3 things England got wrong in Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain
England are in agony as they play in their second consecutive European Championship final.
In their pre-tournament attempt against what was undoubtedly the greatest team of the summer, the Three Lions were unable to live up to expectations against Spain on Sunday night in Berlin.
These are the three main things that England mishandled in the final.
Change formation
While it was the right option for Luke Shaw to return—the Manchester United left-back looked good against Lamin Yamal—Southgate made a risky move by abandoning the 3-4-2-1 configuration that had worked for him in previous knockout stages. One.
When England went back to their original 4-2-3-1 style at the beginning of the competition, concerns arose over the compatibility of their finest players.
The lackluster performances from Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, and Harry Kane in the championship game left England supporters hoping for a return to the team’s winning ways from the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Negative mentality
In the semifinal match, England defeated the Netherlands, inspiring such confidence in the supporters that they went into the final match against Spain.
It was evident from the first whistle that the Three Lions would defend rather than try to attack. They fought through the first half, but as soon as play resumed, they were behind.
England came alive only when it was too late, as it has done so frequently this summer. Though well-deserved, Cole Palmer’s equalizer proved insufficient. If England had used this from the first whistle, what would have happened?
The beginning of Harry Kane
Let’s face it, even though Harry Kane performed much below expectations this summer, he was never left out because of this.
England came alive when Kane, shockingly, hooked up with Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte at the hour mark after spending the opening sixty minutes of the match failing to pose any questions to the Spanish backline. Spain is having issues because Ollie Watkins wants to get past the defenders.
England may have been celebrating on Sunday night if Southgate had started Watkins, whose valiant display against the Netherlands could have earned him a starting position for practically any other national team in the world.