Sunday, 14 July 2024

Euro 2024 Final: Still waiting, still hurting

πŸŸ₯ EURO 2024 FINAL πŸŸ₯

SPAIN
2
Williams 47, Oyarzabal 86
ENGLAND 1 Palmer 73

Spain Unai Simon, Carvajal, Le Normand (Nacho 83), Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri (Zubimendi 46), Olmo, Fabian Ruiz, Morata, Williams, Yamal (Merino 89) Booked Olmo
England Pickford, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Saka, Mainoo (Palmer 70), Rice, Shaw, Foden (Toney 89), Bellingham, Kane (Watkins 61) Booked Kane, Stones
Attendance 65,600 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin Referee  Francois Letexier (France)
Kick-off 8pm BST. Live on BBC and ITV.

SPAIN crushed England dreams of a first major trophy in 58 years as Mikel Oyarzabal struck with only four minutes left in Berlin to win the Euro 2024 Final.

Substitute Oyarzabal converted a cross from the left by Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella as La Roja lifted the European Championship trophy for a record fourth time, following previous triumphs in 1964, 2008 and 2012.

But, for England, the wait to add a second title to the 1966 World Cup goes on, despite Fate teasing the Three Lions at the end that they could bring the match level for a second time.

Semi final hero Ollie Watkins mis-controlled a sharp ball by Jude Bellingham into his feet in the box - before an excellent delivery off a corner by Cole Palmer found Declan Rice rising to bring a point-blank save from Unai Simon.

The ball rebounded to Marc Guehi who did everything he could to get his header on target, only for Dani Olmo to clear off the line. Rice then sent a third header harmlessly over the bar.

For once in this tournament then, after the recoveries in previous knockout rounds against Slovakia and Switzerland - and the late winner in the semi final against Netherlands - there was no dividend paid out to England for their attempted comeback. 

Yet, prior to Oyarzabal's goal, it looked as if Gareth Southgate's men just might be about to pull off something special.

Of course, to begin with, the match took on a predictable pattern. Spain dominated possession and threatened to open up England on several occasions - but the Three Lions kept their shape and, for the most part, looked pretty comfortable.

England even threw a few of their own punches - and both teams will have walked down the tunnel at the interval satisfied with the state of play.

Within seconds of the restart, though, everything changed.

Teenager Lamine Yamal cut in from the right, shrugging off Luke Shaw to leave several England players in his wake on the edge of the box.

A simple ball to his left found the unmarked Nico Williams with space and time to pick his spot - and the winger made absolutely no mistake with his finish.

At least it was a familiar position for England in this tournament - against Slovakia in the Last 16, Bellingham rescued a draw in the 95th minute before Harry Kane's header at the start of extra time.

Against Switzerland in the quarter finals, Bukayo Saka struck an 80th-minute equaliser only minutes after England had fallen behind - before the Three Lions progressed with a perfect set of spot-kicks.

Then, against Netherlands in the semi final, Watkins prevented another torturous extra time period with a wonderful turn-and-shot in the 90th minute.

But Spain were another proposition altogether - and La Roja had chances to put the match out of England's reach through Olmo, who unusually missed the target, and Yamal who brought the best out of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

At 1-0 down, though, England knew they were still in with a chance - and, in a rare foray deep into Spanish territory, Saka strode down the right and found Bellingham in the box.

The Real Madrid man's well-paced lay-off allowed Chelsea's impressive youngster Palmer to drive through the ball first-time into the bottom corner for a wonderful equaliser.

Game on - but, in truth, the pattern of the match did not change, with England seemingly happy enough to coast with the scores level towards extra time.

By contrast, Spain continued to look for gaps - and, with time running out before an extension to the match, Oyarzabal succeeded in cracking open the lock on the treasure chest.

For sure, those late chances for Watkins, Rice and Guehi made this feel like a cruel defeat for England in a match in which they never looked completely outclassed.

