Euro 2024: The Game, The Bait and the Honor
It was a beautiful night for the Spanish national team as they emerged as the European champions against England who had endured certain struggles and moments of oddity to get to the final of the competition. The match began with a defensive strategy from the English team who had worked all through the first half to tame Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo, leaving Rodri and Fabian Ruiz with no option on the space to occupy but England couldn’t utilize this opportunity as a 4-2-3-1of Gareth Southgate in the shape of 3-4-3-1 pushing Kyle Walker and Luke Shaw high up front could not suffice for a goal scoring opportunity or put the ahead in the first half.
From the perspective of knowing what went wrong, the Spanish team 4-2-3-1 brought a different dynamic to them as Rodri suffered a knock which brought the arrival of Martin Zubimendi onto the pitch. It became clear that there was a need for game intensity as England midfield of Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Kobbie Mainoo were beginning to drop the guards and it became vulnerable as Walker and Shaw could not tame Yamal and Williams’ threat.
Zubimendi assumed the post and responsibility of dictating the pace of the game despite being an anchor man, making it go through Ruiz and Olmo creating a space for Yamal and finding Williams, who made no mistake with a sensational finish. England wouldn’t take long to respond, with Bellingham teeing up Cole Palmer for the equalizer, but Mikel Oyarzabal would break English hearts with a late winner in Berlin.
The Euro 2024 brought many mixed feelings as teams within the competition whom much was expected let the fans and viewers down with their approach which raised the question of footballers playing to entertain or getting results. Huge teams with huge attacking talent were scoring less but rather they were depending on penalties, draws and their own goals from the competition. Ultimately, it saw Spain become the first team to win seven matches at a Euros and the first team to claim four Euro titles.
Whilst the Luis de la Fuente era is just getting started, the Gareth Southgate era has run its course. After an eight-year chapter that would see England reach two Euros finals as well as the quarterfinals and semifinals in the World Cup, Southgate has stepped down from his post, and the Three Lions are back to square one as they look to recover from yet another heartbreaking defeat.
By: Ogunniyi Abayomi / @Cerebralcardo
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images