Gareth Southgate has transformed England’s fortunes at major tournaments but once again fell just short as a painful 2-1 defeat in the final of Euro 2024 extended a 58-year wait for glory. Prior to Southgate’s appointment eight years ago, the Three Lions had reached just three major tournament semi-finals and one final in their history, when they won the 1966 World Cup. In the last four tournaments, England have reached three semi-finals and two finals but were undone by familiar failings as Spain rounded off their sublime tournament with a fitting victory.

Southgate had hailed a new “modern England” after they dominated possession to beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

But they were reduced to chasing shadows by Spain’s metronomic midfield and cut open by wing wizards Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams in Berlin.

Questions now turn to whether Southgate, whose contract expires at the end of the year, will continue in his role for the 2026 World Cup.

He admitted that the stinging criticism that came his way earlier in the tournament — as fans threw beer cups at the England boss after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia — had taken its toll.

But he is also aware that this is far from the end of the road for this generation of English players.

Cole Palmer, 22, capped his breakout season by scoring his first competitive international goal in the final.

Jude Bellingham turned 21 during the tournament, while Bukayo Saka (22) Phil Foden (24) and Declan Rice (26) will all still be in their prime in two years’ time.

“Without a doubt, England have got some fabulous young players and even the young ones now have got a lot of experience of tournaments,” said Southgate.

“Many of this squad are going to be around in two, four, six, eight years’ time.

“We have now been consistently back in the matches that matter, so it’s the last step that we haven’t been able to do.”

Yet, despite his record of going deep in tournaments, doubts remain whether Southgate is the best man to be in charge of such a richly-talented group of players.

England’s luck runs out

Hyped as one of the pre-tournament favourites, England coughed and spluttered their way towards the final thanks to a series of late goals and isolated moments of individual brilliance.

Bellingham’s overhead kick prevented an embarrassing last 16 exit to Slovakia, Saka saved the day against Switzerland before England advanced in a penalty shoot-out, and Ollie Watkins came off the bench late on to defeat the Dutch.

Palmer looked like he might dig Southgate out of a hole once more by curling in a brilliant equaliser against the run of play.

But England’s luck ran out in Berlin as this time they conceded late to Mikel Oyarzabal.

Southgate bemoaned his side’s lack of control and physical issues with many of his major players out on their feet.

He has to take his share of the blame though for relying so heavily on the same core of players all tournament despite having arguably the deepest squad in the tournament.

Eight England players started all seven games, while Southgate did not turn to his bench until they were trailing against Slovakia, Switzerland and Spain.

That followed a pattern as England threw away dream starts to lose to Croatia in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and Italy in the Euro 2020 final.

Southgate was unable to turn the tide as Luka Modric wrestled control for Croatia six years ago and Jorginho dominated the midfield for Italy in the previous Euros final.

This time Spain took the ball straight away with over 80 percent possession in the first 10 minutes and did not relent, even after player-of-the-tournament Rodri was forced off injured at half-time.

“Ultimately we lost to the better side and we have to reflect on how that happened but it is very clear in my mind,” added Southgate.

“For me the key was position of the ball and we didn’t have enough control.”

Southgate said he will take time to ponder his future.

But as England head home, football does not as the wait for international glory goes on.

A superb Spain team led by Rodri and Lamine Yamal were fitting winners of Euro 2024 after lighting up an often disappointing tournament in which too many of the continent’s star players failed to produce their best form. Kylian Mbappe, the world’s best striker, had been hoping to prepare for joining Real Madrid by captaining France to glory but broke his nose and scored just once, from a penalty, as his team lost in the semi-finals. Jude Bellingham, who will play with Mbappe in Madrid next season, might have been the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or had he added the Euros with England to the Champions League with his club.

But Bellingham had a poor campaign aside from two vital goals, tiring early in games and proving incapable of swinging Sunday’s final in Berlin England’s way.

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, had hoped to add to his tournament record 14 goals but failed to score for Portugal as age finally caught up with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Spain needed a late Mikel Oyarzabal goal to beat England 2-1 in the final and win their fourth Euros, but they were comfortably the best side from the beginning of the competition.

Luis de la Fuente’s team won all seven games. They beat the reigning champions, Italy, and in their last three matches saw off the host nation and the two pre-tournament favourites.