Equally, though, Southgate's side were clearly second-best in this Final - and, while it hurts right now to admit it, that is not something of which to be ashamed in the face of this delightful Spain team.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri was awarded player of the tournament - but the excellent Olmo can count himself particularly unlucky not to have taken that prize after his three goals in three separate knockout stage games, and that goal-line clearance.

Down the left, Athletic Bilbao winger Williams provided a constant threat - while, on the other flank, the Spanish unveiled their latest diamond.

There is nothing rough about Yamal, though - and, though Shaw generally kept the 17-year-old relatively subdued, the Barcelona teenager has already demonstrated enough to make it clear that he is a star in the making.

Indeed, Olmo, Williams, Yamal and Fabian Ruiz all compensated for their misfiring skipper Alvaro Morata by using space down the wings and swarming the box.

By contrast, from an attacking perspective, England had an extremely limited tactical approach which left them too reliant on moments of fortune and individual pieces of football genius.

Thankfully, there were actually quite a few of both of those - and, notably without the latter, this campaign would have finished in a woeful defeat to Slovakia.

All the way through this tournament though, England were unable to construct attacks in a consistent and structured fashion.

Kane infuriatingly kept dropping far too deep, Phil Foden and Bellingham failed to pick up the slack when he did, while the likes of Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon in particular needed to be given far more opportunity than they were.

In his post-match interview, head coach Southgate insisted now "is not the time" to make a decision on his future - but, by the end of Tuesday morning, he had resigned.

Southgate moves on with his head held high, having enhanced his CV after overseeing runs to the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the Euro 2020+1 Final, and now the Euro 2024 Final.

Even the 2022 World Cup concluded with a creditable defeat to defending champions and eventual runners-up France at the quarter final stage.

England have literally never seen such a sustained period of being thereabouts in successive tournaments, though sadly they never made it there.

Certainly, it is a far cry from the mess which Southgate inherited in 2016 when, less than six months after the humiliating defeat to Iceland, he followed on from the grubby Sam Allardyce misadventure.

On that note, Southgate represented his position well, respecting his opponents and addressing the issue of racism on social media and in the stands in a calm and rational manner.

In this way at least, he did not shy away from his responsibilities as an England representative.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, the 53-year-old led England through as many knockout stage progressions - nine - as all of his predecessors combined.

Under Southgate, the Three Lions also topped their group in major tournaments on successive occasions for the first time ever - and, in fact, have done it three times in a row since Euro 2020+1.

So, for all the talk of favourable draws in the knockout stages, England have helped themselves with an uncharacteristic knack of making qualifying and group stages look easy.

Eight years is a long enough period to be in charge, though - and Southgate's stubborn selection choices and refusal even to consider altering his defensive tactical approach led to an increasingly fractious relationship with the Three Lions fanbase.

Atomic Kitten and all that seems a long time ago now - and, starved of any major trophy success since 1966, England fans are desperate for a trophy-winning manager, rather than a well-spoken diplomat who, upon his promotion from Under-21 coach, merely happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Nevertheless, any new coach will still face the same issue which has troubled England for decades and which Southgate, for all his group wins and knockout stage progressions, did not get any closer to solving.

Since Euro 2000, England have only beaten three teams ranked in the top 10 in the world in major tournament finals - Germany in 2000, Argentina in 2002 via a David Beckham penalty and Denmark in extra time in 2021.

Surely, though, a fresh broom is the only way to get the best out of a supremely talented squad who often succeeded in matches at this tournament despite the coach - and not because of him. 

