History was on the line as Spain took on England in the final of the 2024 European Championship (EURO 2024) at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday, July 14. With a win, La Roja would have become the first team in history to claim four European Championships. England, meanwhile, would have conquered Europe for the first time, claiming their first trophy since their maiden FIFA World Cup win in 1966.
The best team of the tournament, Luis de la Fuente’s Spain, ultimately had the last laugh, claiming a 2-1 victory over the highly-rated Englishmen. Nico Williams scored the opening goal for La Roja early in the first half, which Cole Palmer canceled out with a stellar strike in the 73rd minute. Then, with four minutes left to play, Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winning goal, poking the ball past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford from close range.
Below, we will briefly review the performances we saw in the EURO 2024 final and list out three players who lived up to expectations and two who underperformed. Let’s begin!
Performed: Cole Palmer
England boss Gareth Southgate made an attacking substitution in the 70th minute, bringing on Cole Palmer for Kobbie Mainoo. The entire complexion of the game changed in the following couple of minutes, as England started to look a lot more threatening down the wide areas.
Only three minutes after coming on, Palmer scored a gem of a goal to equalize for England, passing the ball into the bottom-left corner of the Spanish goal from outside the box. Shockingly, Palmer and Co. did not get the chance to build on their advantage, with the Three Lions retreating to their own half shortly after scoring.
The goal aside, Palmer created a chance, played two passes into the final third, and won two ground duels.
Underperformed: Harry Kane
Ignoring suggestions to give his starting berth to Ollie Watkins, Gareth Southgate fielded England captain Harry Kane in the final against Spain. However, the call did not pay dividends, as Kane cut a frustrated figure at the top of the English attack. He was caught on his heels time and again, which made it easy for Spanish defenders to mark him. He also lacked creativity on Sunday, failing to create even a single chance against La Roja.
Before coming off for Ollie Watkins in the 61st minute, Kane only completed five passes and touched the ball just once inside the opposition box. He also lost five of the seven duels he contested in and committed a foul.
Performed: Nico Williams
Spain’s jet-heeled left-winger Nico Williams had a sensational game against England. Despite facing the quickest man in Premier League history, Kyle Walker, Williams had plenty of joy down the flank, scoring a belter of a goal and creating three chances.
Williams opened the scoring for Spain in the 47th minute, applying a first-time finish to Lamine Yamal’s low cross from the left and sending the ball into the bottom-right corner. He also delivered two accurate crosses and three long balls and made seven recoveries. Thanks to his heroics, Williams took home the Player of the Match award for the final.
Underperformed: Phil Foden
Another England star whom many fans and pundits wanted dropped for the final, Phil Foden had an abysmal outing against Spain. Despite getting the license to roam, Foden never quite managed to get into the action and simply watched the game pass him by.
In 89 minutes, the 2023-24 Premier League Player of the Season completed 16 passes and failed to create even one goalscoring opportunity. His only shot of the night was on target but did not trouble Unai Simon.
Performed: Marc Cucurella
Lamine Yamal could have easily been the last name on this list, but since we have already given his share of the limelight, we wanted to name another player who was equally, if not more, brilliant against England.
Marc Cucurella, the left-back whom Gary Neville called the weakest link of this Spanish team, provided the winning assist to Mikel Oyarzabal in the 86th minute, under tremendous pressure from Kyle Walker. Beating the Manchester City man in a footrace, Cucurella sent a low cross into the English box, allowing Oyarzabal to tap in from close range.
Cucurella also did not put a foot wrong in defense, completing 35 of 38 passes with 92% accuracy, making two interceptions, and completing two clearances.
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