English football fans have experienced the rollercoaster ride of the Euro 2024 final in Australia, with the ecstasy and agony of every unexpected twist etched on their faces.
Thousands of expats turned out in major capitals including Sydney and Melbourne for the 5am kick-off, hoping England would end a 58-year drought of hosting major international tournaments.
In the end they were broken.
England lamented the many missed opportunities in their Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain on Sunday night.
Gareth Southgate’s side suffered a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at the Olympiastadion, with goals from Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal. The Real Sociedad forward scored in the 86th minute to secure a record fourth Spanish title.
Shortly afterwards, the Three Lions had a chance to equalise, but that chance was thwarted by some exceptional goalkeeping, shaky defending and a failed shot from Declan Rice.
The defeat leaves England trophyless, with it being 58 years since they last won a major tournament, the 1966 World Cup.
English fans erupted in anger when Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer scored in the 75th minute to level the score at 1-1.
Fans had filled the stadiums in Sydney, including the Cheers bar, and were in high spirits as the final minutes of the thrilling match began
Hundreds of expats braved the cold early morning on Monday to cheer on England – but their hopes were dashed just minutes after this photo was taken
Some expats living in Australia were gracious in their defeat.
“Spain kept the pressure on, we didn’t, so in the end the better team won,” posted one fan from Western Australia.
‘We deserved to lose. They couldn’t hold the ball for more than 2 seconds, looked listless and the Spanish team were hot on our heels,’ added another.
Others were nasty with the latest disappointment.
“The typical England raises the hopes of a country and then dashes them when push comes to shove,” wrote one expat living in Victoria.
Another expat took the opportunity to criticise the Australians who ridiculed the drought of English titles.
‘Aussies a complete disgrace to Union, didn’t make the semis in cricket and are laughable at football (soccer to your half guard) yet managed to slam England. Priceless, he posted.
“Could have been worse… could have been a Socceroo lol,” said another.
Joy quickly turned to bewilderment when Mikel Oyarzabal scored to put Spain 2-1 up with four minutes left in regulation time
Three Lions fans could barely watch as their team squandered chances to level the score
The tension was palpable as the minutes ticked by until the final whistle dashed England’s hopes of their first major tournament win since the 1966 World Cup
There were also many comments about a ‘moral victory’, which harked back to comments made by England batsman Harry Brook during last year’s controversial Ashes series when he said the hosts could make it ‘a moral victory’ with a win in the fifth and final Test.
“I wonder how Piers Morgan is doing,” one Australian asked cheekily.
With this victory, Spain secured its fourth European Championship title, a record. It was the third victory in the last five tournaments.
They previously won in 1964, 2008 and 2012, and their recent successes came around their 2010 World Cup triumph, during the golden era of Xavi Hernandez, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta.
England attempted to win their first international men’s title since the 1966 World Cup but narrowly missed out on reaching their first final on foreign soil.
After losing to Italy on penalties three years ago, they became the only team to lose the European Championship final twice.
The English supporters had to console each other when they realised that there would be no trophy to take home again
The emotion was clearly visible as fans realised their Euro dream was dead
Captain Harry Kane, now 30, is still chasing his first major trophy despite a prolific goalscoring career. This latest disappointment comes after another trophyless season at Bayern Munich.
“I think Spain were the best team of the tournament,” said England manager Gareth Southgate.
‘We didn’t hold the ball well enough.
‘Spain press well and you have to hold on to the ball when you win it back, which is ultimately the part that demands the most from your legs.
‘I’m devastated for everyone. We just fell a little short.
‘We had a bit of momentum in the game at that point [when Cole Palmer equalised]There is still a big chance for an equaliser at the end, but I’m not sure we did enough in the 90 minutes.
‘I think the players will get a huge amount of credit for getting us to where we are now, but when you’re this close you’ve got to take your chances.
“They represented the shirt with pride and were unbeaten until the end. I think Spain had more control of the game tonight.”