πŸŸ₯ EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL OF HONOUR πŸŸ₯

YearChampionsRunner-upEngland performanceEngland coach
1960SOVIET UNIONYugoslaviaDid not enterWalter Winterbottom
1964SPAINSoviet UnionPreliminary roundSir Alf Ramsey
1968ITALYYugoslaviaSemi finals (third)Sir Alf Ramsey
1972

WEST GERMANY

Soviet Union

Quarter finals*
*not part of finals tournament
Sir Alf Ramey

1976CZECHOSLOVAKIAWest GermanyDid not qualifyDon Revie
1980WEST GERMANYBelgiumGroup stageRon Greenwood
1984FRANCESpainDid not qualifySir Bobby Robson
1988NETHERLANDSSoviet UnionGroup stageSir Bobby Robson
1992DENMARKGermanyGroup stageGraham Taylor
1996GERMANYCzech RepublicSemi finalsTerry Venables
2000FRANCEItalyGroup stageKevin Keegan
2004GREECEPortugalQuarter finalsSven-Goran Eriksson
2008SPAINGermanyDid not qualifySteve McClaren
2012SPAINItalyQuarter finalsRoy Hodgson
2016PORTUGALFranceLast 16Roy Hodgson
2020+1ITALYEnglandRunners-upGareth Southgate
2024SPAINEnglandRunners-upGareth Southgate

πŸŸ₯ EURO 2024 GROUP STAGE πŸŸ₯

GROUP AWDLFAGDPts
(Q) GERMANY21082+67
(Q) SWITZERLAND
12053+25
HUNGARY
10225-33
SCOTLAND01227-51

14-June
20:00GERMANY5-1SCOTLANDMunich
ITV



Wirtz 10, Musiala 19
Havertz 45+1pen
Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3

Rudiger 87og



15-June14:00HUNGARY1-3SWITZERLANDCologne
ITV


Varga 66


Duah 12, Aebischer 45
Embolo 90+3

19-June17:00GERMANY2-0HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC

Musiala 22, Gundogan 67


19-June20:00SCOTLAND1-1SWITZERLANDCologne
BBC

McTominay 13
Shaqiri 26
23-June20:00SWITZERLAND1-1GERMANYFrankfurt
BBC

Ndoye 29
Fullkrug 90+2
23-June20:00SCOTLAND0-1HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC



Csoboth 90+10

■ GROUP BWDLFAGDPts
(Q) SPAIN30050+59
(Q) ITALY
1113304
CROATIA02136-32
ALBANIA01235-21

15-June17:00SPAIN3-0CROATIABerlin
ITV


Morata 29, Fabian Ruiz 32
Carvajal 45+2



15-June20:00ITALY2-1ALBANIADortmund
BBC
Bastoni 11, Barella 16
Bajrami 1
19-June14:00CROATIA2-2ALBANIAHamburg
ITV
Kramaric 74, Gjasula 76og
Laci 11, Gjasula 90+5
20-June20:00SPAIN1-0ITALYGelsenkirchen
ITV
Calafiori 55og


24-June20:00ALBANIA0-1SPAINDusseldorf
BBC


Ferran Torres 13
24-June20:00CROATIA1-1ITALYLeipzig
BBC
Modric 55
Zaccagni 90+8

 GROUP CWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ENGLAND
12021+15
(Q) DENMARK
0302203
(Q) SLOVENIA
0302203
SERBIA
02112-12

16-June17:00SLOVENIA1-1DENMARK
Stuttgart
ITV
Janza 77
Eriksen 17
16-June20:00SERBIA0-1ENGLANDGelsenkirchen
BBC

Bellingham 13
20-June14:00SLOVENIA1-1SERBIA
Munich
ITV
Karnicnik 69 
Jovic 90+6
20-June17:00DENMARK1-1ENGLANDFrankfurt
BBC
Hjulmand 34
Kane 18
25-June20:00ENGLAND
0-0SLOVENIA
Cologne
ITV




25-June20:00DENMARK0-0SERBIAMunich
ITV





■ GROUP DWDLFAGDPts
(Q) AUSTRIA20154+16
(Q) FRANCE12021+15
(Q) NETHERLANDS1114404
POLAND01235-21

16-June14:00POLAND1-2NETHERLANDSHamburg
BBC
Buksa 16
Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83
17-June20:00AUSTRIA0-1FRANCE
Dusseldorf
ITV