It is a remarkable feat to defeat all of the biggest four Western European nations — Germany, France, Italy and England — at the same competition.

“We have made history. We have beaten four (former) world champions all in one go,” savoured Rodri.

“We are all agreed that they are the team who have played the best football at the tournament,” France midfielder Adrien Rabiot said of Spain before his side lost to them in the semis.

Spain’s victory builds on the promise shown when they won the Nations League last year and raises hopes of another golden period of dominance.

They thrilled with a perfect blend of control in midfield and flair on the wings, while other teams failed to meet expectations.

Quantity over quality?

Euro 2024 ended with 117 goals scored in 51 matches, an average of 2.29 goals per game.

England reached the final, but their 0-0 group-stage draw with Slovenia was an eyesore, while a Portugal team full of outstanding talent went home after playing in two laborious goalless knockout ties that were decided on penalties.

The average number of goals scored contrasted with the 2.78 per match at Euro 2020, and 2.69 at the 2022 World Cup.

The latter tournament in Qatar was often thrilling, the quality of football apparently helped by the decision to stage the competition in the middle of the European season.

Euro 2024, meanwhile, has come at the end of another exhausting campaign for the continent’s best players, making it hard for Bellingham or Mbappe, Harry Kane or Antoine Griezmann, to find peak form.

That strikes to the heart of the matter at a time when UEFA and FIFA continue to expand their most lucrative competitions, increasing demands on players.

Global players’ union FIFPro announced just before the Euros began that it had filed a legal claim against FIFA, calling on the European Court of Justice to rule on the body’s right to impose new tournaments.

“Players and their unions have consistently highlighted the current football calendar as overloaded and unworkable,” FIFPro warned, accusing FIFA of “violating the rights of players”.

The season in Europe’s biggest leagues begins in a month, and the expanded Champions League starts in September, with participants now having eight guaranteed games instead of six previously.

The first version of FIFA’s new Club World Cup will go ahead in the United States next June and July, with 32 participating teams including 12 from Europe.

The likes of Manchester City, Madrid and Bayern Munich will be involved, and that will eat into a precious summer break ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which with 48 teams will feature an extra knockout round.

Again more games will generate more money but only increase the demands on players.

The concern is that a constant focus on quantity will have a lasting impact on quality, but there can be no doubting the brilliance of this Spain side.

England captain Harry Kane said Sunday’s 2-1 Euro 2024 final loss to Spain, the Three Lions’ second-successive defeat in the tournament’s showpiece game, will “hurt for a long time”. England lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy at Wembley, having made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup two years earlier. England were also eliminated at the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup by eventual finalists France, with Kane missing a late penalty.

Speaking with ITV, the England captain, who was subbed off after 60 minutes, said the latest major tournament heartbreak after Spain’s late winner was “tough to take”.

“It’s hard to put into words how we’re all feeling right now… We did well to get back into the game and struggled to build on that,” added Kane.

Spain lost Rodri to injury at half-time but took the lead just two minutes into the second half, Lamine Yamal drifting in from the left to find Nico Williams, who cut the ball under England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Cole Palmer equalised three minutes after coming on as a substitute to give England hope but Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner with four minutes remaining. 

“We’ve been coming from behind all tournament, we’ve got it in the locker. We didn’t take the next step and win it,” Kane said.

“The second half was better and we got the goal. We got caught with a cross and that’s the final.” 

Despite a stellar individual career with numerous goalscoring honours, the 30-year-old Kane is yet to win a team trophy.

Prior to Sunday’s match, Kane said he would gladly “swap everything in my career” for Euros glory. 

The forward finished with three goals at the tournament, the equal most, but struggled with a back injury. 

“It’s an opportunity missed. These finals aren’t easy to get to. You have to take it when it comes and we haven’t done it again. 

“It’s extremely painful and it’ll hurt for a long time.”

Asked about the future of England manager Gareth Southgate, Kane said the man who had been in charge since late 2016 would “go away and take time to decide”. 

“We wanted to win it for him.”

Spain vs England Final LIVE Streaming, UEFA Euro 2024© AFP

Harry Kane said leading England to win Euro 2024 on Sunday would be the “most incredible feeling” a footballer can have as he aims to end his own long wait to win a trophy. The England captain has scored 406 goals for his clubs and country in a decorated career without winning any collective silverware. All that could change in Berlin on Sunday should Kane guide England to a first major tournament win in 58 years to become European champions for the first time.

