Will have to disagree. Thought they were poor. They navigated the group and easy round of 16 draw they got, but were not even remotely competitive against Argentina until they changed tactics with 10 minutes to go. Of course, I acknowledge that NED might have been a bad example for me because they were not healthy for these Euros. If they had their 2 best midfielders they'd be alot better, imo.
I agree that Spain has played better. But sometimes the better team doesn't win. I think England just has that "team of destiny" aura around them, where they simply find ways to win, even if it means they don't always look good doing it. Pretty or not, they keep edging out victories. I don't particularly care for them, or want them to win, but I think they do more of the same... they'll find a way to win against Spain and secure their first title in this tourney.
They do seem to have that type of attitude and confidence that no matter how bad things are going they can get the job done. But this Spain team seems to be playing at such a high level with talent everywhere and young kids who have no fear at all. Maybe England can take advantage of Spain's Keeper who sometimes makes some really bad decisions. That may be the only way they win this thing but if I were a betting man I would say Spain finds a way to lift up the trophy in Berlin and bet the house on them tonight.
I'm not saying Spain haven't been the best team in the tournament, they have been. I just don't think they're anything special. Mbappe had a fairly easy chance to score late on in the match and skied his shot over the bar. Germany also had plenty of chances that they failed to take. I think all of the other teams have been very disappointing this tournament. Portugal playing with 10 men (carrying Ronaldo). England playing with 10 men (carrying Kane) and being horribly negative due to Gareth Safegate. France hardly ever looked like scoring. Italy knocked out by Switzerland. I suppose Germany were the only other decent looking "big" team and like I said they missed chances that the Germany of old would have buried, they were also a tad unlucky what with the handball that wasn't given. Spain could still yet lose to England (probably not but hey I'm English and we always get our hopes up).
Spain being amateur today, going up too much and exposing themselves for a counterattack goal late in the game instead of using their superior possession and passing to draw out England. Spain and Germany were the only good big teams this tournament, but neither was special. Having said that, I think Spain will continue to dominate (well not dominate, but relatively be better than other big teams) over the next decade. We are in an era without much individually brilliant players, and too much focus on team play and athleticism and conservative play. Spain's already pioneered passing/possession style is most immune to this change compared to the other teams. It is interesting, Spain is now the all time best team in the euros, ahead of Germany and Italy, but in the world cup their record is still worse then a handful of European teams.
Congratulations to Spain! Very deserved winner. Beat the best teams and did it without much controversy or false play. Also the ref was great, didn’t fall for any of England’s dives. I wish we had this ref for our semi-final game.
Congratulations to Spain. Well deserved champions. Won every game, set new records, impressed the most, while showcasing some brilliant young talents.
Spain become the first team since 2002 Brazil to win a major tournament with seven consecutive victories.....
There is so much less individual talent these days. Look at the top scorer list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2024#Statistics Who are stand out names? Mbappe. Kane. Bellingham. Other than that no real superstars. The likes of Gakpo would come next, but check out all the Dutch names below in 1 Netherlands team that matched or were better than the likes of Gapko. Compare it to Euro 2012: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012#Statistics Cristiano Ronaldo Fernando Torres Balotelli Xabi Alonso Fabregas Silva Iniesta Xavi Ibra Gerrard Shevchenko Pirlo Van Persie Rooney Lewandowski Klose Casillas Buffon Neuer Shay Given Robben Sneijder Pepe etc.... I am not even counting the likes of Cassano, Podolski, Keane, Van der Vaart, Huntelaar, Kuyt, etc.. btw, did Jesus Navas just become the most decorated Spanish international player of all time? 2 euros and 1 world cup. It could have been 3 euros if he overcame his anxiety just a year earlier to not miss euro 2008.
I'd say these are the ranks from best to worst in Euro 2024 concluding the tournament: 1. Spain 2. Germany 3. France 4. Portugal 5. England 6. Switzerland 7. Austria (loss to Turkey was an upset for sure) 8. Slovenia 9. Denmark 10. Netherlands 11. Turkey 12. Belgium 13. Italy 14. Croatia 15. Slovakia 16. Albania 17. Hungary 18. Czech Republic 19. Poland 20. Romania 21. Ukraine 22. Scotland 23. Serbia 24. Georgia (Only reached Last 16 due to Portugal not going for it and not really needing any points)
I am only going to rank those that made the quarterfinals: 1. Spain 2. Germany 3. England 4. Netherlands 5. France 6. Switzerland 7. Portugal 8. Turkey
That play looked offside anyway. (Plus, I mean his arm/hand was right by his body in a totally natural position - but yeah, sometimes those get wrongly called).