The new European champions celebrate - and how. In their title frenzy, the young Spanish stars are already looking far ahead. Several questions arise for the English losers.
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- The Spanish king celebrates the title with the national team, King Charles sends a letter to England coach Gareth Southgate after the European Championship final.
- "Even though you were denied victory tonight, my wife and I, along with my whole family, would like to urge you and your team to keep your heads held high," said King Charles in a letter published on X.
- The world looks different on the Spanish side. It was a "wonderful day for us", said coach Luis de la Fuente immediately after the final whistle. "My team deserved to win."
The Spanish title party with the king began on the pitch of Berlin's Olympic Stadium - and is not due to end until late this Monday in Madrid. The new European champions celebrated exuberantly after the 2:1 (0:0) against the bitterly disappointed English team. "Oh my God. What a day. Probably the best day of my football career," said Rodri, who was voted the best player of the tournament.
Spain's King Felipe VI and daughter Sofía were first in the VIP stands and then came down to see the players receive the European Championship trophy. That evening, the Spanish association published the timetable for the fans: coach Luis de la Fuente's team is due to land at Madrid airport at 2.10 pm. From there, they will head towards the city hall, where tens of thousands of people will be celebrating from 8.00 pm. End open.
Already midnight? No problem!
"I'm proud and happy," said de la Fuente late on Sunday evening - but the time was not a problem. "Midnight is actually quite early," said the national team coach, also referring to his home country. The people in Spain had "every reason to go out and celebrate now. I'm happy that people are there." Nobody is angry if someone is late for work. The employers "also want to celebrate", said the national coach.
It was a "wonderful day for us", said de la Fuente immediately after the final whistle. "My team deserved to win. Thanks to the whole of Spain for their support. You can always get better. Maybe that's a bit of our secret: we can always get better."
On their way to the final, the Furia Roja had knocked the German national team out of the tournament in the quarter-finals. Marc Cucurella, who got a hand to the ball in the penalty area in extra time against the DFB team but did not cause a penalty kick, was also booed for a long time by some fans in the final. Late in the evening, the 25-year-old celebrated overjoyed with his team-mates.
Worthy successors to the great winners
In previous tournaments, the Spaniards had struggled to follow in the oversized footsteps of the European and world champions of 2008, 2010 and 2012. Players like Xavi, Andrés Iniesta and Fernando Torres had shaped an era. Twelve years after winning their third European Championship title, 17-year-old Lamine Yamal and 22-year-old Nico Williams, who had shaped the Spanish game during the tournament, were among those celebrating in Berlin. Williams scored the opening goal in the 47th minute after an assist from Yamal.
"It was a dream come true. I'm looking forward to coming back to Spain," said Yamal, who celebrated his 17th birthday in Germany on Saturday. "It was very difficult at the beginning. We made it through. We keep on fighting." Williams looked ahead to the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the USA: "We deserve it, and so do our friends, the fans. Hopefully it continues like this - even at the World Cup."
England's football agony continues
All that remained for the English on Sunday was a silent farewell. Just like three years ago against Italy at home in Wembley, it wasn't quite enough in the final. Cole Palmer (73) managed to equalize in the meantime. However, Mikel Oyarzabal (86) gave Spain the joy they needed to end their agonizing wait for their second major title after winning the 1966 World Cup final.
"Losing a final is very, very hard," said national team coach Gareth Southgate, who was evasive about his own professional future. This is not the time, said the former world-class defender. There were words of encouragement from the homeland of King Charles III: "Even though you were denied victory tonight, my wife and I, along with my whole family, would like to urge you and your team to keep your heads up," reads a letter from the King to Southgate shared on X.
The early substitution of captain Harry Kane after just over an hour caused some surprise. However, the Bayern star also looked like a foreign body in the English game. Kane had started the tournament with an injury, said Southgate. The striker himself, who still has to wait for a personal title, was visibly disappointed. "It's extremely painful and will hurt for a long time," said Kane.
