England‘s hopes of ending their 58-year trophy drought were dashed as they succumbed to a 2-1 defeat against Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
Despite a spirited comeback, Mikel Oyarzabal’s late strike sealed Spain’s victory, leaving England’s 1966 World Cup triumph as their only men’s major trophy.
In a thrilling encounter, Spain took the lead through Nico Williams early in the second half. England responded with a brilliant equalizer from Cole Palmer, raising hopes of extra time. However, Oyarzabal’s goal four minutes from time secured Spain’s win.
This defeat marks the second consecutive European Championship final loss for Gareth Southgate’s side, following their penalty shootout heartbreak against Italy in 2021. Before these recent finals, England’s only major tournament final appearance was in 1966.
The Three Lions have yet to win a senior football tournament abroad, with their 1966 World Cup and the Women’s Euro 2022 victories both achieved at Wembley.
Southgate’s future remains uncertain as his contract runs until the end of the year. This could potentially be his final major tournament after eight years at the helm. Despite a slow start in Germany, with performances initially criticized and close calls in the knockout stages, England fans dared to dream again until their defeat by Spain.
England’s 1966 World Cup victory, a 4-2 win over West Germany with Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick, remains their sole success. Since then, England has experienced a series of near misses and heartbreaks in major tournaments, including Diego Maradona’s infamous handball in 1986 and penalty shootout losses to Germany in 1990 and 1996, the latter seeing Southgate himself miss a crucial penalty.
There were also years of failing to qualify, such as for the 1994 World Cup and the 2008 Euros, and group-stage exits. The narrative seemed to shift in 2021 when England reached the Euro 2020 final, although most of their matches were at Wembley. Despite taking an early lead against Italy, they lost on penalties after extra time.
This year’s Euro campaign was a rollercoaster. After a win over Serbia, England drew against Denmark and Slovenia in the group stage, narrowly avoiding elimination. The last-16 match against Slovakia saw Jude Bellingham’s injury-time overhead kick force extra time, with Harry Kane scoring the winner.
Southgate’s tactical shift to a wing-back system against Switzerland in the quarter-finals proved crucial. Bukayo Saka’s late goal saved England, who then won on penalties. The semi-final against the Netherlands saw another dramatic finish, with Ollie Watkins scoring in the 90th minute to send England to the final.
Despite these thrilling comebacks, England fell short in the final, and the team’s future under Southgate is uncertain. His contract ends this year, and he has yet to decide on his future.
“I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that,” Southgate said post-match. “I need to talk to the right people. It’s not for now.”
England will return to action on September 7th in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland for their first 2024-25 Nations League game, followed by a home match against Finland. These games will be in the second division of the Nations League after England’s relegation last season.
If Southgate were to depart at the end of his contract, he would oversee the remaining Nations League fixtures but leave before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next year.