Euro 2024 Review: Spain crowned continental champions

euronews (in English)

'Los Rojos' are champions of Europe for a record fourth time, winning every match and unearthing football's next young superstar along the way.

Transcript

00:00Spain have been crowned champions of Europe after a brilliant final in Berlin,

00:04but it wasn't the only story to unfold in Germany at the European Championships.

00:09Let's take a look at the highlights of a great tournament.

00:17Hello and welcome to Football Now. The much-anticipated 2024 European Championships

00:24has come to a dramatic end. Miquel Ayazabal was the hero for Spain as they beat England 2-1 in

00:30the final in Berlin 12 years on from the last time Los Rocos were crowned champions of Europe.

00:37Spain won all seven of their competition games on the way to lifting the trophy,

00:42facing some stern opposition on the way. It will surely go down as one of the all-time

00:48great tournament performances. It's right up there for Spain especially,

00:52you kind of look at the golden generation of Spain that we think of that kind of 2008,

00:562010, 2012 tournament. And while they had amazing players and there were really good performances,

01:01if you look back at a lot of those tournaments, there was a lot of games where they struggled,

01:05late wins, that kind of thing. When you look at how they did it, especially with a team that even

01:10here within Spain was underrated pre-tournament. Even the most patriotic hundreds that were

01:15asked pre-tournament who was going to win, very few if any said Spain. And I guess because this

01:19Spanish team doesn't have the recognizable superstars of the past, it doesn't have the

01:23Chavis and the Iniestas and even the David Villas. But fans have just really got behind this team and

01:28maybe because the expectations were a bit low pre-tournament, it's actually made that victory

01:33so much more sweeter. Tournament hosts Germany wanted to show the world that they were still

01:38a footballing superpower as they kicked off the opening game against Scotland in Munich.

01:43They passed that test with flying colours, a 5-1 victory setting them up for topping Group A

01:48comfortably. Eventual champions Spain started their journey in Group B, nicknamed the Group

01:54of Death alongside Italy, Croatia and Albania. Croatia's Luka Modric likely bowed out of

02:00international football with disappointment as his team crashed out at the group stage.

02:05It was the knockout rounds where the drama really began. All eyes were on Portugal's captain

02:10Cristiano Ronaldo, who for the first time in his magnificent career failed to score at a major

02:15tournament. Portugal lost to France in the quarter-finals. At 39 years old, is it time for

02:21Ronaldo to step back from international football and give the younger generation a chance at glory?

02:26Well, I don't know. I think that Roberto Martinez has to manage young players and talented players like

02:31Diego Jota, Gonçalo Ramos, Pedro Neto, also Francisco Conchitao and he has to build a stronger team.

02:36But in my opinion, if Ronaldo leaves, this is bad news for Portugal. I think he's very important,

02:41as I said before, more as a guy than as a leader, as a captain, than a star player.

02:45But I think when a player like Ronaldo leaves, it's always bad news.

02:50In what proved to be the final tournament in charge for former England manager Gareth Southgate,

02:55his team gave their fans plenty to cheer about. They scored all five spot kicks as they were

03:00victorious on penalties against Switzerland in the quarter-final and thanks to an incredibly

03:05late Ollie Watkins winner, dramatically beat the Netherlands to set up a second consecutive

03:10Euros final for the Three Lions. They came up against Spain in the capital, but it proved to

03:15be one step too far for Southgate's men. It was a cagey final where the substitutions made the

03:20difference. Cole Palmer scored from the bench for England, but it wasn't enough as Mikel Iazabol

03:25scored the goal to clinch the trophy for Spain with just four minutes to go.

03:30Well, there's always a lot of talk about who could be the surprise standout team

03:34ahead of a tournament like this one and this year that team was undoubtedly

03:38Turkey. They finished runners-up in their group before defeating Austria in the round of 16 and

03:44narrowly losing a quarter-final to the Netherlands. It was their best tournament finish though since

03:492008, so what was the secret to their success? Tactically, Turkey has always been renowned for

03:57its chaotic football in terms of last-minute goals, winning here and there, and very unpredictable side

04:03in terms of it's very up and down. They could play the semi-finals at 2008 and not qualify

04:08for the next tournament. I was really looking forward to seeing what they're going to perform

04:12and bearing in mind it's the first time that Turkey has actually had a foreign coach. However,

04:16I think he got it tactically correct because in modern day football now, you don't need a specific

04:22player for a specific position anymore. Anyone can play anywhere and anyone can perform anywhere

04:27and I think that's what Turkish national team showed in this tournament. Well, from breakout

04:32teams to breakout players and if you hadn't heard of Spain's Lamin Yamal before this tournament,

04:38it's safe to say you have now. The 17-year-old lit up this competition with his frightening pace

04:44and ability on the ball. He was crowned the young player of the tournament after the final

04:49and it's safe to say we'll be talking about his performances for years to come. We've seen young

04:54players here at Barcelona be really good, be really exciting. At 16, we've never seen someone come

05:00through to the first team and look so assured, look so confident. Not only is he able to burst

05:05past players, but he's able to pause, make the right pass. I mean, he had four assists at this

05:10Euros. I mean, it was incredible what he's done. Just to put into context, like his age and everyone

05:14goes on about it and it gets a bit repetitive, but he seems like he's extra special. The only

05:19one that we've seen have this much of an impact, this young and this assured is Messi. It's crazy

05:24to compare someone to Messi, but Messi at 16 was not doing this, so we shall see. Yes, another

05:32memorable European Championships is done and dusted then and congratulations to Spain who

05:37were crowned continental champions for the third time since 2008. Let us know your thoughts using

05:43the hashtag footballnoweuro2024. That's all we've got time for from our studio here in Doha,

05:49but of course the Euros isn't the only major international tournament to have taken place

05:54this summer. Join us next week when we'll review the 2024 Copa America. Bye for now.

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