Harry Kane Reflects on England’s Heartbreaking Euro 2024 Final Loss to Spain
England captain Harry Kane expressed his profound disappointment following England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, marking the Three Lions’ second consecutive loss in the tournament’s final. Reflecting on the match, Kane acknowledged the enduring pain this loss will cause.

“It will hurt for a long time,” said Kane. England previously lost the Euro 2020 final on penalties to Italy at Wembley, and were also eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup by France, where Kane missed a crucial late penalty. This latest setback, with Spain scoring a late winner, was particularly difficult for the England captain, who was substituted after 60 minutes.
“It’s hard to put into words how we’re all feeling right now… We did well to get back into the game and struggled to build on that,” Kane added.
Spain faced adversity of their own, losing Rodri to injury at half-time. Despite this, they took the lead just two minutes into the second half when Lamine Yamal set up Nico Williams, who slotted the ball past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
England found hope when substitute Cole Palmer equalized three minutes after coming on. However, Mikel Oyarzabal secured Spain’s victory with a decisive goal just four minutes from the end.
“We’ve been coming from behind all tournament, we’ve got it in the locker. We didn’t take the next step and win it,” Kane reflected. “The second half was better and we got the goal. We got caught with a cross and that’s the final.”
Despite a stellar individual career with numerous goalscoring accolades, the 30-year-old Kane is still searching for his first team trophy. Before the match, Kane had expressed his desire to trade all his personal achievements for European Championship glory. He finished the tournament with three goals, tying for the most in the competition, despite struggling with a back injury.
“It’s an opportunity missed. These finals aren’t easy to get to. You have to take it when it comes and we haven’t done it again. It’s extremely painful and it’ll hurt for a long time.”
Regarding the future of England manager Gareth Southgate, who has been at the helm since late 2016, Kane stated that Southgate would need time to contemplate his next steps. “We wanted to win it for him,” Kane said.
As England grapples with yet another near miss, the team’s resilience and Kane’s leadership will be pivotal as they look ahead to future challenges.