IAN LADYMAN: Time for England to take subsequent steps

One more picture book moment from England. One more goal to place alongside the others scored so brilliantly and memorably by Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Ollie Watkins. This one – scored under Berlin’s blood red sky – was struck by the wonderfully talented Cole Palmer.

But this time an individual moment of genius wasn’t quite enough. Things like that don’t tend to win summer tournaments. Great teams do and Spain were the only one here in Germany this last month. England certainly haven’t been one.

They have been dogged and cussed and resilient and increasingly committed and united. They have brought us memorable moments and flashes of real joy. They allowed us all to hope again. They brought us together for another shot at something fantastical in fan parks and pubs and in lounges in front of TV sets.

But did they play football good enough to break that cursed trophy drought that will now run to a rather shameful 60 years by the time the World Cup rolls around in two years’ time? No, they didn’t. Nowhere near it, really.

Did they play the way we hoped they would out here in Germany? Did we showcase the best of our talent and our game to the rest of Europe? Did we show everybody how sophisticated we have become over these last few years? No, we didn’t. All that will have to wait until somebody one day unlocks the puzzle of how to bring English players to a summer tournament in the right condition and with the right amount of freshness.

England were outplayed by a superior Spain and suffered defeat in the final of Euro 2024

Cole Palmer provided one more picture book moment but it wasn’t enough for England

Jude Bellingham failed to contain his frustration after the final whistle following Spain’s win

Gareth Southgate’s side almost proved that you can win a summer tournament on the back of individual moments but ultimately a great Spain team proved too much

Southgate has delivered England back to the land of respectability but there are still steps to be taken which may require a change of manager going forward

That person will probably not be Gareth Southgate. We thank Southgate for all that he has done. He has delivered England back to the land of respectability and competitiveness and we should all be forever grateful for that. He has moved our national team forwards in so many different ways. In the future we will all see that.

But what this summer has probably told us is that there are still steps to be taken and maybe they are bigger than we all thought. They should, in all honesty, be steps taken now by a new England manager.

Here in this marvellous and magical and historical great ampitheatre, we witnessed a compelling and absorbing game of football. It was not a great final in the first half. Far from it. 

England played to their strengths. They played a direct brand of football that had the words Premier League written right through it. They went long on occasion. They mixed it up. 

They sought and won second balls. They went man for man in midfield and it worked. Credit to Southgate for that. Spain didn’t manage a single shot on target.

After that, it became something of a mini classic but only because England just refused to let go of what they thought could be theirs. Spain played brilliantly in the second 45 minutes. Their two wide players Nico Williams and the remarkable teenager Lamine Yamal took hold of the contest. The first goal was a thing of geometrical beauty. Right to left and forwards and in. Wonderful.

From that point they should have swamped England. They were so far superior. The 15 minutes between half time and the hour mark that saw the ponderous, leggy Harry Kane replaced by Watkins were probably the worst of England’s entire tournament and for that there is quite some competition. 

Spain scored once and could have scored four times. England were exposed and ragged. Declan Rice and young Kobbie Mainoo were bewildered. Marc Guehi looked genuinely discombobulated for the first time all month. And then England scored with their second shot of the whole game and we were not surprised. Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands had all had that smack-in-the-mouth treatment and now Spain had felt it too. You think this over? Not yet, not likely.

Spain played brilliantly in the second 45 and Nico Williams’ goal was wonderful

England played some of their worst football of the tournament at the start of the second-half

Except this time – eventually – it was. England’s ability to hold back the tide of inevitability and convention during this tournament has been quite something. They played four knockout games and fell behind in all of them. It has been quite a ride but deep down we were probably waiting for the team good enough and calm enough to ride out the English storm and Spain were that team.

They were fabulous to watch in the second half. The pace with which they moved the ball, the angles and overloads they found were straight from the classic Spanish playbook. 

This team cannot hold a candle to the 2008/2010/2012 vintage but then who can? They remain a very good side and how brave they were too. England’s previous opponents here had buckled under the weight of their opponent’s comebacks. They had not managed to mentally survive the knowledge that they were being countered by a team that appeared dead.

This Spain team can’t hold a candle to their vintage years but they remain a very good side

England made the country dream but unlike Spain who are a champion team, the Three Lions are a team of champion moments

So we congratulate Luis de la Fuente and his players and we now look at England in the light of realism that always dawns when big matches are lost. A tournament win here would have been something wonderful. We would have forgiven England anything had they brought that beautiful trophy home.

But the truth is that they have scrambled through this tournament like scavengers going through the bins at night. They have stolen what they could while nobody was looking. It has been fascinating and increasingly exhilarating. It has bred love and hope and optimism. But England have played pauper’s football for much of their time out here and it would be wrong to overlook at. That, sadly, is the starting position we should adopt as we look towards the future.

Maybe look at it like this. If you were to put together a team of the tournament drawn from all 24 competing nations, how many England players would you place in it? None, perhaps. That tells us much about how this has been and where it needs to go now.

Thank you England. We dreamed a dream for a while. But Spain are a champion team, England a team of champion moments. There is a huge difference.