It was a familiar feeling for England following Sunday’s European Championship final; being so close to glory, but still not close enough, as they lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin.
After waiting 55 years to reach the final of a major tournament after winning the World Cup in 1966, they have now lost back-to-back finals at the Euros, following their defeat on penalties to Italy at Wembley in 2021. This was also their first major final on foreign soil.
In truth, England were comprehensively outplayed by an impressive Spanish team who deserved their win on the night and were well ahead of England in every metric bar the scoreline. After Nico Williams capped off a superb individual tournament with the opener just after half time, Spain passed up several chances before they were punished by Cole Palmer’s equaliser. However, they regrouped and found the winner after 86 minutes, with Mikel Oyarzabal’s close range finish proving enough to seal victory, ending England’s Euros dream in heartbreaking fashion.
Rugby's Six Nations: Lessons for churches
As a Welshman, I watched the opening weekend of this year’s Six Nations with a mixture of familiarity and unease. …