As it happened: England lose to Spain in Euro 2024 final – reaction – BBC

Euro 2024 final reaction: England 1-2 Spain
Three Lions head home after Euro 2024 campaign and arrive at Stansted
Southgate says 'now not the time' to decide future
FA – 'Ambition to win major tournaments is stronger than ever'
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Craig Nelson, Martin Dougan, Alastair Telfer and Tyrese King
Spain 2-1 England
Thank you for joining us and for all of your contributions after England's 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin.
Here are some of the big stories that have come since England's defeat:
Or you can scroll back through this page and click through the summary points to see how the reaction played out.
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Ferdinand, Mata & Richards discuss all three goals from Euro 2024 final
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Spain
What could have been…
The captain and main striker bringing home the Euros.
Using the Opta index – which grades players across a wide pool of metrics – the sports analytics company Opta have formulated a team of the tournament using data to support the selections.
Their picks have come from a plethora of extra insights from a database that contains every touch made at Euro 2024.
A 'best XI' will, of course, never manage to reach consensus among the mass of football opinion, but here's a data-led interpretation to test your fancy…
The only England player to make the line-up was defender Marc Geuhi, whilst Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo's three goals at the tournament and overall performance sees him lead the line.
Full team: Giorgi Mamardashvili ,Joshua Kimmich, Marc Geuhi, Manuel Ajanji, Marc Cucurella, Fabian Ruiz, Toni Kroos, Yamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams and Cody Gakpo.
Read more here.
Spain 2-1 England
England
England manager Sarina Wiegman on whether Gareth Southgate should stay on: "That's absolutely [up] to him. I have a very good relationship with him. That is something for him to reflect on and have the conversation with the people at the FA. That is absolutely not for me."
Spain 2-1 England
England
England captain Leah Williamson on the women's team winning the Euros, but people still talking about football coming home: "It's important to recognise your peers which is what I see them as. We wanted nothing more than for those boys to win. Sometimes you need to distinguish between men's and women's in certain settings. We know what we did.
"The country remembers, the country had a fantastic summer as did we. The boys have given us those as well. The final result is that one trophy has actually landed back in England. That's for both of us to keep striving for more."
Spain 2-1 England
England
England captain Leah Williamson said she was "devastated" for the men's side after their 2-1 loss to Spain: "Devastated for them, especially knowing some of them personally.
"What Gareth and his team have done over the last three or four years in reaching finals and bringing that dream closer to reality, we are very lucky as fans of England men's and women's to be in the position we are in.
"We didn't quite get over the line to a fantastic Spanish team. I know they will be devastated and it will take a while to get over it, but us as a country we have been blessed with incredible tournaments. When those wins come, which I do believe they will, they will be even sweeter."
The Prince and Princess of Wales have both praised England's "teamwork, grit and determination" in a post on social media, saying they "were an inspiration to all of us, young and old" .
Accompanying the personal message to Gareth Southgate and his players, following Sunday's defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, is an image of Princess Charlotte and her brother Prince Louis watching the match on TV.
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Southgate has come a long way since his days as a player/coach at Middlesbrough. He's mastered how to handle the personalities of a new generation of talent and defensively he is solid, so I would like to see him move on now and take the time to become a more rounded coach. The best managers are always learning and if he can add more attacking depth to his tactical game, I can see him coming back to the job. The players were there, he just needs to evolve himself.
Anon
England are about to lose their best manager since Sir Alf Ramsey. Media pundits and England supporters will be delighted to claim his scalp so they can indulge in a nonsensical fantasy in which Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola lifts the World Cup for England at the Met Life Stadium in New Jersey in July 2026. The chances of this happening are are zero.
Des
Spain 2-1 England
Spain

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I don't agree with Alan Shearer's judgement that Southgate should decide his own future. There should be clear assessment and reflection by a strong FA who should then make the right decision for England's future.
William L
Spain 2-1 England
Gareth Southgate has taken us on one heck of a journey over the past eight years, but I suspect Sunday’s defeat by Spain will be his last game as England manager.
Right now Gareth will be hurting like hell after what happened in Berlin but my feeling is that, when the dust settles on the final of Euro 2024, he will decide he’s had enough.
It should be his decision to stay or go – and I think it will be – but it is a tiring job and he has been doing it for a long time.
If he does leave, he should go with his head held high because England are in a completely different place now compared to where they were when he took over in 2016.
