England remain haunted by ghost of 1966 - what next for this generation and Gareth Southgate
Football is proving obstinate. Did you not get the postcard? It’s not coming home. Not yet anyway. It will be at least 60 years before it can return now and if England were to win a sprawling World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico then the achievement will deserve to be talked about for evermore.
As it stands, the ghost of 1966 still haunts England and an overseas major title eludes them.
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Hide AdHeartbreak then for Gareth Southgate, who said he did not believe in fairytales but he did believe in dreams. It was not a fairytale. It was not a dream. It was a straightforward ball into the box from Spanish left back Marc Cucurella, who has spent the second half of his tournament being booed by German fans still smarting at his involvement in a contentious decision in the quarter final.
He will hear only oles now after substitute Mikel Oyarzabal slid in his assist to make it 2-1 to Spain with four minutes of regulation time left.
It is now 654 matches since England won the World Cup. One wonders what happens now? Gareth Southgate might well have led them for the last time. Someone else must deal with the pressure that comes from the weight of history as well as the feeling that this group of talented players need to win something tangible. They might even be cast as chokers by the harshest critics. Two finals, two defeats.


It is unknown how many current Scottish footballers were wandering around golf courses in the gloaming while this game was going on, in the style of Denis Law 58 years ago. But they returned to the club house to hear the news that England had fallen just short. Another substitute, Cole Palmer, had given Southgate's side hope with a stunning controlled finish from 20 yards. A late flurry almost saw England secure another late lifeline but few could take issue that the best team won in the end. Football was heading to its adopted home of Spain, again. La Roja have now won four major titles this century.
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Hide AdCan a certain other side gain any satisfaction from being the only team to beat Spain in either qualifying or at the finals themselves? Following such a limp showing from Steve Clarke’s side in Germany, only the most brass necked amongst the Tartan Army will anoint Scotland unofficial European champions.
No Rodri, no problem. Spain lost their lynchpin due to injury at half time. England were deprived of theirs shortly afterwards, but it was by design. Skipper Harry Kane was taken off on the hour mark having already been booked. That he was off the pace was more relevant to why this significant alteration took place, with Ollie Watkins, the hero of the semi-final, replacing him. It was a sign that things were not going to plan.
Southgate, pilloried for being so unyielding when it came to making changes, had made a fairly brisk one on this occasion involving his main man and captain. Still, it could be argued that it was still too late. He might have made the switch when Kane earned that yellow card, after 23 minutes following a lunge on Fabian Ruiz that followed his own poor touch. He was already labouring.
It was a stop, start first half. No goals surprised no one although it was the first time that England had failed to score in the opening 45 minutes of a major final. They did so in 1966, after 18 minutes through Geoff Hurst. They did so in 2021 – after just two minutes through Luke Shaw. Indeed, it was reckoned that goal came too early as hanging on to the advantage proved beyond them as Italy asserted control towards the end of the first half.


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Hide AdSo 0-0 was almost welcome as far as Southgate was concerned. It meant Spain were being contained. It was just whether that could last. It didn’t.
England fans were still rubbing their hands at Rodri’s absence from the Spanish contingent who returned to the field in the second half when La Roja struck through Nico Williams. It was a signal that Spain had lifted things up a notch.
England had been fairly horrible in the first half although that would not have concerned them. They had been horrible for so much of the tournament and yet were one of two teams from 24 in the final. It’s been so long since Scotland were involved it feels like another tournament. But Spain looked recognisable. At least recognisable if we are talking about the team who turned up at Hampden a couple of Springs ago.
While England were poor in the opening 45 minutes, Spain also struggled to get into their stride. There’s no question they have been the best team in the tournament but that doesn’t for much unless they could seal the deal in the final.
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Hide AdLamine Yamal spent his second day as a 17-year-old playing in a European Championships final. Luke Shaw turned 29 the previous day and might have preferred a different challenge in his first start of the tournament than keeping a boy wonder quiet. He was up to the task in the first half as he thundered into 50-50 challenges and swept the ball from the teenager’s feet in another instance when danger looked afoot.


It did feel as though Jamal was waiting for the right moment and was toying with his opposite man, who couldn’t possibly be match fit. And so it proved. The final turned on the moment Jamal decided so ask some questions of the England defence moments into the second period, as he drifted across the box after a quick move up the right. Dani Carvajal’s first touch pass to the teenager was instrumental.
Still, Yamal still had a lot to do. And he laid the ball off for Williams at precisely the right time and while the ball looked like it had taken a bobble, the Athletic Bilbao winger struck the ball sweetly beyond a despairing Walker challenge and an equally desperate dive from Pickford. What’s pick that one out in Spanish?
It was a finish of the highest quality and one that fully merited being the winner in such a final. That it wasn’t was down to another inspired decision from Southgate, although again the move to replace Kobbie Mainoo, who was anonymous in the opening half, might have been belated. It worked out again for England but this time only very briefly.
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