If football is going home, it’s only because Spain won this match. They won a record-setting fourth European Championship title after a great showing in Berlin, even though it looked like England might pull off another crazy escape act for a short time.

If the Spanish team hadn’t won their 27th straight final, it would have been a terrible thing. When their flying wingers worked together, Lamine Yamal set up Nico Williams, and they calmed down after Cole Palmer’s goal. It didn’t come as a surprise when Mikel Oyarzabal scored with four minutes left. There was no bad luck in Gareth Southgate’s pain. Luis de la Fuente’s well-trained team beat England, and it was another time when Harry Kane didn’t do well on the big stage.

There has been a lot of talk about Southgate’s choices during the tournament, but his decision on Luke Shaw stands out as one of the most important. A few weeks ago, it didn’t make any sense to put together a team with one left back who was having trouble. Southgate, on the other hand, has always believed in himself. In this case, Shaw was ready for his first start in 148 days, so he bravely switched Kieran Trippier for the 29-year-old on the left and trusted that Shaw would be smart enough to deal with Lamine Yamal after the teenager let France down.

Britain had to be ready to lose when they didn’t have the ball. Instead of the 3-4-2-1 formation they had used in the first two games, they switched to a 4-4-1-1, with Jude Bellingham playing inside left and Phil Foden smothering Rodri. However, they could have done without Kyle Walker almost hurting himself when he tried to slide off the field and into De la Fuente. Spain had a chance to attack, and John Stones had to ask Williams to do something very important.

Other than a few runs from Bukayo Saka, Spain probed against England’s low block for the next 15 minutes. Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice were already being chased by Fabián Ruiz and Dani Olmo. Things got worse when Foden made a mistake and Lamine Yamal got in, but his shot hit the back of the net.

England was sometimes aggressive, but Kane got a yellow card when he overcooked a rare touch of the ball and caught Ruiz because he was so eager to play. It was already hard. England needed Kane to play better hold-up, but his next touch was slow, and he was quickly taken off. Robin Le Normand and Aymeric Laporte, who had hooked wide from a corner, were not being pushed.

When Yamal ran at Shaw, he gave up a corner, which meant England had to protect even more. Before Marc Guéhi and Stones stopped Álvaro Morata from running through on goal, Olmo had a shot saved.

Even though Spain had the ball, they weren’t playing with enough cutting edge. Southgate had a clear plan, as his players pushed their opponents wide and made them cross the ball without any purpose. This was a patient game, and England had some good moments, like when Bellingham stole the ball from Dani Carvajal and fed it to Kane. Rodri had already stopped one shot from Rice, and now he had to stop England’s leader. Just before halftime, Foden had a simple chance that Spain needed to stop, but Unai Simón made it.

In the 47th minute, though, they were still asleep. Kane and Foden’s pressing broke down, letting Martin Zubimendi get through the middle of the pitch. England’s form was a mess. All of a sudden, something was off by one yard. Shaw didn’t see Lamine Yamal coming in from the side and getting away from him. Carvajal found the winger, and the sideways pass that came next was perfectly weighted, letting Williams charge in from the left, open up his left foot, and slip a low shot past Walker, leaving Jordan Pickford with a lot of work to do.

It was a beautifully executed goal that gave Spain hope. The next 10 minutes were harsh on England. They couldn’t keep their cool, so they were lucky they didn’t lose the game right then. The shots from Olmo and Stones went just wide, Morata’s shot was blocked, and Williams’ shot from 20 yards came close.