Football ‘Now we’re going to the World Cup’: Spain’s wild celebration after Euro win

Spain celebrates. With all due credit. Luis de la Fuente’s team beats England and becomes European champion for the sixth time. The celebration begins in Germany, but easily reaches Madrid and the rest of the Iberian cities. An entire country is dyed red.

The Iberian team is overflowing with happiness. There is no room for caution. “You couldn’t be happier. It was a wonderful day in which a real team was crowned. Thank you for your support to all of Spain,” comments the strategist, for example.

Among his players, the authentic and now successful replacement generation of a football that has acquired a taste for important titles at national team level, moderation does not exist. And it is understandable, given the splendor of the moment. Nico Williams, one of the main figures of the team, embodies, on the one hand, the happiness that comes from an achieved goal and, on the other, the ambition of a group of players who do not want to put a ceiling on themselves. “I am delighted. Very happy. All our people deserve it. The family, the fans,” says Nico Williams, author of the first goal, for example. “No one can beat us. I have already said that we are a great team. “All these people deserve it,” he insisted, in the same sense. “We suffered a lot. They have players who can make the difference, but we knew how to thwart them,” he admitted in a more analytical tone.

The Athletic Bilbao striker does not hesitate to admit the reason and has no problem announcing his new goal. “We are European champions and now we are aiming for the World Cup,” he emphasizes in his statements immediately after the match.

He is not the only one to be satisfied. “I did my job, what I had to do at all times. I was lucky to win,” said Mikel Oyarzabal, who sealed the victory.

In the England dressing room, there was a natural disappointment. “Losing a final is the hardest thing. We did very well to equalise at 1-1 and we couldn’t take advantage of that momentum. “It’s as painful as a football match can be,” Harry Kane said, for example. The Bayern Munich striker added another final to a long list of disappointments. In his career, which can be considered largely successful due to his individual achievements and the magnitude of the contracts he has signed, he has not yet managed to win titles.

Adding to the sadness over the loss of the continental title is now the uncertainty over the permanence of the manager, Gareth Southgate. “It will take some time to decide whether to continue or not. “We wanted to win for him,” said the striker, speaking of a determination that the manager has surely inspired in the team.

Southgate, in fact, graphically captured his state of mind after the setback. “I’m devastated,” he said. However, that state of mind did not prevent a healthy self-criticism. “In the 90 minutes, I don’t think we did enough to win,” he said.