“It’s no secret that I haven’t won a team trophy. Every year that goes by, you’re more motivated and you’re more determined to change that,” Kane said at a pre-match press conference on Saturday.

“Tomorrow night I have the opportunity to win one of the biggest trophies you could ever win and to make history with my nation.

“I’d swap everything in my career to have a special night and a win tomorrow evening.”

Kane was on the losing side three years ago as England missed out on the Euros to Italy on penalties at Wembley.

Now into their first ever final on foreign soil, the Bayern Munich striker said England would be fuelled by the pain of defeat at Euro 2020.

“It would be, obviously, the most incredible feeling as a professional footballer you can get and I’m sure also for the fans, to have that moment in history and to be able to celebrate, that would be something very special,” added Kane.

“We’ve been here before and it was a tough finish in the last Euro. So there’s that extra hunger and fire in the belly to make sure this one goes our way.”

The two finalists have arrived in Berlin in contrasting fashion.

Spain have looked a class apart in Germany, eliminating the hosts and France, as well as beating Italy and Croatia to become the first side to win all of their first six games at a Euros.

England, on the other hand, have had to battle back in all three of the knockout rounds against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands without ever delivering on the full potential of a richly-talented squad.

Kane, though, said England’s resilience to win, thanks to late goals and a penalty shoot-out against the Swiss in the quarter-finals, had fostered greater belief their time has come.

“You have to have a belief you can win it otherwise there’s no point in being in the tournament, but I think that belief has grown as we’ve gone through the tournament,” he added.

“What we’ve been through with the late goals and the penalty shoot-out and all that stuff builds resilience and builds belief.”

England began Euro 2024 as one of the pre-tournament favourites but now go into Sunday’s final as underdogs as Spain have been the standout team at the tournament. La Roja have made Euros history by winning all six of their games en route to Berlin, knocking out hosts Germany and France along the way. We look at how England can raise their game to end a 58-year wait to win a major tournament, and beat three-time Euros champions Spain in the final.

Strike early

England have relied on late goals to sneak past Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands to reach a second consecutive Euros final.

However, they needed extra-time to beat Slovakia and went all the way to penalties against the Swiss in the quarter-finals.

Southgate has also expressed his concern at having a day less to recover from their semi-final.

For all the resilience England have shown, chasing the game against Spain is a different beast.

The Spanish racked up 500 passes in the semi-final win over France to play out the second half by holding onto their 2-1 lead.

With some of England’s top players already showing signs of fatigue, a fast start is needed to dent Spanish confidence.

Beat the press

Spain’s pressing game has been one of the keys to their success in Germany.

No side has forced more turnovers within 40 metres of the opposition goal, two of which have led to goals.

One of England’s problems early in the tournament was failing to take risks in passing forward, even against perceived weaker opposition.

In Berlin they have to be brave to get through the first wave of Spanish pressure and into the spaces where they can do damage going forward.

Feed Foden and BellinghamSouthgate has stuck by starting both Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden all tournament despite both starring in the same role for their clubs last season as advanced midfielders.

The England boss finally got some reward in the semi-final with the Dutch, against a more offensive-minded side, Foden and Bellingham found the space to spark a laboured attack into life.

Foden’s Manchester City teammate Rodri has looked supreme all tournament in the Spanish midfield.

But with Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo pushing forward, Rodri is the sole holding midfielder which should leave gaps for Bellingham and Foden to exploit if given the service.

Harness experience

Despite Spain’s much greater pedigree in winning major tournaments, it is England who have the edge in big game experience.

Eight of Southgate’s squad played in the defeat on penalties to Italy at the Euro 2020 final and England also boast seven Champions League winners to Spain’s six.

“Quarter-finals, semi-finals, we’ve managed a lot of those games now,” said Southgate on learning from the final three years ago.

“You’re definitely much better prepared because every experience you go through, you learn from. You’re improving all the time.”

England must lean on that knowhow to get over the line, even if it does mean resorting to the dark arts.

Germany took a roughhouse approach to stopping Spain’s two wing starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams in the quarter-final and it largely worked.

