Spain defeated England and was crowned champion of the European Championship

First fruits

Berlin.-In an unforgettable day for world sport, Spain and England faced each other at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

Following Carlos Alcaraz’s triumph at Wimbledon, the Iberian team arrived in the German capital with the mission of writing a new golden page in its exquisite history. There was no precedent for a country celebrating the conquest of the European Championship on the same day as a compatriot singles player in the Grand Slam in the United Kingdom.

As all the predictions had indicated, the team led by Luis de la Fuente was the one that tried to impose conditions through territorial dominance by Fabián Ruiz and Rodri, together with the speed of Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal. In contrast, Gareth Southgate proposed a stingy formation based on a strong defensive block to bet on the counterattacks played by Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden.

With the goalkeepers playing practically no game during the first half, the home crowd entertained themselves by whistling Marc Cucurella, as the Germans present were annoyed to remember the Catalan defender for the handball that was not called in the semi-final and which might have resulted in a penalty that would have changed the fate of that match.

At the restart, La Furia did not feel Rodri’s injury at all, who had to be replaced by Martín Zubimendi. The Iberians stuck to their script and the kids gave them the chance to open the scoring. An impeccable intervention by Lamine Yamal continued with a perfect assist for the arrival of Nico Williams. And the Athletic Bilbao striker solved it with a cross shot, impossible for Jordan Pickford: advantage, superiority and confidence for a team that was excited regarding its fourth crown.

Dani Olmo’s clarity and Álvaro Morata’s hierarchy were other arguments for the Spaniards to extend their lead. However, England reacted with the class of Jude Bellingham, who managed to threaten Unai Simón with shots that went inches wide of the post. Gareth Southgate’s decision to replace Harry Kane with Ollie Watkins when the result was adverse deserved extra analysis. Taking off the scorer who might provide the solution through the air was a position that did not go unnoticed in Germany. Meanwhile, Pickford continued to scramble to deflect Lamine Yamal’s shots to keep his team in the fight for equality.

The miracle happened when Cole Palmer surprised Unai Simon with a low shot that hit the far post of the goalkeeper and sealed the 1-1. Kobbie Maino’s replacement gave life to a remarkable spectacle that paralyzed the planet. And the neutrals were excited by the possibility of extending the match to extra time.

The combinations between Dani Olmo, Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal continued to hurt England and Pickford continued to fly from post to post to keep the score level. However, in the 42nd minute, Cucurella stepped up to the attack and set up Mikel Oyarzabal, who became the hero by sealing the 2-1 at the end.

They say there is no glory without suffering. And Spain understood this, given that in one of the last scenes Declan Rice rose in the Iberian area and paralyzed the hearts of La Roja. Unai Simón’s reflexes prevented the agonizing equalizer, although the rebound fell on the head of Bukayo Saka, who once more sought the opposing goal, but did not take into account the sacrifice of Dani Olmo. The midfielder stood out as one of the fundamental pillars for the return of the Eurocup to the land of ham and tapas. As happened in 1964 ( once morest the Soviet Union), 2008 ( once morest Germany) and 2012 ( once morest Italy), La Roja kept the most coveted trophy on the Old Continent.

For England, however, the drought will continue. After that controversial title they won at the 1966 World Cup, the British team never celebrated once more. A curse that seems to belong to some Divine Law. Once once more, as happened in the last edition, the inventors of football were left wanting…

Formations

Spain: Unai Simón, Daniel Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabián Ruiz, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams and Álvaro Morata. Coach: Luis de la Fuente

Inglaterra: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Bukayo Saka, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Luke Shaw, Phil Foden, Harry Kane y Jude Bellingham. DT: Gareth Southgate