Euro 2024: Spain embrace change to claim record 4th crown

Photo: X/UEFA EURO 2024)

Sometimes football is a simple game. As Alvaro Morata hoisted the European Championship trophy on the Olympic Stadium pitch, there was a feeling that this was how it was always destined to end. 

Spain were at their furious best throughout Euro 2024, head and shoulders above the competition for most of it, and now they are champions.

"I think Spain were the best team in the tournament," vanquished England coach Gareth Southgate said in his post-match interview. 

Few who saw any of the tournament over the last four weeks would disagree. Spain won all of their seven games at Euro 2024, an unprecedented achievement at a European Championship. 

A record fourth European title looked to be on its way right from the first half of their opening game, as they scored three goals before the break against Croatia and then never looked back.

Although England put up a spirited fight, with Cole Palmer cancelling out Nico Williams’ opener, Spain hit a deserved winner with time ticking away as the inevitable title followed.

A different brand of football but the same outcome

Spain have now won three European crowns in 16 years, with their golden generation claiming back-to-back trophies in 2008 and 2012. But this side plays a different brand of football to the teams of old. 

Where Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets would pass opponents into submission, starving them of possession and forcing them to chase shadows for 90 minutes without respite, Luis de la Fuente's team slices its way through defenses with raw pace and intensity. Forget about the siege, get the battering ram out.

Key to this strategy are the two wide players, Williams and Lamine Yamal. They had an impact on the final before they had even stepped onto the pitch. 

Southgate admitted he changed England’s formation to a back four, in an attempt to counter the duo. 

At 22 and 17 years of age respectively, having both celebrated birthdays in the build up to the final, the rapid threat they pose is already giving coaches sleepless nights.

"People are getting to know me, and have more respect for me," Williams said after the game. That respect will only grow now he is a European champion.

Spain's dynamic wingers always a threat

The opening goal was the perfect example of how the two players drive Spain’s new-look tactics. 

With England seemingly still digesting their half time team talk, Yamal — who won the Young Player of the Tournament award after a series of standout performances — surged across the edge of the box before picking out Williams. 

The Athletic Bilbao forward did not hesitate for a moment, smashing a first-time effort past Jordan Pickford. Fast, direct, and fearless.

Gone are the days of pulling teams apart for minutes on end, the new generation prefers to take the quickest route to goal.

Why not, when they have all that pace, all that trickery, all that talent? There's no need to try and craft the perfect passing move when Dani Olmo can pick his spot from the edge of the box or Yamal can bury a shot from 25 yards out.

Old and new ways combine for success

Not that Spain are unable to play the old way. They still dominated possession and have midfielders who can keep the ball as well as any in the world.

Rodri, a winning machine for club side Manchester City as well as his national team now, was easily replaced at half time by an equally capable Martín Zubimendi.

In the 71st minute, their fans even started cheering, as England struggled to get anywhere near the ball. A couple of minutes later though, the scores were level, with Palmer placing a crisp effort past Unai Simon. 

There was no need to panic, England were tiring, and marauding left back Marc Cucurella found space out wide. 

He could have stopped, turned and passed to a more technically adept teammate. Instead he gambled, sending in a cross in the hope that Mikel Oyarzabal could get to the ball first. It paid off in spectacular style.

Olmo a surprise rescue act at the death

With time ticking away, one of Spain's key players stood tall once again although this time it proved to be at the other end of the pitch.

Olmo started the tournament on the bench, but an injury to Pedri brought him into the starting lineup after the quarterfinals. 

His three goals made him the joint top scorer and golden boot winner at Euro 2024, while his ability to keep the ball under flawless control in a crowded box has been one of the most enjoyable sights at this tournament. 

Adding goal-line clearances to his repertoire was an unexpected development, but a welcome one from a Spanish perspective. 

England came within millimeters of equalizing once again as Marc Guéhi's header beat Simon and looked destined for the back of the net, until Olmo popped up to keep Spain's lead intact.

When the World Cup rolls around in two years, this new golden generation from the Iberian peninsula will be ready. As a delighted Rodri quipped: "We made history but it doesn't stop here. We have talent and we'll keep going."