The Spanish press gloated today about ‘kicking the football into its inventor’s face’ after La Roja beat England 2-1 in the Euros final – as a French outlet said it was time for Jude Bellingham to ‘take a holiday’.
Goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal condemned the Three Lions to a painful loss in Berlin last night and extended their trophy drought to nearly six decades.
Cole Palmer had levelled the scores shortly after being introduced in the second half but Oyarzabal’s close-range finish after Marc Cucurella‘s cross was enough to inflict another European Championship final setback on Gareth Southgate‘s side.
Spain’s newspapers revelled in the victory, with football journalist José Samano contrasting Spain’s ‘hymn to football’ with a ‘hermetic’ England.
‘Spain kicked the football into its inventor’s face and ascended to the Euro throne for the fourth time – a unique feat,’ he wrote in El Periódico.
In El Mundo, Abraham P Romero called England’s defeat yet another bitter dollop of ‘eternal tragedy’.
Marca declared Spain as the ‘Invincible Armada’ after they beat England in the Euro 2024 final
AS’ headlines translates as ‘Spain is in glory’ and accompanies a large celebration picture
Spain’s newspapers revelled in the victory, with football journalist José Samano contrasting Spain’s ‘hymn to football’ with a ‘hermetic’ England
Elsewhere on the Continent, journalists appeared to revel in England’s agony.
French outlet L’Equipe believe Bellingham, moved into a left-sided role for much of the game to free up Phil Foden, encapsulated his country’s woes, claiming that the superstar will be ‘eager’ to take a holiday to put both the result and the tournament behind him.
They have also tipped the midfielder to head off for a summer break ‘frustrated’.
Striker Kane, hauled off on the hour mark after another ineffectual performance and replaced by semi-final hero Ollie Watkins, was also placed in the spotlight with L’Equipe, known to be brutal with their ratings, handing him a lowly 3/10.
‘Clearly tired, the Bayern Munich player made a series of bad choices, missing several passes that annihilated his team’s attacks, picking up a deserved yellow card for an avoidable foul on Fabian Ruiz and being too short on a cross,’ they wrote.
‘The captain was logically replaced in the 61st minute by Watkins.’
Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo were also criticised with the trio given a 4 while the highest England mark, just a 6, was meted out to five of Southgate’s players – Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Bellingham.
Harry Kane was given a lowly 3/10 rating after another ineffectual performance against Spain
L’Equipe claim Jude Bellingham was a ‘symbol’ of England’s frustration during their defeat
Five England players were given a 6 rating – the highest mark given to the runners-ups
Sport hailed the achievements of both the Spanish football side and tennis star Carlos Alcaraz
Unsurprisingly, the Spanish front pages gleefully toasted the victory.
Marca placed a large photo of the trophy lift across their entire spread alongside the headline: ‘The Invincible Armada’, showcased in an eye-catching yellow.
AS adopted a similar design with a photo of Spain’s players, coaching staff, King Felipe and Infanta Sofia celebrating on the podium stretched out on both pages. Their large headline roughly translates as: ‘Spain is in glory’.
Sport used their front page to salute the achievements of both their football team and Carlos Alcaraz, who defended his Wimbledon crown after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets yesterday, hailing them as ‘super champions’.
Mundo Deportivo similarly split their page into two with Spain’s trophy lift on the top half and a snap of Alcaraz kissing his Wimbledon trophy across the bottom.
Mundo Deportivo also split up their front page to highlight Alcaraz’s Wimbledon triumph
L’Equipe hailed La Roja’s current crop as the ‘new kings of Spain’ in a glowing verdict
Corriere dello Sport also saluted Spain’s double achievement in both football and tennis
‘Champions!’ their simple headline read.
L’Equipe declared La Roja’s heroes as the ‘new kings of Spain’ and led with another trophy celebration picture alongside Alcaraz’s stunning victory at SW19.
Italian publication Corriere dello Sport also saluted Spain’s double achievement in both football and tennis, labelling their quickfire success ‘amazing’.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, ran with the headline ‘Spain, ole!’ and struck a particular focus on Alvaro Morata, who is expected to join AC Milan this week.
Portuguese paper A Bola waxed lyrical about the ‘Kings of Europe’ and described Spain as the ‘best of the final’ and the best side at the tournament.
La Gazzetta dello Sport focused briefly on Alvaro Morata ahead of his expected AC Milan move
Portuguese paper A Bola waxed lyrical about the ‘Kings of Europe’ on their front page
England boss Southgate insisted he would not consider his future so soon after the final but plans to hold discussions to make a decision.
‘Now is not the time for me to speak about that,’ he said post-match. ‘I need to talk to the right people and give myself a bit of time.
‘To get to another final… it was a privilege to have the opportunity. But to come up short is hard at the moment.’
