Here is Ken Early’s report from Berlin. Good night, congratulations Spain!
[ Ken Early's reportOpens in new window ]
Rodri limped out of the final at half-time but Uefa just named him player of the tournament. Nico Williams a close second, Yamal third, surely.
Harry Kane: “It’s as painful as it can be in football, losing a final” Gareth Southgate’s England era has been the most successful since 1966. Probably should have won the Euro 2021 final at home to Italy. Spain are on a different planet. England did well to hold pace with 37 per cent possession.
Micah Richards on BBC: “We have the best squad, we don’t have the best team.” Hilarious. Spain’s bench so clearly turned this final their way.
[ Spain do the doubleOpens in new window ]
Full-time: Spain 2-1 England
This Spain team would not be denied. Ridiculous strength in depth. Mikel Oyarzabal Martin Zubimendi edged this final one as much as Nico and Lamine. No Pedri, no Gavi, Rodri injured, just miles ahed of Italy, Germany, France and England.
SPAIN ARE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS.
90 mins: Spain 2-1 England
ENGLAND CHANCE. Palmer corner. Stones bullet header saved Unai Simon. PIN BALL. Olmo heads Marc Guehi follow up off goal line. It falls to Declan Rice. The Arsenal midfielder puts it wide.
87 mins: Spain 2-1 England
With Rodri, Gavi and Pedri all injured, Spain turn to Nico WIlliams, Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to walk a second goal, right?
Wrong. Marc Cucurella whips a low cross for Mikel Oyarzabal to slide the winner. Surely, that’s it.
83 mins: Spain 1-1 England
Great game now. Nico Williams dispossess Palmer, finds Olmo who uses Lamine Yamal as a decoy runner, and returns the ball to Williams who picks out Lamine Yamal but Pickford makes his second outstanding save of the night.
78 mins: Spain 1-1 England
Brilliant goal. Mikel Oyarzabal shoots straight at Pickford. Ball is rapidly shifted to Saka, who storms down the right and waits...and waits for Bellingham’s late run into the box. Bellingham slips a one touch, left footed backwards pass for Palmer to curl a shot past Unai Simon.
73 mins: They’ve done it again!
England 1-1 Spain
Palmer equaliser. Bellingham assist.
71 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Kobbie Mainoo is replaced by Cole Palmer. Someday, very soon, probably September 7th in Dublin, England will build their team around Mainoo. He’s pure class.
68 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Lamine Yamal almost finishes England off. The Barcelona teenager nips inside Luke Shaw but Jordan Pickford makes a superb save. A second goal is in the post.
65 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Jude Bellingham is out there, like a rare bird, he’s impossible to see at this time of night. Suddenly, from the gloom, Jude appears, doing a Zidane-turn to take out three Spaniards only to zip a daisy-cutter wide.
59 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Ollie Watkins coming in for... has to Harry Kane... has to be... He’s not at the races.
57 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Yamal has moved off his wing and he’s beginning to control the game. Picks out Morata, sprinting inside Guehi, forcing Stones to clear off the line.
Williams shaves a shot wide of Pickford’s post.
It’s coming home.
55 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Spain lost Rodri to injury and England failed to capitalise. Early balls into Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have changed this final. Southgate must react before it’s too late. Zubimendi devouring Rice.
49 mins: Spain 1-0 England
Olmo almost kills the game. Shoots just wide after Nico Williams tees him up. England are in trouble.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 England!
Dani Carvajal works play up the right for Lamine Yamal to come off his wing, the kid hits a dangerous ball across the box that goes behind Dani Olmo and John Stones. Kyle Walker can only slide and turn as Nico Williams plants his shot beyond Pickford.
Second half: Martin Zubimendi replaces Rodri (injured).
Rodri hurt himself blocking Kane shot. Clash with Laporte. Game changer. Unconfirmed.
Rodri injured...
Still half-time. Still 0-0. BUT, if/when Gareth Southgate replaces Harry Kane with Ivan Toney/Ollie Watkins, Spain could be in trouble.
HT: Spain 0-0 England
Spain had 70 per cent possession but England matched them, with Guehi and Stones solid in defence, and Luke Shaw excellent down the left. Spain moving the ball far too slowly to Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.
46 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Phil Foden stretches out his left leg to find the target after Declan Rice curls a free-kick into the Spanish box. Unai Simon gathers. England could be ahead.
44 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Aymeric Laporte slides a ball into the box for Spanish skipper Alvaro Morata. England’s new national hero Marc Guehi sees the danger. The English fans are singing as Harry Kane has a speculative shot.
42 mins: Spain 0-0 England
John Stones bursts out of the England defence - Man City style - only to be crowded off the ball by a carousel of Spanish defenders. Harry Kane could have reacted quicker. Spain getting no joy out wide.
37 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Lamine Yamal runs Luke Shaw down the right, Shaw concedes the corner. The teenager is in Shaw’s pocket so far. England will defend Spain corners all night.
Dani Olmo joins Harry Kane in the notebook of French referee François Letexier.
30 mins: Spain 0-0 England
The final is going to plan, if you’re Gareth Southgate.
Lamine Yamal anonymous. Spain dominating play but England look dangerous down the left in transition. It was worth waiting for Luke Shaw.
Fabian Ruiz draws a save from Pickford but Marc Guehi took the venom out of the strike.
27: Spain 0-0 England
Kobbie Mainoo wins the ball, picks out Kane, who finds Luke Shaw with a weak pass. The English left back almost conjures a chance, a dribbling past Rodri. Meanwhile, Kane sees yellow for a clumsy tackle.
