2024 Euro

England 1-2 Spain

Scoreless at halftime, I thought Spain was generally the more dangerous team but they seemed evenly match enough that the game felt like it was headed to OT. But then Spain grabbed the lead right out of halftime and suddenly it felt like they could make it stand up if they could control the possession. They more or less did, they still seemed more dangerous around the goal and certainly more likely to run out some clock. But England tied it up on a lovely rip just outside the box on a loose ball that got away from the crowd. Now it felt like we were back on the OT thing again, but both sides looked game for some action and I thought the 2nd half was good back and forth. Then Spain caught the English in a moment of not paying attention and took the lead back on a bang-bang finish off a swift low pass into the box (that actually didn't look all that dangerous). 

Both sides played hard and smart but I thought Spain was the better team throughout and the scoreline is accurate. All through this tourney, England had a knack for looking mostly confused on offense but then getting the last minute goal needed to move them forward; well, that got them all the way to the damn championship, but you just knew that wasn't really a proper strategy. And even though they did have some chances late (man, that triple header combo that led to back to back goal line saves was a pip!), Spain was not the team that was gonna let England steal one from them.

As I predicted earlier, the winner of the Germany-Spain quarterfinal went on to win the whole thing--I firmly believe it would've been Germany beating England in the final today if they had won. They really were the two best teams. Both teams had good talent and good depth all over the field. Spain got the head-to-head W and now they have the full on trophy. Great return to form for the Spanish. I wouldn't call them the runaway fave in the 2026 World Cup, though they'll definitely be in the mix.