Spain is the champion of Europe! After the boring first half, we witnessed fireworks in the second period! Only two minutes after the break, Nico Williams gave La Furia the lead after his roommate Lamine Yamal’s assist. Gareth Southgate once more made the right substitution since Cole Palmer equalized in the 73rd minute, only three minutes after stepping on the pitch! Finally, Mikel Oyarzabal, de la Fuente’s golden sub, gave Spain the lead in the 86th minute, winning them the European trophy – 2-1!With most players representing Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad, and with a manager “nobody heard of”, Spain played the best football throughout the entire tournament, won all their matches at EURO, and deservedly won the title. Even Rodri’s injury couldn’t disrupt La Furia, whose most incredible strength was unity and teamwork. The combination of youth prospects, experienced players, substitutions ready to die for the team, and Luis de la Fuente’s outstanding tactics and leadership brought Spain to the European throne.The Spanish manager had all the players available (except for previously injured Pedri and Ayoze Perez) since Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand returned to the team after suspension, hence sending the strongest starting lineup to the pitch. On the other hand, Southgate opted for the same formation (3-4-2-1) as in the quarter-final against Switzerland and semi-final against the Netherlands with Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice as central midfielders, making only one change in the starting 11 – Luke Shaw, who scored in the last EURO final against Italy, replaced Kieran Trippier in the left flank.In the initial part of the game, Spain controlled possession, while the Englishmen opted for counterattacks. Furthermore, La Furia mostly attacked through the left side and Nico Williams since Lamine Yamal didn’t have much space due to Shaw’s excellent positioning. The first thing worth mentioning was Harry Kane’s yellow card in the 25th minute after smacking into Aymeric Laporte with a high foot. Six minutes later, Dani Olmo was also booked for a clumsy challenge on Rice. We had to wait until the added time for the first so-so opportunity. The Arsenal midfielder sent an inviting outswinger into the box from the free kick, which was deflected. Phil Foden got it in the far post, making a firm connection but straight to Unai Simon.1 – #Spain 🇪🇸 is the nation with the most European Championship titles (4), beating the record for most goals scored by a single team in a single edition of the competition (15). History.#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/hJqYcYZ4Sd— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 14, 2024 All in all, we’ve witnessed one of the least interesting halves in the tournament, mainly due to England’s defence-oriented tactics. The Spaniards wanted and got the ball, but the Three Lions left no room for error. Spain had six corner kicks, contrary to only one for England. Furthermore, La Furia finished the first 45 minutes with five shots, while the English had three. However, only one of those attempts went on target, which sums up this final’s first half pretty well. De la Fuente reacted already at the break, subbing in Martin Zubimendi for Rodri, who had obviously suffered an injury since the Spanish vice-captain was one of the most important players on the team.22 – #NicoWilliams (22 years and 2 days) is the second-youngest player in history to score in an EURO final, after Pietro Anastasi for Italy in 1968 (20 years and 64 days). Talent.#EURO2024 #Final pic.twitter.com/DJVUl19Rux— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) July 14, 2024 Only two minutes into the second half, Spain took the lead! The Williams-Yamal connection again! Carvajal found the 17-year-old in the middle with a first-time ball. Barca’s youngster cut inside and passed it to his roommate Williams on the far side, who broke the deadlock with a fine finish. Only a minute later, the Athletic Bilbao winger found Olmo into the box, who scuffed a shot past the far post while being slightly off-balance. Southgate’s crew was both shocked and nervous, and John Stones expressed that tension immediately, being booked after he went clumsily in Zubimendi.Nevertheless, La Furia kept tormenting the opponent. In the 55th minute, Yamal dropped deep and played a lovely ball down the outside of Marc Guehi to Alvaro Morata, who beat Jordan Pickford, but Stones slid in to stop the ball from going into the empty net. Only a minute later, Fabian Ruiz found Williams, who lashed it just wide of the near post.1 – Players with the most assists in a single EURO:4 – LAMINE YAMAL 🇪🇸 20244 – Steven Zuber 🇨🇭 20204 – Aaron Ramsey 🏴 20164 – Eden Hazard 🇧🇪 20164 – Ljubinko Drulovic 🇷🇸 2000History. #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/RDiMLjXghj— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 14, 2024 At the end of an hour, Southgate made a pretty controversial decision, replacing the captain and the best England scorer in history, Harry Kane, with the semi-final hero Ollie Watkins, even though his team was behind and would undoubtedly need Bayern Munich forward in the remaining part of the game. Jude Bellingham’s strike in the 64th minute was the first sign of life by the English. Real Madrid midfielder lashed it from outside the box at the bottom corner but missed it by a whisker. The festival of chances continued just two minutes later. The other captain went out seven minutes after the first one. Olmo fed Yamal, who aimed for the bottom corner, but Pickford saved the goal and his team with a super stop. England was on the ropes!Dani Olmo could join Premier League giants two days after the EURO 2024 finalMorata finished his performance in the grand final, with Mikel Oyarzabal replacing him. At the same time, the English gaffer improved the attack subbing in Cole Palmer for Mainoo, and that sub paid off almost instantly! In the 75th minute, Bukayo Saka took the ball away over the halfway line, hugging the touchline and racing forward before picking out Bellingham with a lovely pull-back. He laid it off for Palmer, who hit it well to score from around 18 meters! Ice-cold finish!2 – England have become the first nation in UEFA European Championship history to lose consecutive finals. Bridesmaids. pic.twitter.com/VkYq0Gj7CZ— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 14, 2024 Eight minutes before the end, Pickford came to the rescue again. Olmo couldn’t get a shot away and left it for Yamal, who fired it, but Everton’s keeper was positioned perfectly. However, even the magnificent goalie couldn’t do anything four minutes later! Oyarzabal hooked the ball out left to Marc Cucurella, who sent a lovely diagonal cross into the box. Sociedad forward stretched ahead of Stones and slid to put Spain back in front with only four minutes to go! The Three Lions had their last opportunity in the last minute. Shaw’s corner was nodded goalwards by Rice and clawed away by Simon with a superb stop before Guehi turned the rebound. The Spanish goalie was already beaten, but not Olmo, who nodded it out from the goal line.England tried with long balls into the box in the dying minutes, but the Spaniards defended excellently and deservedly won the European Championship for the record-breaking fourth time! De la Fuente’s crew recorded all seven victories (over Germany in extra time) and made history! The Three Lions fell short once again, unable to break the curse lasting for 58 years.##NAJAVA_MECA_8213597##EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – FINALSundaySpain – England 2-1 (0-0)/Williams 47, Oyarzabal 86 – Palmer 73/
