Euro 2024 news: Bellingham admits England ‘didn’t quite deliver’ in final loss to Spain – live | Euro 2024

Sam Jones

At least the Spanish media enjoyed last night’s performance from Luis de la Fuente’s side.

Charles Antaki gives his verdict on the BBC v ITV match last night:

“It’s extraordinary that viewers preferred the BBC coverage, given that it meant that they were willing to listen to Alan Shearer on the commentary. Respect, of course; but as a commentator, he gives you, rather than tactical insights, poker-faced banalities delivered in monotone, with the only light and shade being how much volume he puts into it. You might as well listen to a public service announcement at a train station, supposing it was delivered by somebody who was angry, grudging and unhappy with the world around them.”

Steve Hale says:

“Sorry, but I’m fed up of hearing ‘long season, exhausted, one last push’ etc etc from England players. The same applies to Spain as well yet they managed to play a lot better and win. It’s down to ability and desire. They had it. We didn’t.”

On that point of service, I wonder what Cole Palmer (who is also a goalscorer) has to do to start for England. His stats for the tournament are as follows: one goal, one assist, zero starts. He’s made maximum impact with minimal play time.

Odysseus continues by saying:

“They also need to ask the question, with so many goal scorers on the pitch, why didn’t he realise it was the art of service they were lacking? That simple and obvious realisation would make it criminal to leave Trent on the bench and load up on more strikers, especially when chasing a goal. It’s kind of like putting a whole bunch of nails on a board and leaving the hammer in the toolbox…”

Here’s a more damning take on England and Spain’s Euros performances from Odysseus (no relation to the Greek king):

“All the talk about England being second best and barely missing out on winning the cup, gives the Three Lions more credit than they deserve.

The truth, obvious to anyone who watched all of the games, is that Spain’s games got progressively easier from the quarter finals on, and England never would have made it anywhere near the finals if they had taken the path Spain took.

Germany gave Spain their hardest game, and France looked far more dangerous than England. England at best were the fourth best team in the tournament, and Italy would have a good case to even argue that. Any examination and fair assessment of Southgates work needs to use that fact as a measuring stick.”

Ben N thinks we should (rightly) stop counting the years of hurt:

England have made the final twice in a row now which is, to state the obvious, a lot better than many other teams. These tournaments are hard to win. Everyone else wants to win them too and, in this case, Spain were light years ahead. Frankly, we may never win one, and I do personally wish we would stop counting the “years of hurt” (thanks Baddiel and Skinner!).

Despite reaching the final on this occasion, I think it is fair to say England were a bit underwhelming overall. Part of that can likely be pinned on Gareth Southgate (certain selections, his conservative approach, and probable lack of tactical nous).

However, beyond considerable issues such as exhaustion (players having played a million games) and the weight of expectations, you do have to wonder if England continue to have comparative technical deficiencies in some areas. The continued inability to play out from the back (not just against Spain but against Denmark and others) was actually quite shocking in this day and age, and it can’t be emphasised enough how important midfield control is (and the continuing lack thereof). It is hard to know from where it all stems!

I’ve noticed Bellingham get a bad rap from some England fans this tournament. Despite looking exhausted after a gruelling season with Real Madrid, he still assisted Cole Palmer last night, scored the winner against Serbia and scored the overhead kick against Slovakia.

Francis Mead has sent in a message about Bellingham’s post-match comments:

“When I read this quote, I assumed it was Southgate: ‘I suppose if you look at everything negatively, nothing will ever change. So it’s important we pick the positives and the negatives together and find a way to one day get England over the line.’

“I think this is exactly right – there’s been huge progress – don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, but we need to look where we can improve further. I’m impressed by the intelligence and maturity of Bellingham’s answer – especially at a very emotional moment just after a losing final.”

The BBC’s superior viewing figures were probably helped by the fact their broadcast didn’t have long ad breaks. Michael Hogan argues ITV’s coverage was of superior quality:

BBC won the battle of the viewing figures in this year’s final.

Spain consistently showed they were the best team at the tournament so they entered the final as favourites. This didn’t stop one fan from pre-emptively getting an “England Euro 2024 Winners” tattoo. No matter how badly your night went on Sunday, at least you’re not this guy.

Spain outplayed England throughout the 90 minutes with 63% of the possession and 16 shots on goal compared with England’s 37% possession and nine shots on goal. Read Jonathan Liew’s review of the game here:

Bellingham: ‘We didn’t quite deliver’

Jude Bellingham, who assisted Cole Palmer for the equaliser, spoke to the press after the game:

“I think we sacrificed a lot throughout the last weeks. It’s so tough these days, with the crazy schedules and then coming together for the end of the season, for one last tournament, it’s difficult on the body. Mentally, physically, you’re exhausted but for our country we wanted to give everything and then to lose in that way is really cruel.”

While you process your thoughts after England’s European Championship Final defeat, just three years after the last one, check out Barney Ronay’s analysis here:

Preamble