Sports Editor Sam Lord reviews the defining moments and controversies from Euro 2024 in Germany.
As English and Spanish fans return home from the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Euro 2024 draws to a close. Arguably not the most attention-grabbing or goal-heavy football tournament in recent years, the German Euros still had its fair share of magical moments and peculiar controversies. Let’s review them.
Spain
Starting with by far the best team in the tournament, Spain. It was hard to imagine at any point throughout Euro 2024 that we would witness a Spanish defeat, and indeed we didn’t. The chemistry and organisation of this Spanish team were reminiscent of Spain’s golden generation from now over a decade ago. Spanish fans have seen stagnant results since their back-to-back Euro and World Cup wins from 2008 to 2012. Though there were signs of things changing, as just 3 years ago in the last Euros, Spain made it to the semi-final. They only lost out on penalties to the eventual winners Italy.
Whilst not their strong suit, Spain displayed a strong defensive performance, only conceding 4 goals throughout the whole tournament, with Unai Simón performing some incredible saves.
But where Spain shone was in their attack. And of course, the golden teenager Lamine Yamal, becoming the youngest goal-scorer at a European championship at only 16 years old, and in a semi-final against the 2nd best team in the world, France. And to top it off, Yamal brings home to Spain a shiny 17th birthday present in the Euros trophy.
England
After an emotional rollercoaster of a tournament, the England Men’s couldn’t replicate the Women’s Euros success. England came into the Euros as favourites to win, yet by the final, everyone was amazed that this team of incredible talent had made it that far. Ultimately, England’s Euro 2024 was defined by a series of truly magical moments, that will long be remembered by England fans for years to come.
In the first 4 games of the tournament, England didn’t perform anywhere close to the level expected. It only seemed in England’s narrow victory over Slovakia that we finally woke up to the pressure of a major tournament. The highlights being Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick to draw level, and an impressive set-piece that got Harry Kane one of his three Golden Boot-winning goals.
And indeed, the next 2 games were England’s best. England were solid, defensively, against Switzerland, and ruthless in their penalty shootout. An incredible show from both Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and all 5 penalty takers. This current team has somehow turned England’s historically pitiful penalty performance into their best asset. It felt like a redemption of the Euro 2021 final, where England lost out on penalties to Italy.
England beat the Netherlands in undeniably our best performance throughout the tournament. Despite a very controversial penalty decision (even more so considering the referee’s history of match-fixing), Southgate’s men went through fairly comfortably, with a moment of brilliance from Ollie Watkins.
A warm sense of confidence began to spread across the nation. Chants of ‘It’s Coming Home’ began getting louder and more repetitive and more fervently hopeful. TV repeats of the 1966 final only seemed to fuel hopes more.
However, it wasn’t meant to be. And the years of hurt continue. Not however without one more magical moment from Cole Palmer.
If there is any optimism to be found with England, it’s that our strengths from this Euros seemed to come from our youngest players. Bellingham, Saka, Foden, Palmer, Guehi and Mainoo. This is where our future talent lies, even if questions of replacements at full-back, for Harry Kane and England’s Number 1, Jordan Pickford, persist.
It seems this final defeat won’t change the divided opinions on manager Gareth Southgate and will certainly pose questions about his continuation in England’s top job.
France and the Netherlands
France, by their standard, had a very disappointing tournament overall. After their 2-1 defeat to Spain in the semi-final, they exited Euro 2024 having only scored 1 goal from open play and only 4 in total (2 from own goals, and Mbappe’s penalty against Poland). Defensively they were as solid as ever, until they met Spain of course. But many comparisons were made to England, in terms of their poor performance in front of goal. Though still better than their last Euros performance (facing a shock defeat to the Swiss on penalties in the Round-of-16), the main question now is how long Didier Deschamps will remain as manager.
The Netherlands had an interesting Euro 2024, making it to the semi-finals after finishing just 3rd in their group after an impressive Austrian performance. The Dutch show on the pitch was however certainly eclipsed by their incredible fanbase, as the ‘Orange Army’ brightly invaded every city they went to.
Besides the big 4
Aside from Spain, it seemed as though the most creative and eye-catching football was played by some of the underdog nations. Turkiye made a spectacular performance whenever they played, showing formidable risk-taking and determination, cheered on by arguably the most formidable and, at times aggressive, fans of the Euros.
Georgia also massively overperformed their initial expectations, finding a determined flare in their play, similar to Turkiye. Had they not faced Champions Spain so early on in the knockout stages, they could have very well gotten further. Though young forward Georges Mikautadze goes home as one of the Euros’ 6 Golden Boot winners.
Similarly, some big names did drop out earlier than expected. Reigning champions Italy left a lot to be desired, and ultimately showed little fight in the round of 16 against a well-put-together Swiss side. Luka Modric fought valiantly for his Croatian side in what could be his last major international tournament but was left heartbroken after Italy knocked them out of Euro 2024 after 90+8 minutes. A similar story for Toni Kroos, who announced his retirement from football just after Germany’s close defeat to Spain. The hosts played well in their final game, and some would consider it unlucky, as a potential handball by Spanish defender Marc Cucurella within the penalty box was decided by VAR to be not a foul.
Belgium’s now-aged golden generation of players failed to band together as they crashed out in the Round of 16 to France. Their group however did provide perhaps the most suspenseful final draw in this Euros, with all teams (Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine) finishing on 4 points. Yet goal difference sent Romania, Belgium and Slovakia through and Ukraine crashing out. None would make it past the last 16 however.
Portugal had a solid tournament, with an impressive defence led by 41-year-old Pepe. Yet they had a tearful exit after a close penalty shootout against France. Ultimately a disappointing end to what is almost certainly the last major international tournament for 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo.
Organisation and Controversies
Without doubt, this was a very German Euros. A practical, modest and well-planned tournament, in a country with incredible footballing infrastructure, that definitely deserves praise. They made organising a major tournament look easy. However, controversies arise in every major tournament of this size, and this one was no different.
Whilst the Germans have been commended for their world-class stadiums, some issues did arise. Complaints were made by multiple players about the quality of the Frankfurt Arena stadium, which made conditions on the pitch slippery for players. Swiss coach Murat Yakin revealed they had made complaints to UEFA about turf issues in their Stuttgart training ground and Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann raised the concern publicly that it could cause a serious injury. Luckily no such injury did occur.
It’s suggested that rainy weather conditions have contributed to this issue. Indeed, the evidence of poor weather conditions became realised as the round-of-16 clash between Germany and Denmark in Dortmund had to be suspended for 24 minutes due to a thunderstorm. It’s hard to blame German organisers for the weather, and indeed the smartest and safest decision to briefly suspend was quickly chosen. It does perhaps provide a glimpse into the future we may face with summer tournaments in a warming, wetter world.
There was also a moment of horror during the Scotland-Hungary game in which Hungarian striker Barnabás Varga was knocked unconscious, suffering a concussion and multiple bone fractures. The incident was reminiscent of Christian Eriksen’s collapse at the 2021 Euros. Many Hungarian fans and others after the game were frustrated by the seeming lack of urgency from the medical team. Luckily Varga managed to make a full recovery.
Final Thoughts
All in all, Euro 2024 has provided the enjoyment and distraction that a major footballing tournament hopes to provide. Perhaps not as memorable or as grand a talking point as the 2022 World Cup, or even the previous Euros. Yet if anything, this tournament seemed to be a transition from old to new. A wide preview of young talent from so many of the nations that competed, suggests we have some good years of football to look forward to.
