Facing Spain in the EURO 2024 final, England conceded a goal before Nico Williams scored in the 47th minute. In the second half, the "Three Lions" efforts were rewarded with a goal to equalize the score by Cole Palmer in the 73rd minute. However, in the 86th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal ended all hopes of England with a goal to seal the score at 2-1 for Spain.
This defeat left England without any titles for 58 years. In a post-match interview, coach Southgate admitted: " Spain are the best team in this year's tournament and they deserved to win the championship.
We were at a disadvantage when we had less than 1 day off than our opponents, but basically, the whole team still played well until the last 10 minutes of the match. I am really disappointed with this result," coach Southgate shared.
"We tried to fight until the last minute, but my players didn't control the ball well. Especially in situations where the opponent puts pressure right after losing the ball.
We let them get the ball back too early. However, I really regret the players. They were all great to give their all until the last minute," added Southgate.
Regarding the reason for replacing Kane early, coach Southgate said: "Kane has physical problems. He was tired and didn't have the speed we wanted. So I brought Watkins on to create more danger up front. I think it is a reasonable change of players".
When asked about the future, the England captain said: "I think this is not the right time to talk about this story. We just had a big shock. I need to discuss it with everyone. So I will not answer this question."