Wober 38og
21-June17:00POLAND1-3AUSTRIABerlin
ITV


Piatek 30


Trauner 9, Baumgartner 66
Arnautovic 78pen

21-June20:00NETHERLANDS0-0FRANCELeipzig
BBC




25-June17:00NETHERLANDS2-3AUSTRIABerlin
BBC


Gakpo 47, Depay 75


Malen 6og, Schmid 59
Sabitzer 80

25-June17:00FRANCE1-1POLANDDortmund
BBC
Mbappe 56pen
Lewandowski 79pen

■ GROUP EWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ROMANIA
11143+14
(Q) BELGIUM11121+14
(Q) SLOVAKIA
1113304
UKRAINE11124-24

17-June14:00ROMANIA3-0UKRAINEMunich
BBC


Stanciu 29, R Marin 53
Dragus 57



17-June17:00BELGIUM0-1SLOVAKIAFrankfurt
ITV


Schranz 7
21-June14:00SLOVAKIA1-2UKRAINEDusseldorf
BBC
Schranz 17
Shaparenko 54, Yaremchuk 80
22-June20:00BELGIUM2-0ROMANIACologne
ITV
Tielemans 2, De Bruyne 80


26-June17:00SLOVAKIA1-1ROMANIAFrankfurt
BBC
Duda 24
R Marin 37pen
26-June17:00UKRAINE0-0BELGIUMStuttgart
BBC






■ GROUP FWDLFAGDPts
(Q) PORTUGAL20153+26
(Q) TURKEY2015506
(Q) GEORGIA1114404
CZECH REPUBLIC01235-21

18-June17:00TURKEY3-1GEORGIADortmund
BBC


Muldur 25, Guler 65
Akturkoglu 90+7

Mikautadze 32


18-June20:00PORTUGAL2-1CZECH REPUBLICLeipzig
BBC
Hranac 69og, Conceicao 90+2
Provod 62
22-June14:00GEORGIA1-1CZECH REPUBLICHamburg
BBC
Mikautadze 45+4pen
Schick 59
22-June17:00TURKEY0-3PORTUGALDortmund
ITV


Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28og
Bruno Fernandes 55

26-June20:00GEORGIA2-0PORTUGALGelsenkirchen
ITV


Kvaratskhelia 2
Mikautadze 57pen




26-June20:00CZECH REPUBLIC1-2TURKEYHamburg
ITV
Soucek 66
Calhanoglu 51, Tosun 90+4

 THIRD-PLACED TEAMSGroup
WDLFAGDPts
(Q) NETHERLANDS[D]1114404
(Q) GEORGIA[F]1114404
(Q) SLOVAKIA[E]1113304
(Q) SLOVENIA
[C]0302203
HUNGARY[A]10225-33
CROATIA
[B]02136-32

πŸŸ₯ EURO 2024 KNOCKOUT STAGE πŸŸ₯
 LAST 16
29-June17:00SWITZERLAND2-0ITALYBerlin
BBC
Freuler 37, Vargas 46


29-June20:00GERMANY2-0DENMARKDortmund
ITV
Havertz 53pen, Musiala 68
30-June17:00ENGLAND2-1SLOVAKIAGelsenkirchen
ITV
Bellingham 90+5, Kane 91aetSchranz 25
30-June20:00SPAIN4-1GEORGIACologne
ITV


Rodri 39, Fabian Ruiz 51
Williams 75, Olmo 83

Le Normand 18og


01-July17:00FRANCE1-0BELGIUMDusseldorf
ITV
Vertonghen 85og


01-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0SLOVENIAFrankfurt
BBC
Portugal won 3-0 on penaltiesaet

02-July17:00ROMANIA0-3NETHERLANDSMunich
BBC


Gakpo 20, Malen 83, 90+3
02-July20:00AUSTRIA1-2TURKEYLeipzig
ITVGregoritsch 66Demiral 1, 59

