No Way Home: Spain beats England to win Euros

By: Albert Harris

A phrase that has been said very often since 1966, England will not be bringing an international trophy home as they suffer a brutal defeat to Spain 2-1 as Spain is officially crowned the 2024 Euros Champion, making it their 4th Euros title in their history. 

Although they were the best team on paper in the tournament and won all their games without the need for penalties, Spain’s journey to the chip was a challenging one. The Euro Champions faced the past Euro champions throughout the tournament and triumphed over them with this including a powerhouse in France to win and it’s had a lot to do with the Player of the Tournament, Rodri along with Golden Boot winner Dani Olmo. There was a player however that managed to not only take the tournament but the world by storm and his name is Lamine Yamal.

The 16 year old sensation had an exceptional breakout campaign in this tournament breaking landmarks of being the youngest player to score, assist and win a Euro Championship. Yamal led the tournament in assist along with being a massive piece in La Roja’s run. With the career trajectory he’s having, Yamal is someone who the soccer world is going to keep an eye on for years to come with Adidas already marketing him with Messi as the young GOAT.

The credit for this prestigious championship also goes to their manager, Luis De la Fuente who had managed the U19 and U21 National Squads prior to joining the Senior team. Key players such as Merino and Olmo and the major star of the championship game, Oyarzabal were all on the U19 teams with De la Fuente and he helped grow them into the major players we see today. This is something that De la Fuente was a major part in building within La Roja and was one of the main reasons why he at the top of the European world right now despite not having a manager role for a Soccer club since 2011. 

Ultimately, Spain’s Euro win was an insane journey with the contribution of multiple factors. With the young core that they have built, they’re going to be a dangerous team to look out for come the World Cup.