Few in England will care about how the job is done as long as they are parading the trophy around central London on Monday.

Use the bench

Ollie Watkins’ stoppage time strike to beat the Netherlands in the semi-final rewarded Southgate’s bold call to send on the Aston Villa striker for Harry Kane 10 minutes from time.

Too often during this tournament and his tenure in charge, Southgate has been too slow to turn to his bench to influence the game.

In both the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia and Euro 2020 final, England squandered an early lead by slowly losing control of the game.

Cole Palmer, Ivan Toney and Kobbie Mainoo have also made big impacts as substitutes earlier in the tournament.

Blessed with arguably the deepest squad at the Euros, Southgate must use it earlier than he has done so far, even if it means sacrificing one of his star names.

England’s progression to a first ever major tournament final on foreign soil at Euro 2024 is the fruit of a decade of work on a player development programme that has turned perennial underachievers into serial contenders. Ending a 58-year wait to win a major trophy at senior men’s international level is the final hurdle left to clear for Gareth Southgate’s men in Sunday’s final against Spain after serial success at youth level and in the women’s game. Just months after the Three Lions had crashed out of 2014 World Cup with one game to spare of the group stage, Southgate –- then in his role as under-21 boss –- appeared alongside the English Football Association’s technical director Dan Ashworth.

They presented a plan termed “England DNA” that had the goal of blending the passion English football was famous for with better technique and a stronger mentality to handle the pressures of major tournament football.

“One of the mantras we have is ‘The only thing that changes is the size of the shirt’,” said Ashworth, who was recently appointed Manchester United’s sporting director after successful spells at Brighton and Newcastle.

“So as they come through that player pathway, from an under-15 boy or girl, all the way through to the seniors, we have some consistent messages around them.

“If everyone is on the same page and everyone buys into and believes what you are trying to do it can become so much more powerful.”

The results since speak for themselves at every level.

Many of Southgate’s squad in Germany have already experienced winning tournaments at youth level.

Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer were part of the side that beat Spain in the final to win England’s first under-21 Euros for 39 years 12 months ago.

Ezri Konsa won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017, while the same year Phil Foden won player of the tournament alongside Marc Guehi and Conor Gallagher in winning the under-17 World Cup.

England’s women won their first major tournament on home soil at the Euros in 2022 and followed that up by reaching the World Cup final last year.

“As a football nation we have long been characterised by our passion, fighting spirit and effort,” Ashworth said at the time.

“Although there are aspects of these characteristics we wish to retain, we do not wish to be solely defined by them.”

The blend of an old fashioned never-say-die attitude with players of a higher technical standard has carried England on a rollercoaster to the Euro 2024 final.

Hyped before the tournament as one of the favourites, Southgate admitted the expectation weighed heavy as his side stumbled through the group stage, scoring just two goals in three games.

They then needed late fightbacks and individual moments of brilliance from Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka to keep them alive in sneaking past lower ranked opposition in Slovakia and Switzerland to make the last four.

But in Dortmund against the Dutch, England’s decade of planning had its reward in a famous 2-1 semi-final win.

“It will be I would imagine a long time, if ever an English side had 60 percent possession of the ball against a side from the Netherlands. So it shows the more modern England way,” said a beaming Southgate afterwards.

The ultimate test lies ahead against a Spain side that have swept all before them, including Germany and France on the tougher side of the draw.

England have previously suffered a series of near misses under Southgate.

They defied expectations to reach the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup before missing out on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 final on home soil.

More heartbreak came in Qatar two years ago when Harry Kane ballooned over a late penalty against France in a 2-1 quarter-final defeat.

But that experience has put them in a better place than ever before to become champions of Europe for the first time.

“We’re more calm going into the knockout games because the first time we did it in Russia, we hadn’t won a knockout game for 10 years,” added Southgate.

“We hadn’t been through the experience. Quarter-finals, semi-finals, we’ve managed a lot of those games now. 

“The last final was the first European Championship final I’ve ever managed. If I didn’t get anything right, apologies for that. I’m going to try and do better this week.”

