played football with great enthusiasm, caused excitement for the first time, but Stones blocked the shot at the last moment.
The islanders had much less possession of the ball, and they only managed to get to the Spanish goal. As time passed, the Spanish possession superiority became even more oppressive, but the rival's defense closed well, so there were no chances, only a few long-range shooting attempts, all of which were blocked by the English defenders, and the crosses and corners were often inaccurate. As a result, the first half passed without any goalkeepers having anything to defend, and finally, right before the break, Unai Simon easily saved Foden's shot from a corner.
After a change of half, the first Spanish action resulted in a goal at the end of the interplay between Yamal and Williams, in fact, just a minute later, the second attack almost ended in the same way, but then Olmo missed the goal in a great position, from ten meters.
The goal fundamentally changed the picture of the game, because the English were completely confused, they were no longer effective not only in attack, but also in defense.
The Spaniards took heart, in the space of a few minutes, more dangerous situations developed in front of Pickford's goal than in the entire first half, both Morata and Williams' shots promised a goal, but both missed the target. After more than ten minutes, the three-lion guard got up, which was signaled by Bellingham's shot. Nevertheless, the Spaniards came closer to the goal, as Yamal's great shot into the bottom right corner was brilliantly saved by Pickford.
A quarter of an hour before the end, the Spanish team took revenge for not being able to decide the match, as substitute Palmer unexpectedly equalized with a close-range shot. With the exception of a few minutes, England was stuck in a rut. The first "match ball" was given to the now 17-year-old Yamal, but he hit the ball badly, so Pickford was able to save. However, Mikel Oyarzabal, who came on as a substitute like Palmer, has already used the second one. In the little time left, England really only had one opportunity to equalize, then three in one attack, but after saves from Unai Simón and Dani Olmo, the third attempt was already over the top.
Overall, Spain, playing better football throughout, deservedly triumphed.
Spain won the continental competition for the fourth time after 1964, 2008 and 2012, leaving behind Germany in the all-time ranking.
Photo: UEFA EURO 2024 Twitter
European Championship, final:
Spain-England 2-1 (0-0)
Berlin, Olympic Stadium, 71,000 spectators, led by: Francois Letexier (France)
scorers: Williams (47th), Oyarzabal (86th), and Palmer (73rd)
yellow cards: Olmo (31st) and Kane (25th) ), Stones (53rd), Watkins (92nd)
Spain: Simón - Carvajal, Laporte, Le Normand (Nacho, 83), Cucurella - Rodri (Zubimendi, on the break), Ruiz - Yamal (Merino, 89), Olmo, Williams - Morata (Oyarzabal, 68)
England: Pickford - Walker, Guehi, Stones, Shaw - Rice, Mainoo (Palmer, 70), Saka - Bellingham, Foden (Toney, 89), Kane (Watkins, 61)
MTI / hirado.hu
