EPL Players at EURO 2024 – The Final
Spain are the European champions for a record fourth time as they beat England in yesterday’s final in Berlin. As part of our EPLNews EURO 2024 report, here is how Premier League players performed in yesterday’s game.
Spain 2-1 England
Despite consecutive EURO finals for the first time in the Three Lions’ history, it still did not “come home”, as Spain claimed their fourth continental crown.
It was a tense game, with the first half’s only shot on target coming in injury time. Second half was certainly more eventful, as Spain struck in the 47th minute through an unmarked Nico Williams. The Spaniards then proceeded to have a couple of chances to put the game to bed, but were thwarted by a combination of defensive efforts and the inspiration of Jordan Pickford.
England managed to equalise in the 73rd minute thanks to Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, only three minutes after he came on. But it was not enough.
After a back-and-forth period of a little over 10 minutes, it was another substitute, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored the winner from a pinpoint Marc Cucurella cross. There was a late flurry for England, with three headed chances falling to Rice and defensive duo Stones and Guehi, but Spain held firm.
In terms of Premier League players, there were very few genuinely good performances, as it can be argued that only the two EPL Spaniards, plus Rice, Saka and Palmer emerged with some credit. Speaking of Rodri, Spain managed to secure the trophy despite an injury forcing the City midfield metronome off at half time.
Ratings
Spain: Marc Cucurella (Chelsea) – 7; Rodri (Manchester City) – 7.5
England: Jordan Pickford (Everton) – 6.5; Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – 5.5; John Stones (Manchester City) – 6; Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) – 6; Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 7; Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) – 6; Declan Rice (Arsenal) – 6.5; Luke Shaw (Manchester United) – 5.5; Phil Foden (Manchester City) – 6; Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – 5.5; Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 7.5; Ivan Toney (Brentford) – N/A
You can find highlights and reactions from this game by clicking here.