Culture Corner

On Sunday night, Spain took home their fourth European Championship, being the first team to win it that many times, Germany being behind them with 3 championships respectively.

England advanced to the final after defeating The Netherlands, securing them a spot in back-to-back Euros finals, after their bout against Italy in Euros 2020. Unfortunately, the same result occurred, and England were once again sent home empty handed.

After a goalless first half, Spain answered quickly in the second, with Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams placing the ball in the bottom right corner after an assist from 17-year old Lamine Yamal, who once again showed a maturity beyond his years, rightfully winning the Young Player of the Tournament award when all was said and done.

After 70 minutes without a goal for England, Southgate made a change, and brought on Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who instantly made an impact, scoring 3 minutes later to level the score. Many England fans have questioned why Palmer didn’t start a single game, despite showing such creativity every time he stepped on the pitch during the tournament, even assisting the goal to put England through in the semi-finals.

After what looked like a few minutes of momentum for England after their goal, Spain were once again dominant, with Oyarzabal sealing the deal in the 86th minute, leaving England without enough time to score another, even after a close chance with a late corner forcing a save and a goal line clearance from the Spanish.

With such a brilliant team on paper and individual talent, it was a shame to not see England finally lift the European Championship trophy, but we can now look to the future; Gareth Southgate has announced that he will be resigning as England head coach (which I’m sure has got lots of fans excited), so we now look to who will be taking on the mantle. The FA have said that they are willing to wait for manager Pep Guardiola to finish his contract at Manchester City in 2025, and attempt to convince him to take charge of the squad, which has certainly got the nation talking; Perhaps Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones can help convince the Catalonian. Until then, we wait, with England set to play their next major tournament in the 2026 Fifa World Cup.