Page 12 - Soccer360 Issue 107

tournament’s outstanding teams went
at each other punch for punch during a thrilling 120 minutes of action. Dani Olmo’s classy finish put Spain ahead only for the hosts to battle back with Florian Wirtz’s
late goal forcing extra time, where things got considerably more tense. It looked like
it could go either way, but with penalties looming Mikel Merino’s header sent a joyous La Roja through and ended the dreams of the home crowd.
FRANCE SCRAPE INTO SEMIS
For all the quality and pedigree in
their squad, France were incredibly underwhelming at Euro 2024 but still managed to scrape their way to the semi- finals despite only scoring with a penalty and two own goals over the course of five matches. Kylian Mbappe and co. were poor again in a heavyweight clash with Portugal but still had enough defensive resolve
to force a penalty shootout, where they converted all of their kicks to gain some revenge for their painful loss in the Euro 2016 final.
ENGLAND’S PERFECT PENALTIES
England are infamous for their many heartbreaking penalty shootout defeats over the years, but their current side showed that those failures might just
be a thing of the past as they scored
five exquisite spot-kicks to overcome Switzerland in their quarter-final. After a closely fought 1-1 draw, the ice-cool quartet of Cole Palmer, Jude Bellingham, Ivan Toney, and Trent Alexander-Arnold all finished unerringly, while Bakayo Saka did likewise to help banish some of the memories from his fateful miss in the Euro 2020 final shootout. It was harsh on Switzerland - one of the best teams in the competition - but England marched on.
YAMAL MAKES HISTORY
Spain set the standard throughout Euro 2024, and making headline after headline along the way was Barcelona starlet Lamine Yamal. Already the youngest player to appear in a men’s European Championship
and many other records besides, the 16-year-old produced an unforgettable moment of history with a wonderful equalising goal in the semi-final against France as his curling strike from outside the penalty area flew in off the post. It made him the youngest ever scorer in a major tournament, and Spain went on to book their place in the final through Dani Olmo’s winner.
WATKINS WINNER
After a succession of indifferent performances, England finally showed what they are capable of as they recovered to beat the Netherlands in another tense semi-final. With the game locked at 1-1 after Harry Kane’s controversial penalty, substitute Ollie Watkins conjured a magical moment with extra time seemingly on the cards. The Aston Villa striker had barely a half-chance as he collected Cole Palmer’s pass, but turned and fired a razor-like finish to send England through to their second straight Euros final.
OLE FOR OYARZABAL
There were countless storylines attached to the Euro 2024 final as Spain, easily the standout team in Germany coming into the showpiece, looked to return to the
summit of European football against an England side who hadn’t lived up to their billing performance-wise but were within touching distance of lifting a first major tournament for 58 years. After a tense, goalless first half at the Olympiastadion,
the real action began just after half-time when the remarkable Lamine Yamal set up opposite winger Nico Williams for a powerful low finish.
But far from lying down, the Three Lions then showed their class with a well-worked team goal of their own to equalise; Jude Bellingham setting up Cole Palmer to shoot low past Unai Simon with 17 minutes to go. At that stage it appeared the final could
go either way, but Spain found another gear and their undoubted superiority was rewarded when Mikel Oyarzabal ran on to Marc Cucurella’s low cross to slide in the winner.
It sealed a famous achievement for Luis
de la Fuente’s team, whose thoroughly deserved success gave them a record fourth Euros crown. For England, the interminable wait goes on following coach Gareth Southgate’s last stand.
10 SOCCER360
EURO 2024 REVIEW
‘EURO 2024 WASNEVER SHORT ON ENTERTAINMENT & FASCINATING STORYLINES’
TOP LEFT:
Mikel Merino’s goal ended hosts Germany’s hopes
TOP:
Cristiano Ronaldo endured a roller coaster evening in the last 16 against Slovenia
ABOVE LEFT:
Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner to seal a deserved Euros triumph for Spain
ABOVE:
France made it to the semi-finals despite poor performances