Virgil van Dijk in an interaction with the referee during Netherlands vs England Euro 2024 semi-final.© AFP

Ollie Watkins struck a stunning injury-time winner as England beat the Netherlands 2-1 on Wednesday to set up a Euro 2024 final showdown with Spain in Berlin. It was an incredible finish to an evening that began badly for England, as Xavi Simons gave the Netherlands an early lead in the semi-final in Dortmund. However, England were soon level through a Harry Kane penalty following a contentions VAR call by German referee Felix Zwayer, and the match looked set to drift towards extra time until Watkins struck. On for Harry Kane, Watkins received a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer with his back to goal in the first minute of stoppage time, turned and fired low into the far corner to leave the Netherlands completely stunned.

It has rarely been a convincing campaign from Gareth Southgate’s England side, but they are through to their second consecutive European Championship final as they dream of finally winning a first major trophy since 1966.

To do that they will surely have to perform better than at any point so far in Germany as they face an outstanding Spain team.

Spain will also have had an extra 24 hours to prepare for the final, having defeated France 2-1 on Tuesday.

The Netherlands had been hoping to repeat their triumph at the last Euros held in Germany, in 1988, but their current side lacks anyone with the star quality of Marco van Basten or Ruud Gullit.

A victory for them would have seen this Euros conclude with the same final as the 2010 World Cup. Instead they now go home.

England had got to this stage despite not winning any of their last four matches in 90 minutes, and having been taken to extra time by Slovakia and Switzerland.

That might have given the Dutch an edge physically, after the Oranje shrugged off finishing third in their group to brush aside Romania and then see off Turkey.

England welcomed back Marc Guehi in defence after suspension, while Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman opted to start Donyell Malen in attack in the ground where he plays club football for Borussia Dortmund.

The Westfalenstadion is a special place for the Dutch, as the scene of their 2-0 win over Brazil that took them through to the 1974 World Cup final.

They went ahead here after just seven minutes thanks to a stunning goal by Simons, who robbed Declan Rice 35 metres from goal and advanced before sending a rasping drive beyond Jordan Pickford.

The Dutch players ran off to celebrate with their fans behind that goal, as England found themselves behind for the third game running.

Just like against the Swiss in the quarter-finals, however, they reacted swiftly.

Kane forced a save from Bart Verbruggen and moments later sent a volley over the bar, and was caught by Denzel Dumfries on the follow-through.

It seemed totally innocuous but Zwayer was summoned across to review the images and gave a penalty.

Kane, whose missed spot-kick against France cost England dear in the 2022 World Cup, made no mistake, slotting low into the bottom-left corner.

It settled into an open and entertaining game, with Dumfries redeeming himself by clearing off the line from Phil Foden.

Dumfries crashed a header off the bar from a Simons corner, but Foden responded by curling a superb shot from range off the top of the post.

England’s midfielders were being given too much time on the ball, and Koeman used an injury to Memphis Depay to reinforce the centre, replacing the forward with Joey Veerman.

Another change followed at the interval, with Wout Weghorst –- super-sub in previous rounds –- replacing Malen.

Yet the game became more cagey as the minutes went on and the fear of making a mistake grew.

Pickford denied Virgil van Dijk on 65 minutes and the Netherlands began to take control as England’s leading players started to tire.

England did have the ball in the net on 79 minutes when Bukayo Saka turned in a Kyle Walker cutback, but the latter was just offside and the flag cut short the celebrations.

Southgate then decided to remove Kane and Foden, with Watkins and Palmer entering the fray to devastating effect.

Netherlands vs England Live Streaming Euro 2024 Semi-Final: Gareth Southgate will be aiming to guide England to a second successive UEFA Euro final, as they take on Netherlands in the second semi-final of Euro 2024. England have drawn criticism for a dull brand of football given the rich talent they possess but, once again, find themselves in the final four of a major tournament. Netherlands have been quietly getting better, and a win would see them set up a rematch of the 2010 FIFA World Cup final against Spain.  Netherlands’ Cody Gakpo has been one of the best players of Euro 2024 so far, while England will rely on their starcast of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and co. to fire them to victory.

When will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match take place?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will take place on Thursday, July 11 (IST).

Where will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match be played?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be played at the Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund.

What time will the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match start?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will start at 12:30 AM IST.

Which TV channels will telecast the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be telecast on the Sony Sports Network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match?

The Netherlands vs England, Euro 2024 Semi-Final match will be streamed live on SonyLiv app and website.

(All the details are as per the information provided by the broadcaster)