Euro 2024 Final – Spain Bags the 4th Title

Euro 2024 final match resulted fruitful for the Spanish team. England must try again next season!

Spain won the European Championship for the fourth time on Sunday with a 2-1 victory against England, prolonging England's decades-long drought for a major prize. England has been struggling to win the championship since the last victory in the 1966 World Cup. 

In this blog we are going to check out everything about the Euro 2024 final, what happened in and out of the match. 

A Well Deserved Win 

Like every other sport, Football is also divided by opinions but united by spirit. Spain’s success is a testament to a deserving win. La Roja, the Spanish Football Team won all seven games without the need for penalties, setting a European Championship record. With a 2-1 victory over England in the final, they were European champions for the fourth time. 

And they did it the hard way, defeating every other European team that has ever won a World Cup, including Italy, Germany, France, and England, as well as defeated 2018 finalists Croatia, on their path to victory in Berlin. 

Rodri was home to the tournament's best player. Lamine Yamal, a teenage star, was the tournament's youngest player. Dani Olmo shared the Golden Boot. Yamal recorded the most assists. 

It's easy to forget that they didn't enter the tournament as one of the clear favorites, with England and France the two front-runners. 

Years of Hustle, England Needs to Wait! 

England couldn’t put an end to a long wait of 58 years, as they lost the Euro Cup 2024 final against Spain in Berlin, leaving the World Cup 1966 as their lone men's trophy. 

For the 4th time in a row, England emerged from behind, but this time they couldn’t shine, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring a late goal to secure a 2-1 triumph. 

Nico Williams' early goal in the second half put Spain ahead, but Cole Palmer's superb equalizer appeared to send the game into extra time before Oyarzabal scored four minutes later. 

This was Gareth Southgate's second European Championship final in a straight, having lost to Italy on penalties in 2021, and their previous major tournament final prior to then was in 1966. 

The country is still struggling to win a senior football event overseas, except for the 1966 victory and the Women's Euro 2022 final, both of which England won at Wembley. 

Southgate's tenure expires at the end of the year, so this might be his last big event after eight years in command. 

Euro Cup 2024 Offside Controversy 

Cole Palmer's 73rd-minute goal for England gave their fans hope, but Oyarzabal's 86th-minute strike clinched the deal for Spain in the end. 

However, England fans disputed Oyarzabal's goal, claiming that he was offside when it was scored. If watching from the TV or any other digital screen, it appeared as if Oyarzabal moved beyond John Stones. 

However, the on-field umpires soon ruled that Oyarzabal was not offside when the ball was received and scored. A significant wait was predicted after the 86th minute, as officials would have needed time to determine whether it was an offside or not. 

Quick Ball Technology 

The latest, Connected Ball Technology helped the referees to make a quick decision on this Euro Cup 2024 offside controversy. This type of technology is a first in a competition like Euro, where a motion sensor was introduced into the match ball, providing live data to game authorities. 

A similar procedure was used in the instance of Oyarzabal's goal, resulting in a quick judgment amid stressful periods of the game. 

This technology was first implemented in Germany – it clearly defines and presents the exact position of a player on the field. 

What’s Next for Southgate and England? 

Southgate is likely to quit the job as the contract runs out of time, around the end of this year. None of the news or updates has confirmed his stay yet. 

"I don't think now is a good time to make a decision like that," he said afterwards. 

"I need to talk to the right people. It's not for now." 

England's next game will be against Ireland in Dublin on September 7, in their first Nations League encounter of 2024-25. Their home match will happen three days later, against Finland. 

These games are in the Nations League's second level after England was demoted the last time. If Southgate leaves at the conclusion of his contract, he will complete the six Nations League games but will be gone before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers begin next year.