Coach Luis de la Fuente's Spain went into the grand final of Euro 2024 with everything on the line against England. They had already beaten World Cup winners Germany, France and Italy, but needed to beat the inventors of football to take sole possession of the Euro title.

England, on the other hand, knew they were not favourites after an inconsistent Euro campaign, but they had the lofty goal of winning their first Euro and their first trophy for 58 years (their only previous title was the 1966 World Cup on home soil). They also had a thirst for revenge after missing out on glory against Italy in the last edition in 2021 (3-2 defeat on penalties).

True to form, Spain overcame the loss of Rodri to injury to take the lead in the 47th minute through Nico Williams, assisted by his dancing partner, the young Lamine Yamal. However, England were not to be denied and equalised in the 73rd minute through Palmer, assisted by Bellingham.

In the dying minutes of the match, Real Sociedad's Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winning goal, giving Spain their fourth European title and leaving no doubt that they deserved to win the tournament. They played 7, won 7, some of them (like Georgia, 4-1) by a landslide.

The 86th-minute goal not only secured Spain's fourth title and their place at the top of the European standings, but also underlined their dominance in recent decades, having won three of the last five editions.

They won in 1964, 2008 and 2012, with the last two coming either side of their 2010 World Cup triumph in the golden era of Xavi Hernández, Xabi Alonso and Andrés Iniesta.

"It's been a wonderful day, with a team that deserves to be crowned European champions," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

"I couldn't be happier, we are a real team, European champions. I am more proud of them every day. Thank you for the support from all over Spain," concluded the 63-year-old coach after the victory at the Olympic Stadium in front of a predominantly English crowd.

"To lose the final is incredibly tough," said their manager, Gareth Southgate. "Congratulations to Spain, they were the best team in the tournament and the best team tonight." 

England became the first team in history to lose back-to-back Euro finals, and the future of their manager remains uncertain. "Gareth will take his time to decide. We wanted to win it for him," captain Kane said of the future of manager Gareth Southgate, who has hinted at stepping down if England do not win Euro 2024.

For his part, first-goal scorer and one of the standout performers for the European champions, Nico Williams, was "euphoric. Very happy. All our people deserve it. The family, the fans... European champions and now we're going to the World Cup (in 2026).

On scoring the decisive goal, Oyarzabal said: "I did my job, what I had to do in every moment. I was lucky to score the winner. You appreciate that a lot. And when you're lucky enough to score... It's the best".

Spain midfielder Rodri, who was forced off early with a knee injury, was named the best player at Euro 2024. He was outstanding against hosts Germany and France en route to the final, and scored the equaliser in a 4-1 win over Georgia in the last 16.

Alongside Rodri, other key players included Dani Olmo and explosive young wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, aged 22 and 17 respectively. Together with a bold coach who always tried to get his team to play with ball control and dominance,they managed to leave the crisis in Spanish football and its leadership of the previous year behind them.

Titles:

4 titles: Spain  

3 titles: Germany  

2 titles: France, Italy  

1 title: USSR, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Portugal

All champions:

1960: USSR (beat Yugoslavia 2-1 after extra time)  

1964: Spain (beat USSR 2-1)  

1968: Italy (beat Yugoslavia 1-1, 2-0 on penalties)  

1972: West Germany (3-0 defeat USSR)  

1976: Czechoslovakia (beat West Germany 2-2 after extra time, 5-3 on penalties)  

1980: West Germany (beat Belgium 2-1)  

1984: France (2-0 win over Spain)  

1988: Netherlands (2-0 win over USSR)  

1992: Denmark (beat Germany 2-0)  

1996: Germany (beat Czech Republic 2-1 with golden goal in extra time)  

2000: France (beat Italy 2-1 with an extra-time golden goal)  

2004: Greece (1-0 win over Portugal)  

2008: Spain (beat Germany 1-0)  

2012: Spain (beat Italy 4-0)  

2016: Portugal (beat France 1-0 after extra time)  

2021: Italy (beat England 1-1 after extra time, 3-2 on penalties)  

2024: Spain (beat England 2-1)