Spain, Sunday night, defeated England 2-1 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin, to lift the European Championship trophy for a record fourth time, after the 1964, 2008 and 2012 triumphs.

The defeat means two successive losses for the Three Lions in the final of the European Championship after they lost on penalties to Italy at Wembley stadium in 2021, when the Euro 2020 was held.

England Gareth Southgate made only one change to the side that beat the Netherlands in the semifinals with Luke Shaw coming into the starting lineup at the expense of Kieran Trippier.

Luis De la Fuente welcomed back Dani Carvajal and Le Normand to the starting lineup for Spain after their suspensions at the expense of Nacho and Jesus Navas.

The first half was cagey but towards the end of that, there were a few sparks.

Luke Shaw carried the ball to the penalty after finding his attacking teammates but the ball was cleared by Marc Cucurella.

England captain, Harry Kane, was booked in the first half and played with a brake on, same as Spain’s Dani Olmo, for planting the studs of his boot on the midriff of Declan Rice, meaning both influential players were limited in their defensive contributions.

Phil Foden had England’s best scoring chance before the break but his low shot was smothered by Unai Simon.

Rodri made a vital block to keep away a Kane shot deep into the added time in the 45 minutes.

Curiously, Rodri was replaced at half time by Martin Zubimendi

Spain then struck two minutes after the restart as Nico Williams finished off a move instigated by Lamine Yamal.

Cole Palmer came off the subs bench and within seconds restored parity with a low shot that deflected off a Spanish player in the 73rd minute.

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Yamal pounced on a loose ball to let fly a rasping shot but Jordan Pickford pushed the ball away.

Spain restored their lead five minutes before full time as Mikel Oyarabal poked home from a Cucurella delivery into the box. VAR check showed there was no offside in the buildup.

Dani Olmo was on the line to head out an Ollie Watkins header after an intial Rice header was pushed away by Unai Simon.

The match ended 2-1 in favour of Spain.

Euro Cup 2024: Spain wins record fourth European Championship title

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