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Spain beat England 2-1 in a dramatic Euro 2024 final on Sunday, standing up to the tournament’s comeback kings and rising back to the top of European soccer in style.
Mikel Oyarzabal, off the bench as a second-half substitute, scored the decisive goal in the 86th minute, knifing between English defenders and sliding a fine finish past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
And the Spaniards, the undisputed best team of the tournament, the toast of soccer purists, the chief storytellers, the top goalscorers, roared to their fourth European title.
They had already knocked off Germany and France. They had won six of six, and arrived in Berlin favored to win a seventh match in a row, this blockbuster final against an underperforming England team overflowing with talent.
They showed why throughout a crescendoing second half. The first 45 minutes had been cagey, dragged to a near-halt by England’s defensiveness. Spain, though, sent the second 45 erupting into life.
In the 47th minute, they took the lead. The Spanish wave rolled back to front, then right to left, pulling Englishmen out of position and sweeping them aside. Fabián Ruiz passed to Dani Carvajal; Carvajal flicked the ball to Lamine Yamal; when it found him, Alvaro Morata and Dani Olmo came alive.
Their runs yanked John Stones and Kyle Walker, respectively, toward the play and away from Nico Williams, who was lurking in wait on the far side.
Yamal picked out Williams, who needed only one emphatic touch to break English resistance.
The goal epitomized La Roja‘s renaissance. Yamal and Williams, two delightful and youthful wingers, were the ones who transformed a decent team into a dynamic unit. For years, Spain had controlled games but lacked directness and end product. These two, with their skill and unbridled energy, unlocked sturdy opponents, and here, at the Olympiastadion, forced England to come out of its shell.
Even then, however, Spain continued to ascend. For 25 minutes, most seasoned eyes could only see one potential winner.
Then, out of nowhere, Cole Palmer appeared.
Palmer, Chelsea‘s stone-cold, slim, understated star, entered in the 70th minute. In the 73rd, out of almost nowhere, he slotted a 20-yard shot through Spanish bodies, past goalkeeper Unai Simón, and into a net that, until that point, England had hardly even threatened to find.
But the equalizer was a blip, not a momentum-swinger. Spain stayed steady, and resumed its ascent. Yamal, one day past his 17th birthday, tested Pickford. A few minutes later, Oyarzabal — onside by perhaps only a few inches — beat him.
And Spain, which has arguably done more than any other nation to shape modern soccer, became the first to win four men’s European championships.
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FINAL score: England 1-2 Spain
47′ Nico Williams scores for Spain off an assist from Lamine Yamal.
73′ England’s Cole Palmer scores the equalizer off a Jude Bellingham assist.
86′ Marc Cucurella sets up Mikel Oyarzabal, who puts Spain back in the lead.
