Mikel Oyarzabal delivered a stunning late goal after coming on as a second-half substitute, securing Spain’s historic fourth European Championship title.
England’s hopes of ending its 58-year wait to win a men’s major international football tournament were shattered when Spain went ahead 2-1 and held on to win the trophy.
A cagey first half saw neither side establish genuine dominance, but Spain came out firing to open the second half, scoring inside two minutes of the resumption through Nico Williams.
England had come from behind in all of its knockout matches at this tournament so far, and continued that trend when substitute Cole Palmer stroked home a sublime equaliser with little over 15 minutes remaining.
Spain though, continued to press and found the winner thanks to a wonderfully-timed run from Oyarzabal, who slide home to break English hearts once again.
There was late controversy in the match though when replays showed the match-winning goal could have been taken off Spain because of a potential offside ruling.
Despite the drama, there is no denying Spain was the better team and deserved the victory, having gone through the tournament winning all seven games.
