England have fallen short in the final of the European Championships for the second time in three years having lost 2-1 to Spain on Sunday evening.
Gareth Southgate and co weren’t exactly convincing during their run to the final, but they were just 90 minutes away from glory in Berlin.
Nico Williams opened the scoring straight after half-time, only for Cole Palmer to level it up with a superb shot from the edge of the box.
Sadly for England, it just wasn’t to be as Mikel Oyarzabal won it for Spain late on, slotting home Marc Cucurella’s cross from close range.
Three years after losing to Italy at Wembley Stadium, England have once again tasted defeat in the European Championship final.
This one hurts for England, but the truth is that Spain were the best team – not just on the night, but also throughout the tournament.
Spanish media react to Marc Cucurella v Bukayo Saka
Spain won every single game they played at this tournament, so few can really suggest that they didn’t deserve to win the final.
Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal stole the headlines with the wing duo wreaking havoc to all full backs this summer.
Rodri strengthened his case for the Ballon d’Or with a superb tournament and Dani Carvajal won yet another trophy.
Those are some great stories, but few could have predicted that Marc Cucurella would become such a key man for Spain.
The Chelsea man enjoyed an improved second half of the season, but has largely struggled to live up to the billing after a huge 2022 move from Brighton and Hove Albion.
Spain can boast Bayer Leverkusen star Alejandro Garnacho among their left back options, but Cucurella was given the nod for Euro 2024.
Cucurella repaid Luis De La Fuente’s faith and supplied the winning moment, bombing forward up the left flank before finding Oyarzabal to score.
Cucurella had a great battle with Bukayo Saka too with the Arsenal man having the better of the early going.
The Chelsea man was superb for the rest of the game though, outside of Saka exposing him being out of position for Palmer’s strike.
This battle between the two Premier League regulars was of real interest over in Spain and their newspapers have rated Cucurella favourably after his meeting with Saka.
SPORT rated Cucurella at 9 out of 10, branding him a ‘titan’ amid booing from German fans inside the stadium.
“No matter how much he is whistled or booed, Cucurella is a titan. He was the heart of Spain on the left wing and rounded off his display with the pass to Oyarzabal to make it 2-1.”
RPP praised Cucurella for his marking and ‘physical display’ against Saka, noting that he proved his doubters wrong in the process.
“He arrived at the tournament in Germany with questions indicating that he was only a full-back for attack. And that is an absolute lie. The Chelsea player fought hard in marking with a physical display that earned him applause. This Sunday he crowned his performance with an assist to Mikel Oyarzabal.”
Mundo Deportivo felt that Saka was pretty much invisible due to Cucurella, claiming that the Chelsea man ‘controlled’ him for most of the game.
“Controlled by Cucurella for 70 minutes of the match, there was no news of him until the full-back lost his position and his foray ended in a 1-1 draw.”
La Vanguardia rated Cucurella at 8 out of 10, praising him for battling with Saka as well as offering a threat going forward.
“He was the full-back who advanced the most, especially when Nico moved to the right wing. He battled with Saka. He gave the assist to Oyarzabal that sealed Spain’s victory in the 88th minute.”
Mucho Deporte also went with an 8 out of 10 rating, believing that he was ‘alert’ to Saka’s quality and defended him well before finding the killer assist late on.
“The Spanish full-back put in a commendable performance, alert to the incisive Saka and dangerously projecting himself in attack to double Nico Williams. He was also attentive in his defensive balance. However, he made a mistake by rushing out of his zone, into the centre of the field, which led to the play that ended in Palmer’s 1-1. He then provided the most important assist of his career for Oyarzabal, which meant the 2-1.”
Cucurella can be delighted with his Euro 2024, not just because he finished as a winner, but because he really proved himself against some of Europe’s very best – including Saka.
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