Substitute Mikel Oyarzabal struck in the 87th minute to give Spain a dramatic 2-1 victory over England on Sunday in the European Championship final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion and claim a record fourth Euro crown.
A final that exploded into life in the second half looked set for extra time after England substitute Cole Palmer canceled out Nico Williams’ opening goal for Spain.
But it was another substitute, Oyarzabal, who had the final word. The Real Sociedad forward was found just onside by a teasing Marc Cucurella cross to stab past Jordan Pickford and deliver Spain’s first major trophy since their golden generation won the last of three consecutive titles in 2012.
With the win, Spain broke a tie with Germany for most Euro titles and signalled the coming of age of a fresh generation of talent led by the 22-year-old Williams and 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player to ever feature in a World Cup or European Championship final, surpassing the record set by Brazil legend Pele in 1958.
And Spain left little doubt they were worthy champions, having won all seven of their games in the competition and becoming the first team in European Championship history to score 15 goals in a single tournament, breaking a tie with France’s winning side in 1984.
For England, however, it was a cruel way to lose a second straight European Championship final and extended the men’s team’s 58-year wait for a major trophy.
After an extremely cautious first half in which Spain had more possession and their opponents got the only shot on target, it only took two minutes after the restart for the Spaniards to break the deadlock.
Yamal found space down the right and crossed for fellow winger Williams to slot home as England fell behind for the fourth successive match.
Spain then enjoyed a purple patch with a series of attacks as England’s previously watertight defence fell apart.
England boss Gareth Southgate reacted by sending on Ollie Watkins, the goalscoring substitute hero of the semifinal, for an ineffective Harry Kane after an hour, with Palmer, their most creative player for the past month, joining him 10 minutes later.
It paid off almost immediately when Jude Bellingham laid the ball back into Palmer’s path and the substitute curled home a precise low 20-metre shot in the 73rd minute.
The massed ranks of England fans, who vastly outnumbered their rivals, exploded, and the whole feel of the night changed.
Spain, however, weathered the storm and Oyarzabal, who came on in the 68th minute, struck.
There was still time for more drama at the other end as Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón parried a Declan Rice header from a corner and Dani Olmo blocked Marc Guehi’s follow-up on the line.l
This might be the most impressive of the lot, which is saying something given how good they were in 2008 and 2012. They were much the better team, even without the injured Rodri in their second half. Fabian Ruiz and Nico Williams in particular were brilliant, and we’ll be talking about Lamine Yamal’s tournament forever.
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