Berlin [Germany]: Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes that the English player’s failure to keep the ball caused them problems in their 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.
Goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal ensured that Spain lifted their fourth Euro title, and England became the first team to lose the final two consecutive times.
England’s struggle to keep possession in their favour against a team like Spain came back to haunt them in the final. Throughout the game, they only had a 34 per cent share of the ball in comparison to Spain’s 66.
Spain made most of the ball share and racked up 16 shots, with six on target. In reply, England fired nine shots, with four of them ending up on the target.
“We can focus on a lot of things, but Southgate’s answer on how we did not keep the ball well enough should be the title of the England book,” Neville told ITV Sport, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“Every single England manager has said the same thing, every single England player has felt the same thing because we have lived it out there on the pitch, our legs have gone and we end up dying on our feet in the latter part of games where the other team have got stronger. It is repeat, rinse and repeat. These lads have done incredibly well to get to a final, they have done more than we ever did, but some of the same patterns have occurred,” he added.
In the first half, both teams defended well and could only muster up a shot each on target. Spain put their foot on the accelerator and took the lead moments after the second half began. Lamine Yamal with a brilliant piece of play on the right, found Willams in the open space on the other end. The youngster effortlessly slotted it into the back of the net.
England eventually managed to equalise in the 73rd minute following a first-time shot. Neville felt that England’s lack of ability to control the game could have seen them trail by more goals before the equaliser.
“Spain had a lot of chances, they could have won the game before we equalised. We got back into it, but we could have been 2-0 down before that and to not control the biggest games has been a problem for England teams in many, many tournaments,” he said.
“And to have to play from behind the ball and move your whole team up the pitch from the edge of your box to the other end of the pitch is very difficult. You can win the odd game doing that, you can win two or three games, but eventually, you play a team with too much quality and that is what we found tonight,” he added.
In the 86th minute, Oyarzabal poked the ball into the back of the net to seal Spain’s fourth Euro title.
