Declan Rice took it upon himself to remonstrate with England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford after he invited pressure from Spain with a throw to Phil Foden in
clashed with the goalkeeper invited pressure from Spain in the opening stages of thefinal.
The Three Lions faced a difficult prospect against Spain in the final in Berlin – and they started slowly. With Spain pressing high up the pitch, England decided they were going to take them on that their own game, a tactic which came with danger.
Pickford has been told by ball out quickly to However, Foden had it stolen from him by Fabian Ruiz and the Spain midfielder released Lamine Yamal on the wing, forcing Marc Guehi to block the ball behind for a
hat pattern of play sparked remonstrations in the England camp, with Rice confronting his goalkeeper. The midfielder was seen telling Pickford to “calm down”, with the keeper a bit frenetic.
Pickford argued his case, seeming to suggest it was Foden who was at fault for losing the ball, rather than him. Rice ended up walking away from the heated discussion and, in general, England defender stoutly in the first half.
England created little at the other end, though, with across on the overlap and a late Foden effort from a free-kick the extent of their attacking attempts. Things ended up going down hill after the break for England, with
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Nico Williams put Spain 1-0 up just two minutes into the second half when he tucked a finish past Pickford into the bottom corner from Yamal’s pass. Pickford kept the Three Lions in it with some strong saves from the impressive Yamal and England equalised through Cole Palmer’s controlled effort into the corner.
Yet England couldn’t build on their momentum and Spain turned things around, with Marc Cucurella crossing for substitute Mikel Oyarzabal to tap in the winner in the 86th minute. Dani Olmo headed Marc Guehi’s effort off the line from a late corner to seal the win and a fourth European Championship for Spain.
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