Late Oyarzabal winner for Spain crushes England Euro 2024 dream

BERLIN — Substitute Mikel Oyarzabal broke England's hearts on Sunday, sliding home a 86th minute winner to clinch Euro 2024 for Spain in a dramatic final at the Olympic Stadium.

After the spectacular young duo of Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal earlier combined for Spain's opening goal just after half-time, sub Cole Palmer brought England back into it with a well-taken equalizer after 73 minutes.

And then, a breathless final few moments. Left-back Marc Cucurella surged forwards and slid the ball across the box, where it was met by Oyarzabal, who had been introduced at half-time to replace injured influential midfielder Rodri.

England, finalist at Euro 2020 and still awaiting its first major trophy since 1966, was crushed. Yet, there was still more to come.

Semifinal hero Ollie Watkins had a chance when he was found clear in the box but could not control it neatly enough, then a frenetic passage saw Unai Simon parry a Declan Rice header, Marc Guehi's effort from the rebound was cleared off the line by Dani Olmo, then Rice aimed another header off target.

Electrifying throughout the tournament from their positions on each wing for Luis de la Fuente's side, Yamal and Williams teamed up to finally broke down England's tight defensive set-up just after half-time.

Having been largely kept in check by Luke Shaw during the opening period, Yamal, who only turned 17 on Saturday, got himself on the defender's other side and advanced toward goal in the 47th minute.

Williams' goal Spain on a path for its seventh-straight win in the competition, the first time a team has achieved that feat.

Spain came in as the tournament's top scorer with 13 goals, while England had managed seven on its dramatic run through the knockout round, with a