Spain Wins Euro 2024!
Yesterday, the final of Euro 2024 took place between Spain and England, and it turned out to be a dramatic and exciting final match of this championship with a very worthy winner in the end - congratulations to Spain!
The match didn't start as energetically as we've come to expect from Spain's games in this tournament, possibly due to the nerves of playing in the final. In fact, the first half was something of a snooze-fest, and if it weren't for the high stakes of a final, many might have started to lose interest.
The half ended goalless, and there isn't much to report from it, except that both teams clearly respected each other. England had the best chance at the very end of the half when Phil Foden got an opportunity from a free-kick cross, but he failed to get a proper shot off, and Unai Simón in Spain's goal easily stopped it.
The second half didn't start well for Spain as Rodri, perhaps the team's most important player as both a defensive rock and the playmaker, had to be substituted due to injury, with Martin Zubimendi coming on in his place.
However, those who thought Spain would struggle without Rodri were quickly proven wrong. Spain immediately went on the attack, and it paid off quickly as Lamine Yamal, in a swift attack, passed the ball to Nico Williams, who made no mistake with a precise shot to make it 1-0 to Spain just a minute and a half into the second half.
England has been weak offensively in this Euro, and as long as matches were tied, they struggled to create much forward play, often seeming disinterested in attacking. However, a major reason they made it to the final is that once they conceded a goal, they came to life and at least attempted to attack, which was the case in this match as well, eventually.
For the following 20 minutes, Spain was the better team and had several good chances to seal the match but couldn't find the net. Slowly but surely, England worked their way back into the match, and in a fine attack in the 73rd minute, Jude Bellingham played the ball back from the penalty area to Cole Palmer, who calmly placed it into the left corner to make it 1-1. Just as in their previous knockout matches, England had fallen behind but woke up and equalized.
After the equalizer, England reverted to their defensive stance, allowing Spain to chase the lead. With ten minutes left, Spain had a great chance when Lamine Yamal, in a free position, had a chance to make it 2-1, but Pickford made an easy save on a rather weak shot. Five minutes later, Spain launched another attack, and Marc Cucurella sent a hard, low cross from the left wing that a charging Mikel Oyarzabal easily tapped in, and Spain was back in the lead.
With the new deficit, England had to abandon their defensive approach once again and try to find another equalizer, and they nearly succeeded. In the 89th minute, Unai Simón saved a header from Declan Rice, but not well enough to prevent Marc Guehi from heading the ball into an almost open goal. However, Dani Olmo was on the goal line and cleared the ball away.
Fortunately, England didn't manage to equalize, and fortunately so, because Spain has been a much better team than England in this Euro, and it would have felt unjust if Spain hadn't won. But they did, and for the fourth time, Spain became European champions, now holding the most Euro titles of any country.
Rodri was awarded the Player of the Tournament price
Player Awards After the Final
22-year-old Nico Williams was named the player of the match in the final, his second such award as he also received it in the second group stage match against Italy. If there's one player whose value has significantly risen in this tournament, it's Nico Williams, who wasn't too well-known to the general public before the tournament started, but now everyone knows his name.Despite two awards for best player in a match, it was his teammate Rodri who was awarded the "Player of the Tournament," the prize for the best player of the entire Euro. Few can argue against this decision, as he has been a crucial part of Spain's play and will likely be in the discussions for this year's Ballon d'Or.
The "Young Player of the Tournament" award naturally went to Lamine Yamal. Many were aware of this great talent before the tournament, but that a 16-year-old (who turned 17 the day before the final) could be so important for a championship team is remarkable. Besides scoring a goal in the semifinal against France, making him the youngest scorer in Euro history and earning him the player of the match award, he also made four assists in this Euro, more than any other Spaniard has ever made in a European Championship.
6 Golden Boot winners in the Euro 2024
As no player had a "magical summer" and scored a multitude of goals, the highest number of goals by a player remained at three, which these six players all achieved:- Cody Gakpo, Netherlands (25 years)
- Dani Olmo, Spain (26 years)
- Georges Mikautadze, Georgia (23 years)
- Harry Kane, England (30 years)
- Ivan Schranz, Slovakia (30 years)
- Jamal Musiala, Germany (21 years)
In previous Euros, the top scorer title would be decided by the number of assists if there were several players with the same number of goals, but since this has been abolished in this Euro, all six players above can call themselves Golden Boot winners of the Euro 2024.
Under the old rules, Dani Olmo would have been the sole Golden Boot winner as he also made two assists, more than any of the other five, but he now must share the title.
Final Remarks
Often, a championship ends with a winner who starts shakily but then improves, like Argentina in the last World Cup, who began by losing to Saudi Arabia and barely made it out of the group but then eventually got better and better. However, this Euro was won by the team that impressed the most from start to finish.Overall, Spain had six wins and one draw (against Germany in the quarterfinals, which they won in extra time) and beat teams like Croatia, defending champions Italy, host nation Germany, France, and England. They had no easy path but were only under significant pressure once, in the quarterfinal against Germany, which they won in the 119th minute, and it's rare to see such a deserving winner of a championship as Spain was here.
Teams like Italy, France, and even the finalist England, despite making it to the final, were more or less disappointments in this championship. All these teams showed very weak offensive play and were too focused on defence.
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