 QUARTER FINALS
05-July17:00SPAIN2-1GERMANYStuttgart
ITV
Olmo 51, Merino 119aetWirtz 89
05-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0FRANCEHamburg
BBC

aetFrance won 5-3 on penalties
06-July17:00ENGLAND1-1SWITZERLANDDusseldorf
BBC


Saka 80
England won 5-3 on penalties
aet

Embolo 75


06-July20:00 NETHERLANDS2-1TURKEYBerlin
ITV
De Vrij 70, Muldur 76og 
Akaydin 35

 SEMI FINALS
09-July20:00SPAIN2-1FRANCE
BBC
Yamal 21, Olmo 25
Kolo Muani 9

Spain Unai Simon; Jesus Navas (Vivian 58), Nacho, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Yamal (Torres 90+3), Olmo (Merino 76), Williams (Zubimendi 90+4); Morata (Oyarzabal 76) Booked Jesus Navas, Yamal
France Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Hernandez T; Kante (Griezmann 62), Tchoumeni, Rabiot (Camavinga 62); Dembele (Giroud 79), Koli Muani (Barcola 63), Mbappe Booked Tchoumeni
Attendance 62,042 at the Allianz Arena in Munich Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)


05-July17:00NETHERLANDS1-2ENGLAND
ITV
Simons 7
Kane 18pen, Watkins 90

Netherlands Verbruggen; Dumfries (Zirkzee 90+3), De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen (Weghorst 46), Simons (Brobbey 90+3), Gakpo; Depay (Veerman 35) Booked Dumfries, Van Dijk, Simons
England Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka (Konsa 90+3), Mainoo (Gallagher 90+3), Rice, Trippier (Shaw 46); Foden (Palmer 80), Bellingham; Kane (Watkins 81) Booked Bellingham, Saka
Attendance 60,926 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund Referee Felix Zwayer (Germany)


 GOALSCORERS 117 goals in 51 matches (2.29 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Dani Olmo (Spain), Harry Kane (England)
2 Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Razvan Marin (Romania), Kai Havertz (Germany), Jude Bellingham (England), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Donyell Malen (Netherlands), Merih Demiral (Turkey), Florian Wirtz (Germany), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Nico Williams (Spain)
1 Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Nedim Bajrami (Albania), Alessandro Bastani (Italy), Nicolo Barella (Italy), Adam Buksa (Poland), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Erik Janza (Slovenia), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), Denis Dragus (Romania), Mert Muldur (Turkey), Arda Guler (Turkey), Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkey), Lukas Provod (Czech Republic), Francisco Conceicao (Portugal), Qazim Laci (Albania), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Klaus Gjasula (Albania), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia), Luka Jovic (Serbia), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Mykola Shaparenko (Ukraine), Roman Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Gernot Trauner (Austria), Krzysztof Piatek (Poland), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Patrik Schick (Czech Republic), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Dan Ndoye (Switzerland), Kevin Csoboth (Hungary), Ferran Torres (Spain), Luka Modric (Croatia), Mattia Zaccagni (Italy), Kylian Mbappe (France), Romano Schmid (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marcel Sabitzer (Austria), Ondrej Duda (Slovakia), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey), Tomas Soucek (Czech Republic), Cenk Tosun (Turkey), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Ruben Vargas (Switzerland), Rodri (Spain), Michael Gregoritsch (Austria), Mikel Merino (Spain), Bukayo Saka (England), Samet Akaydin (Turkey), Stefan De Vrij (Netherlands), Kolo Muani (France), Lamine Yamal (Spain), Xavi Simons (Netherlands), Ollie Watkins (England), Cole Palmer (England), Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain)
10 own goals Antonio Rudiger (Germany) for Scotland, Maximilian Wober (Austria) for France, Robin Hranac (Czech Republic) for Portugal, Klaus Gjasula (Albania) for Croatia, Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) for Spain, Samet Akaydin (Turkey) for Portugal, Donyell Malen (Netherlands) for Austria, Robin Le Normand (Spain) for Georgia, Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) for France, Mert Muldur (Turkey) for Netherlands

 RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
 v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Dani Carvajal (Spain) v Germany
Bertug Yildirim (Turkey) v Netherlands

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