England were at rock bottom after losing to Iceland and becoming a laughing stock that summer, followed by the embarrassment of Sam Allardyce’s exit after his short stint in charge.
Gareth came in and put a smile on everyone’s faces – bringing the squad together, getting us to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and then the final of the European Championship in 2021, with a lesser squad than he had this time.
He put the team in a much better position mentally and the spirit he nurtured helped us get to the final again.
You can read more here.
Spain 2-1 England
Chris Collinson
BBC football statistician
A consistent positive for England has been their defence at Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate's side faced only 9.5 shots, ranking them fifth at the tournament.
Overall their defence was slightly above average, but his side were not one of the top pressing teams at the tournament.
In terms of passing and possession, only Portugal, Germany and Spain had more possession than England (although the Three Lions had just 35% possession in the final).
Some positives…
Spain 2-1 England
Prior to Euro 2024, Gareth Southgate told German newspaper Bild, external that failure to win a trophy in Germany could see the end of his stay.
In February, it was reported the Football Association were keen for Southgate to remain as England boss beyond the tournament, with his contract set to expire in December.
The final decision is understood to now be in the hands of Southgate, who took over as England boss in 2016, if he wants to extend his deal.
Unless the FA change their thinking…
Southgate said "now is not the time" to make a decision when asked the question at full-time on Sunday.
Argentina 1-0 Colombia
Argentina players Lisandro Martinez, Sergio Romero and Nahuel Molina stayed on the pitch for a picnic after winning the Copa America.
The defender, right-back and third-choice goalkeeper were pictured sat together on the pitch long after the final whistle had gone.
Kick-off in the final was delayed by 80 minutes because of trouble outside the stadium before Lautaro Martinez's goal in the second half of extra time secured a record 16th Copa America for Argentina.
Argentina 1-0 Colombia
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Fans climb into stadium air vents to get into Copa America
The celebratory scenes in Madrid were in stark contrast to those in Miami before Argentina beat Colombia in the Copa America final,
Ticketless fans were seen entering the Hard Rock Stadium before kick-off by going through air vents and climbing fences.
This led to some fans waiting for hours in the Miami heat for the gates to open.
Fans clashed with security and police officers, who made several arrests, while several supporters needed treatment from paramedics.
Argentina claimed a record 16th Copa America title in what was a third international trophy in as many years for the side captained by Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi.
Read more here
Spain 2-1 England
Of course, one country's tragedy is another team's happy ending.
Warning, the scenes below of mass celebration, tooting of horns and waving of flags may be a hard watch for some England fans.
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Euro 2024: Spain fans celebrate their win over England in Madrid
Ian Youngs
Culture reporter, BBC News
Joseph Fiennes plays Southgate in Dear England
The writer behind a hit play about Gareth Southgate has spoken about using the drama of the Euro 2024 to inspire him to write a new ending in the wake of England's defeat in the final.
James Graham said a few weeks ago that he would update Dear England, which stars Joseph Fiennes as the England manager, in light of Euro 2024, no matter how the team fared.
England didn't have the happy ending they wanted – but luckily for Graham, tragedy is just as dramatic as triumph.
"There's a great tradition in English theatre of tragedy. They're quite popular, actually. So I'm going to embrace the tragic ending," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
The original version of the show ended with Harry Kane missing the penalty against France in the 2022 World Cup.
Dear England will return to London's National Theatre next March, followed by a four-week run in Salford at the Lowry.
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Spain
Spain's head coach Luis de la Fuente looks like he does not want to let go of that European Championship trophy after his side touch down in Madrid.
England
The stream at the top of this page has now moved away from live images following the return of the England team to Stansted Airport.
Players and management have moved through the arrivals lounge and are now on their way back to their homes and a well-deserved break.
Click on the 'Watch Live' play icon to view images from earlier today, as the players left Berlin, as well as news updates from Madrid and back in the UK, plus an interview with 1966 hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst.
England
The obvious difference between the images of the England players venturing out to Germany with those of their return is that they are departing Stansted as individuals, going their separate ways.
You would not expect anything else, of course, but had they won the schedule would have been very different.
In a perfectly timed yet somewhat cruel switch of focus, the images in our BBC News stream move straight to images of the Spain team posing in Madrid with the trophy on the runway, all in glorious sunshine.
This is what you could have won!
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Live from Berlin following the Euro 2024 final. BBC Radio 5 Live. AudioLive from Berlin following the Euro 2024 final
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