Euro 2024: Spain beats England 2-1 late to win final in Berlin

Nico Williams gave Spain a 1-0 lead against England early in the second half of the European Championship final on Sunday.

In the 47th minute, Williams converted a pass from Spanish teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal just across the edge of the penalty area.

Yamal were held in check by English left-back Luke Shaw in a goalless first half at Berlin’s 71,000-seat Olympic Stadium.

Just before the end of the half, Phil Foden volleyed past Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon to create England’s best chance.

Spain were looking to set a new record by winning their fourth European Championship and breaking the tie with Germany and West Germany, while England were looking to end their 58-year wait for their first major trophy, which stretches back to the 1966 World Cup.

Much of the attention was focused on Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday and is the youngest player ever to play and score a goal at a European Championship.

Spanish midfielder Rodri was named the best player of the 2024 European Championship.

Rodri had to be substituted at half-time in the final due to a knee injury, but was rewarded for his excellent performance as Spain also beat hosts Germany and France to reach the final.

Williams described his reaction to Sunday’s victory as follows: “Euphoric. All our people deserved it. We suffered a lot. They had a good team. They have players who can make the difference, but we were able to counter their weapons and in the end we won the European Championship and we are very happy.”

Spain’s match-winner Oyarzaba said: “I did my job. I did what I had to do to help at every moment. I was lucky to give the win. Just the fact that you are one of the 26 is very valuable here. To have the moment to help, as happened to me, is the best. It happened to me, but it could have happened to anyone.”

As was the case before the game in downtown Berlin, the number of English fans far exceeded that of the Spanish in the stadium, so that it almost felt like a home game for the English.

England captain Harry Kane said: “Losing in a final is the worst thing ever… It’s as painful as it gets in a football match.”

“We didn’t maintain the same intensity and pressure, we didn’t keep the ball well enough. It’s the final phase of the tournament. There are a lot of tired legs, a lot of tired mentality. We just fought and obviously got caught with the ball behind us.

“It depends on big moments. We had a big moment at the end when they cleared one off the line and it could have turned out differently. It was a tough tournament. We had to show a lot of resilience, myself personally and the whole team. At the moment it’s just a huge disappointment.”

Additional reporting from Reuters