The final of Euro 2024 saw Spain take on England at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Spain lived up to their status as pre-match favourites with a 2-1 victory to clinch an unprecedented fourth continental title and third in the past five editions of the tournament.
Although Spain were largely in control of the match throughout the first half, it wasn’t until shortly after the half-time break that La Furia Roja scored the opening goal. Nico Williams got on the end of Lamine Yamal’s pass after Yamal had made his way through a cluster of England’s players. England would go on to score the equalizer in the 73rd minute via substitute Cole Palmer. Just a few minutes after having replaced Kobbie Mainoo, Chelsea attacking midfielder Palmer scored from just outside the penalty area to pull the Three Lions level.
With just four minutes left in regulation time, Mikel Oyarzabal, the Real Sociedad winger who came off the bench to sub in for captain Álvaro Morata, finished off Marc Cucurella’s cross to secure the title for Spain. From the very beginning of this tournament, Spain had been playing at a level clearly above every other team sans Germany - and this superiority once again showed itself in the final. There’s every chance that Spain will enter the 2026 World Cup as the pre-tournament favourites.
As for England, this was clearly a blown opportunity. Having taken advantage of a relatively easy bracket, all they really needed to do was outplay Spain over the course of a single match. While some of England’s players did step up on the big occasion, many certainly did not - including, once again, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane.
Apart from an outstanding showing in the quarterfinal match against Switzerland, Saka had an underwhelming tournament on the whole. This has become a recurring theme throughout the Arsenal winger’s admittedly young career thus far - when the lights have been brightest and the pressure highest, the Londoner has more often than not come up short.
During Arsenal’s most recent Premier League run-ins, Saka has frequently underperformed during high-stakes scenarios. While it was his play that was a large contributor to the Gunners’ presence in the title race to begin with, his declined performance down the stretch has also been a big reason why the North London club have lost both of the last two Premier League titles to Manchester City. In international play, there’s of course his iconic penalty miss in the shootout of the Euro 2020 final against Italy. Saka also turned in a dismal performance in England’s 2022 World Cup quarterfinal loss against France.
At this point, with Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden having ascended to genuine superstar status and Palmer’s recent breakout, it’s worth questioning if Saka should even retain his spot in England’s starting 11 at all. England cannot afford to risk yet another no-show under pressure if they’re seriously pushing for a World Cup title in two years’ time.
On that note, we now come to Harry Kane. Amidst all the jokes and memes about how England’s all-time leading goalscorer has never won a trophy of any sort, there’s perhaps a kernel of truth. Like Saka, Kane has consistently wilted under the brightest spotlights despite his usually elite level of play. This was never shown more dramatically than via his game-losing penalty miss against France in the World Cup.
Kane turned in yet another dud on the big stage. The only thing of note the Bayern Munich striker did was incur a yellow card in the first half. He proceeded to cut a silent figure throughout the rest of the match, eventually being substituted by Ollie Watkins early in the second half - after which England started playing noticeably better.
It might now even be worth asking a question which not too long ago might’ve sounded borderline blasphemous: is it possible that benching Kane might end up being the catalyst that takes England to the mountaintop? It’s likely too soon to tell, but is he actually holding them back in some way?
Despite being somewhat top-heavy, there’s no question that England have the star power to win a title. However, at this level, the intangibles make all the difference - and when two of a team’s key starters seem to lack them in the way that Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane do, it’s not likely to “come home”.
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