European Championship Final BreakDown: England VS Spain

 Written By: Danny Albers 

Result: Spain wins 2-1 

“Bend don’t break” and “just survive” finally failed for England when they played a Spanish side who dominated through the entire European Championship. England’s goalie Jordan Pickford in net was the reason England stayed so close in this game as this could have easily been a 4-1 blow out victory. Spain’s constant pressure was too much for England. Spain controlled the ball for 66% of the time and passed the ball 545 times to Englands 294. Ball movement and patience was the game plan as it usually is for Spain. Spain had 6 shots on goal to Englands 4. A lot of the rushes England got came in desperation mode in the second half. To open up the second half, Nico Williams scored in the 47th minute to give Spain a 1-0 lead. That would be answered though from England in the 73rd minute to tie the game up at 1. England looked to be alright with going to extras and betting their hand at penalties as it was clear that Spain was the better, more disciplined team. The unusual hero of Mike Oyarzabal scored in the 86th minute to deflate the English fans and give Spain the 2-1 lead and the eventual victory. Spain has now won their 4th European Championship and their 3rd since 2008. The mixture of youth on this team makes you think this team's European dominance might continue for some time to come.