3 things England got wrong in Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain
- England fell to Spain in Euro 2024 final
- Three Lions failed to build on positivity from semi-final win over Netherlands
- Return to original formation raised questions
By Tom Gott
For the second European Championship final in a row, England are hurting.
The Three Lions came up short against Spain in Berlin's showcase on Sunday evening, failing to live up to their billing as pre-tournament favourites against the side who have been far-and-away the best team of the summer.
Here are three key issues England got wrong in the final.
Formation change
Luke Shaw's return was undoubtedly the right call - the Manchester United left-back thoroughly impressed against Lamine Yamal - but Southgate's decision to shift away from the 3-4-2-1 formation that had brought him success earlier in the knockout stages was a bold one.
England went back to the 4-2-3-1 formation in which they began the tournament, and there were once again questions over how their best players fit together.
Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham all failed to showcase their best form in the final, leaving England fans wanting a return to the positivity shown in the quarter-final and semi-final.
Negative mindset
England took the game to the Netherlands in the semi-final and impressed to such a point that many fans were feeling confident heading into the final against Spain.
From the first whistle, it became clear that the Three Lions were going to sit back and defend, rather than try to attack. They fought through the first half but immediately fell behind following the restart.
As has been the case too often this summer, England only came to life when they went behind. Cole Palmer's equaliser was deserved but not enough. What could have been had England gone for this from the first whistle?
Starting Harry Kane
Look, let's be real, Harry Kane was never getting dropped for this, even if he fell well short of expectations this summer.
Kane spent the first 60 minutes of the game failing to ask any questions of Robin Le Normand or Aymeric Laporte in the Spain back line, and when he was unsurprisingly hooked on the hour mark, England came to life. Ollie Watkins' desire to run beyond the defence actually caused problems for Spain.
Had Southgate started Watkins, whose heroics against the Netherlands would have earned him a start in nearly any other national team on the planet, perhaps England could have been celebrating on Sunday evening.
READ MORE OF THE LATEST ENGLAND NEWS, QUOTES & MATCH PREVIEWS
feed