In the 181 minutes that Harry Kane has played in the final of Euro 2020 and 2024, the star forward has failed miserably. In those two full matches, Kane had a total of 1 shot and one touch in the opposition box as England lost back to back finals in the European championships. While the 2020 heartbreak came against Italy at home turf, England were dealt a bitter blow by Spain on Sunday, 14 July.
Kane, 30, one of the greatest forwards in the current generation remained trophy-less with England as the Gareth Southgate team looked clueless for the majority of the game against a spirited Spanish side. England played Harry Kane in a deeper role, where the striker was not able to influence the game and was taken off by the manager in the 61st minute of the game.
Speaking after the match, Kane said that it was bitter pill to swallow and the loss was as painful as it could be.
“Losing in a final is as tough as it gets. We done really well to get back into the game, to get to 1-1. We could have used that momentum to push on. We couldn’t quite keep the ball and we got punished for it, I don’t know what to say. This is going to hurt for a long time,” Harry Kane told the broadcaster after the game.
“It’s as painful as it could be in a football match,” Kane added after a long sigh.
After an extremely cautious first half where Spain had more possession and their opponents got the only shot on target, it only took two minutes after the restart for the Spaniards to break the deadlock.
Teenager Lamine Yamal found space down the right and crossed for fellow winger Nico Williams to slot home as England fell behind for the fourth successive match. Spain then enjoyed a purple patch with a series of attacks as England’s previously watertight defence fell apart.
England boss Gareth Southgate reacted by sending on Ollie Watkins, the goalscoring substitute hero of the semi-final, for an ineffective Harry Kane after an hour, with Cole Palmer, their most creative player for the last month, joining him 10 minutes later.
It paid off almost immediately when Jude Bellingham laid the ball back into Palmer’s path and the substitute curled home a precise low 20-metre shot in the 73rd minute.
Euro 2024 Final: Spain vs England match report
The massed ranks of England fans, who vastly outnumbered their rivals, exploded and the whole feel of the night changed.
Spain, however, weathered the storm and, Oyarzabal who came on in the 68th minute, struck.
There was still time for more drama at the other end as Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon parried a Declan Rice header from a corner and Dani Olmo blocked Marc Guehi’s follow up on the line.
“We didn’t keep the same intensity and pressure, we didn’t quite keep the ball well enough. It’s the last stage of the tournament. There’s a lot of tired legs, a lot of tired mentality there. We just struggled and obviously we got caught with the ball in behind,” Kane said.
“These are down to big moments. We had a big moment at the end where they cleared one off the line and it could have been different. It’s been a tough tournament. We’ve had to show a lot of resilience, me personally and the whole team. Right now, it’s just a huge disappointment,” he concluded.
Euro 2024 Final: Spain vs England Highlights
Substitute Mikel Oyarzabal scored four minutes from time to give Spain a deserved 2-1 Euro 2024 final victory over England on Sunday and a record fourth European crown, as Gareth Southgate’s team lost in their second successive final.
Oyarzabal combined with Marc Cucurella on a swift counter-attack for the winning goal as Spain were crowned champions, having won all seven games they played in the tournament.
(With Reuters Inputs)