EURO 2024 - Spain 2-1 England - Match Report and Player Ratings

Image courtesy of 90min.com

England hearts were broken as a late Mikel Oyarzabal goal won Spain their first international trophy in twelve years.

Ultimately, Luis de la Fuente’s side were the better team on the day and throughout the tournament, as they were superior to England in almost every department.

Despite this, England will have been the happier team at half time, having been able to execute their first half game plan to perfection.

They defended with a deep and compact low block, with John Stones and Luke Shaw in particular performing brilliantly individually as well as in the back four unit.

Spain’s attempts on goal were very limited despite how much of the ball they had, with their dangerous wing pairing of Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal kept quiet for the entirety of the first half.

But England weren’t posing a theta down the other end either. Phil Foden had one of his quietest games of the tournament, with Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane all struggling to make an impact on the match also.

Just two minutes into the first half, it was Spain who took the lead through a combination from their two wide players, with Yamal cutting inside and feeding Williams to slot the ball in the far corner with his left foot.

Spain’s tails were up from this point, with Dani Olmo dragging a shot narrowly wide of the post and Jordan Pickford being forced into numerous saves.

And this all came out without their player of the tournament, Rodri, who was replaced at halftime with an apparent muscular injury that Manchester City fans will be praying isn’t too serious ahead of the new season.

The game changed in England’s favour, however, when Cole Palmer came onto the pitch, and scored a brilliantly taken goal within minutes of his arrival on the pitch, slotting into the bottom corner at the edge of the box after a lay off from Bellingham.

However, they weren’t able to build on their momentum, and Spain grasped control of the game again, as they have done so well all tournament after conceding goals.

Their late winner from Oyarzabal was certainly on the horizon, and it was defended poorly by England with Kyle Walker left with two men to deal with on the left hand side.

But that takes nothing away from the goal itself, with Marc Cucurella’s inch perfect low ball on the left hand side finding Oyarzabal in the box, who dispatched it past Pickford whilst on the slide.

England had a late Marc Guehi header cleared off the line, but weren’t able to properly push for an equaliser, with Spain being the better side on the day and in the tournament and subsequently deserving the trophy.

England, meanwhile, are one step closer to glory at a major tournament, but they fell short once again.

In Foden, Bellingham, Saka and Palmer, England have an attacking midfield golden generation. Gareth Southgate has done a wonderful job, but now is the right time for him to step aside.

After officially announcing his resignation today, England will be looking for a Southgate replacement, hopefully a more positive manager who will look to make better usage of England’s attacking talents than the more cautious Southgate.

Graham Potter is currently available, and may be up for the job after working wonders at Brighton with positive football, although he struggled during a tumultuous spell at Chelsea.

Eddie Howe is probably the best English manager in the world at the moment, but whether Newcastle United would consider letting him go is very doubtful.

And looking at a non English manager, Mauricio Pochettino could be in convention, and whilst this is certainly a pipe dream, Thomas Tuchel and even Jurgen Klopp have to be mentioned considering the fact that they’re currently unemployed.

For the Spain and England players, they will probably have about a month’s holiday before resuming their domestic seasons with their club, just in time to be fit and ready for the start of the season.

PLAYER RATINGS:

SPAIN:

Simon - 6.5/10 - Very little to do, other than a few basic saves. Nothing he could do about Palmer’s goal.

Carvajal - 7/10 - Typically streetwise and playing on the edge. Didn’t have much to do with no real threat from a winger on England’s left hand side. Has been a reliable player for Spain throughout the tournament.

Le Normand - 7/10 - Kept Kane’s influence on the game limited. Looked very unhappy when he was subbed off.

Laporte - 8/10 - Super comfortable on the ball. Effortlessly smooth and efficient with his defending. One of the best defenders of this tournament and in the world.

Cucurella - 8.5/10 - Best left back of the tournament by a long way. Identified by many prior to the tournament as the weak link, Cucurella did everything he needed to do and more, and created the goal to win the tournament.

Rodri - 8/10 - Impressive in the first half before being replaced by injury. Fully deserving of his player of the tournament award.

Fabian - 7.5/10 - Another player in contention for player of the tournament, Fabian compliments Rodri so well. He was tidy and efficient with the ball, and offered a goalscoring threat when crashing the box.

Yamal - 7.5/10 - Very quiet in the first half, but much more lively in the second half, and was the heartbeat behind Spain’s first goal. Could’ve scored too had it not been for numerous good saves from Pickford.

Olmo - 7/10 - Fairly quiet, but linked the midfield and attack together well. Should've scored too, but narrowly missed the target.

Williams - 9/10 (MOTM) - Spain’s biggest threat in the first half, though he was contained well by Walker. In the second period, Williams sprung into life, taking his goal well and providing a constant ball carrying threat.

Morata - 7/10 - Led the line well and battled very hard in terms of holding the ball up and playing the ball to his teammates.

Substitutes

Zubimendi - 8/10 - Didn’t put a foot wrong after replacing Rodri at half time.

Oyarzabal - 7.5/10 - Left his mark on the game by scoring the goal to win the entire tournament.

Nacho - 6.5/10 - Made a few late successful defensive actions in his otherwise brief cameo.

Merino - Not enough time to make any impact.

ENGLAND:

Pickford - 8/10 - Made a few brilliant saves to keep England in the game at 1-0 to Spain.

Walker - 7/10 - Had a good first half dealing with the threat of Williams. Was left exposed and isolated for both the second and third goals.

Stones - 8.5/10 - Brilliant in the first half defensively, and was comfortable moving with the ball throughout.

Guehi - 7.5/10 - Defensively solid and consistent as he has been all tournament.

Shaw - 8/10 - Kept Yamal quiet for the entire first half, but the 17 year old got the better of him in the second period.

Mainoo - 6.5/10 - Neta and tidy with the ball, but didn’t really progress the ball forwards much. Replaced by the much more effective Palmer in the second half as England pushed for an equaliser.

Rice - 6.5/10 - Very good defensively but poor in keeping the ball, particularly when compared to Zubimendi, Fabian and Rodri for Spain.

Saka - 7/10 - England’s brightest starting attacker. He gave Cucurella a tough game, but wasn’t ultimately able to create any clear cut chances for himself or teammates.

Foden - 6/10 - Really quiet, and didn’t contribute much other than a lot of running and good defensive work.

Bellingham - 6/10 - Had more of the ball than Foden, and set up Palmer’s goal, but he was still quiet and also didn’t offer anywhere near as much work off the ball than Foden did.

Kane - 6/10 - Very limited impact on the game in terms of actual touches and occupying defenders, and was subbed for Watkins near the hour mark.

Substitutes

Watkins - 6/10 - Slightly more energetic than Kane, but didn’t really impact the game as he was well marshalled by Spain’s centre backs.

Palmer - 8/10 - Changed the flow of the game for England with his brilliant goal. Had they survived just two minutes longer, there’s a decent chance that he’d have inspired them to go on and win in extra time, either in the 120 minutes or on penalties.

Toney - Not enough time to impact the game.