Kieran Trippier and John Stones of England look dejected at full-time after receiving their runners-up medals following defeat in the UEFA EURO 2024 final match between Spain and England at Olympiastadion on July 14 in Berlin, Germany.Richard Pelham/Getty Images
They hoped and prayed that this time would be different. That despite the slow start, the uneven play, the complaints about strategy, England’s men’s team would finally win a major title for the first time in nearly 60 years and take home the European Championship with a win over Spain on Sunday.
It didn’t happen. Instead, the Three Lions lost their second consecutive championship, falling 2-1 to the Spaniards in Berlin. England is now the first team to make back-to-back men’s finals at the Euros, and lose both.
England had survived much of the tournament on last-minute heroics but on Sunday it was Spain who delivered the crushing blow in the dying minutes when Mikel Oyarzabal tapped home the winning goal. Moments later, Spain’s Dani Olmo somehow managed to keep the ball out of his team’s net with a goal-line header.
“I have done my job,” Oyarzabal said after the game. “To have the moment to help as it has happened to me is the best. It happened to me but could have happened to anyone.”
For England fans, the hoped-for magical ending never came and the wait for a trophy continues.
“I just feel deflated,” said Jemima Pearce-Higgins as she left the Sixes Social Cricket bar near London Bridge. She and her friends had been searching for a place to watch the game all afternoon and they finally found a spot in the bar. “I’m devastated,” said her friend Megan Connor. “I was really hoping for a night out.”
Spain dominated much of the play but England’s hopes soared in the second half. Manager Gareth Southgate made two crucial substitutions at the hour mark, which paid off when one of them, Cole Palmer, tied the game at 1-1 in the 73rd minute. For a few moments, England looked to be in charge but Spain quickly recovered and took back control.
“It is fine margins but Spain were the best team in the tournament and they deserve it,” said Southgate, who is widely expected to step down from his role on the national team.
That assessment was echoed by Damien Moore, who flew to London from New York to watch the final with his friends in a pub.
“Well, we lost to the best team,” Moore said after heading to London Bridge train station. They had to watch the last 20 minutes on their phones after the pub’s Internet went down. But the end result didn’t surprise his friend, Joshua Miller. As an England fan, he said, he’s used to disappointment.
In a statement after the game, King Charles III told the players and coaches to “hold your heads high.” Despite the despair, he added, “Please know that your success in reaching the European Championship final is a really great achievement in itself, and one that brings with it the pride of a nation which will continue to roar for the Three Lions.”
Throughout the day, the collective mood across much of the country was one of expectation and confidence. There was a feeling that this year would be different from 2021 when England’s men’s team made the final only to lose to Italy in a shootout.
Fans gathered in pubs, fan zones, arenas, theatres and anywhere else where they could tune into the match. Shops closed early on Sunday and newly elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a soccer fanatic, had hinted that if England won he’d declare a national holiday.
Some school principals told pupils that they could come in late Monday morning so they could watch the match to the final whistle, which came at around 10 p.m. local time.
“My dad is nearly 60 years old and he’s never seen England win a final,” said Jamie Beckett, as he waited for the game to start outside the Shipwrights Arms pub near London Bridge. He was joined by six friends, all draped with England flags that they’d neatly ironed for Sunday’s match. Beckett said he lived nearby along the Thames River. “If we lose I can jump straight in,” he said. “If we win I might still jump in.”
There were some signs of over exuberance during the day. In the area around Trafalgar Square some fans set fires and lit flares. A crowd of around 100 fans stood outside another pub, named Bunch of Grapes, near London Bridge drinking and singing soccer songs. On the opposite side of the street, a group of about 10 police officers kept watch.
“The city is heaving,” said Harry Hanky, who moved to England from Zimbabwe a few years ago. Soccer is on a different level here, he added.
“It is heritage here,” agreed his friend, Jonathan Dupe.
Not everyone was cheering for England. A Scottish newspaper, The National, splashed “Time for revenge” across its front page on Saturday next to picture of Spain’s Rodri kicking a photoshopped picture of an overweight English fan in the shape of a soccer ball.
Underneath the photo a long caption started with; “Every summer, they fill up your beaches. They drink all your beer. They make a mess of your plazas.” After a few more complaints, it ended with, “Our message to Spain: Save us from an England win (or we’ll never hear the end of it!).”
Job done.