By Sergio Silva
14 Jul 2024, 16:58 PM EDT
The Spanish National Team put the finishing touch to its performance in this Euro Cup Germany 2024 by being proclaimed champion after beating England (2-1), a victory that allows La Roja to position itself alone as the biggest historical winner of the competition with a total of four trophies.
After a first half with few chances for either team but with the Spaniards as the main protagonists, in the second half of the final played this Sunday in Berlin, both the Iberians and the English started with everything and did not take long to react.
A stroke of genius from the 17-year-old player, Lamine Yamalbecame the goal that showed Spain the way to victory. The FC Barcelona winger handled the ball and found Nico Williams who came unmarked on the left to finish with a cross shot (m.47).
Under pressure from being down on the scoreboard, England manager Gareth Southgate made changes to his team and made the right choice by bringing on Cole Palmer in the 70th minute in place of captain Harry Kane. Just three minutes later, the Chelsea striker made it 1-1.
In a great collective play by the English team on the right wing, the lanky striker ended up receiving the ball that Jude Bellingham gave him near the edge of the area and with a powerful, low, crossed shot he managed to beat the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón.
However, Spain still had something in store with a great play that ended with a low cross from the left by Marc Cucurella finding Mikel Oyarzabal who barely touched the ball to beat Jordan Pickford. After a brief review by the VAR, the goal was validated (m.86).
At the end of the match, the English team came very close to bringing the score back to parity, but a monumental save by Dani Olmos on the goal line from a header by the English team managed to maintain the advantage for the team led by Luis de la Fuente.
In this way, the Spanish team, which became the first to achieve a full record of victories in its seven matches in this tournament, achieved its fourth title in the European Championship, leaving behind Germany, which remains with three championships.
The last time La Roja had lifted the title in this competition was in the 2012 edition in Poland and Ukraine, where they had arrived as reigning champions after their conquest in Austria and Switzerland 2008. Their first title was in the 1964 edition.