England had reached another European Championship final, but on Sunday night they were unable to become the European champions for the first time ever, as they failed in beating Spain. La Roja proved to be too much for Gareth Southgate’s side, winning 2-1, but also proved to be clearly the best side on the continent this year.
Spain won all seven of their matches at the Euros, and against England they did it in dramatic fashion. Nico Williams scored the opener less than two minutes into the second half, before Cole Palmer equalised with a lovely strike with 20 minutes to go. But it was Mikel Oyarzabal who netted the winning goal after 86 minutes of play. Manchester United fans also had their players on the pitch to particularly monitor, as both Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw were part of Southgate’s starting eleven.
In fact, it should be noted just how used everyone has become to seeing Mainoo start for England alongside Declan Rice, a 19-year-old United academy product playing in a EURO final less than a full year since his breakout at Old Trafford. At this time 12 months ago, not many people knew of Mainoo and even less knew of his potential to get to this level as quickly as he has managed.
But Mainoo’s place in the starting eleven surprised no one, which could not be said of Luke Shaw. For the entire tournament, it was Kieran Trippier who had to fill in at left-back, due to Shaw still recovering and working on his fitness throughout the past month. Yet Southgate’s insistence on having Shaw in his squad meant Man United full-back was ready in time for another EURO final, his second, although it was not the easiest of nights for him. Shaw had to deal with the mercurial 17-year-old Lamine Yamal, who lighted up the tournament with one spectacular goal and four assists, one of which came for Spain’s opening goal in the final.
Shaw spent the full 90 minutes on the pitch, while Mainoo as substituted after 70 minutes for Palmer, which turned out to be another good move from Southgate in this tournament. Mainoo could have been better in possession, he lost the ball 11 times, but overall looked unfazed by the occasion. Too bad England were unable to do what they already managed against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands – to come back to victory after conceding the first goal of the match.
It was a good summer for Man United’s England internationals, despite not winning the trophy in the end. Mainoo was a regular in Southgate’s team and could remain an important part of the side during the upcoming UEFA Nations League campaign, while Shaw got to see just how much is expected of him, getting to start another big final despite not making a single start at any level since February. Hopefully this summer can help him have a much better season at Man United, too.
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