23 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Germany and France had to kick lumps out of Spain to get a foothold. England are matching them in all areas, even midfield where Kobbie Mainoo is enjoying himself against Rodri and Olmo. That said, Spain do have 79 per cent possession.
18 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Shaw spreads a 40 yard pass for Saka who cuts it back for the late arriving Declan Rice. The shot is blocked. Saka going at Marc Cucurella.
16 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Nico Williams getting more space down left wing but Marc Guehi clears an early cross.
England are asking questions: Poor Foden corner wastes a chance.
13: Spain 0-0 England
Rodri kicks Jude Bellingham while, down the other end, Jon Stones makes a brilliant tackle on Nico Williams. No joy from corner.
8 mins: Spain 0-0 England
Shaw 3-0 Lamine (in tackles). Williams yet to beat Walker on the other side. Southgate has got the English shape right, so far. Rice is plugging holes.
3 mins: Spain 0-0 England
England start with long ball, straight out of play, and super-high press. Spain soak it up. They already own the ball. Luke Shaw survives first encounter with Lamine Yamal
Line-ups:
Spain (4-2-3-1): Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Ruiz, Rodri; Lamine, Olmo, Williams; Morata
England (3-4-2-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Rice, Mainoo, Shaw; Bellingham, Foden; Kane
Flanagan: “Even your liberal English friends transform for 90 minutes. The sort you normally find sipping oat-milk lattes while whining about how Brexit has spoiled their dream of working as a ski instructor in France. But when the football is on, they iron a jersey and stand shoulder to shoulder with the same brutes that used to bully them in school, united now in nationalist triumphalism. Something guttural is released from deep within.”
England are - for the most part - a likeable team. Travelling around Germany with their fans, not so likeable an experience. Albanian and Turkish people were a joy to mingle with, same goes for the Tartan Army.
[ It’s not easy being Irish in Britain during an international football tournament.Opens in new window ]
The Euros is not about Ireland but it is about Irish people living in England as Peter Flanagan writes.
England’s march to Berlin started with a bullet header from Jude Bellingham to see off Serbia.
There followed a collective paralysis as Denmark, Slovenia and Slovakia failed to punish the rigidity of Gareth Southgate’s line-ups.
Again, Bellingham’s spectacular overhead kick and an ‘Arry Kane header got them to a quarter-final against Switzerland when Trent Alexander Arnold nailed the winning spot-kick in the penalty shootout.
The semi-final against The Netherlands was England’s best performance in years. The Dutch were stretching for extra-time when Ollie Watkins smashed home a goal comparable to David Platt’s Belgium in 1990.
It could be written in the stars…
How did Spain get here?
They began by crushing Croatia (in Berlin) 3-0 with Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal scarily good.
Italy dragged them into a tight affair, and still they found a way, winning 1-0. Albania flooded the streets of Dusseldorf but Spain reserves prevailed, 1-0. Brave Georgia attacked La Roja and were stuffed 4-1 in the Last 16.
Down to business, Germany almost battered Luis de la Fuentes stars into submission. The Spanish coach survived a grave error – subbing Williams and Yamal – only for Mikel Merino’s 119th minute goal to remove the host nation.
The semi-final was another football occasion for the ages as Yamal’s sensational strike and Dani Olmo’s deflected winner put France and Kylian Mbappé in the shade.
[ Ken Early on trains Opens in new window ]
As we wait for kick-off…the German train service made this Euros a miserable experience for tens of thousands of fans. Even tournament director Philipp Lahm was delayed while riding the rails. It’s been a disaster, as Ken Early summed up in his “neoliberal capitalism’s endgame” essay.
Ken Early preview is worth your time before kick-off, mainly for his Indiana Jones/Sean Connery outro.
[ Southgate's magic powers guides England to BerlinOpens in new window ]
Spain: Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Ruiz, Rodri; Lamine, Olmo, Williams; Morata
Subs: Raya, Remiro, Vivian, Navas, Nacho, Grimaldo, Merino, Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Torres, Joselu, Lopez, Perez
England: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Saka, Rice, Mainoo, Shaw, Bellingham, Foden, Kane
Subs: Ramsdale, Henderson, Dunk, Konsa, Gomez, Gallagher, Alexander-Arnold, Wharton, Bowen, Eze, Palmer, Gordon, Toney, Watkins
“The transport system worked a dream. They didn’t jack up the hotel rates. There was no panic, no fuss and no violence. The weather was glorious.”
So wrote Keith Duggan... after the 2006 World Cup in Germany. None of the above applies to Euro 2024 but it is the tournament that introduced Lamine Yamal to a global audience. The prodigy turned 17 yesterday. Best of luck to Luke Shaw.
[ Keith Duggan on OlympiastadionOpens in new window ]
BBC just went into England changing room - Bellingham, Foden and Kane are starting - while RTÉ don’t start until 7pm due to a re-run of a Bloody Sunday 1920 documentary.
Possible line-ups.
Spain: Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Williams; Morata. England: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Mainoo, Rice, Shaw; Foden, Bellingham, Kane.
Welcome to The Irish Times coverage of the European Championships final between Spain and England. We have Ken Early reporting from Olympiastadion in Berlin and Gavin Cummiskey live blogging until the trophy is lifted by Harry Kane or Álvaro Morata.
Kick-off is 8pm. Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand are back from suspension for La Roja while rumour has it Luke Shaw will start at left back ahead of Kieran Trippier. The teams will be announced any minute now...
Spain v England could not possibly match the madness, the drama of the World Cup decider in Qatar when Argentina held off France in 2022, could it? btw, Messi and Argentina face Colombia in the Copa América final at 1am.
