16 July,2024 06:58 AM IST | Berlin | AP
Spain skipper Alvaro Morata holds the Euro 2024 trophy with his team. Pics/Getty Images
He only played half the game, but Spain midfielder Rodri called it the best day of his career.
Spain looked to have suffered a major blow when Rodri went off with an unspecified injury at half-time in the European Championship final against England on Sunday with the score at 0-0.
Rodri said he felt something odd in his leg after running into teammate Robin Le Normand and that he knew he couldn't keep going after trying a sprint.
Despite Rodri's absence, Spain took the lead just two minutes into the second half - Lamine Yamal drifting in from the left to find Nico Williams, who cut the ball under England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. Cole Palmer equalised three minutes after coming on as a substitute to give England hope, but Mikel Oyarzabal came in sliding to tap in a cross and scored with four minutes remaining for Spain to win 2-1 and claim its fourth European title. "My God, what a day, this is surely the best day of my career," Rodri said after he was presented with the player of the tournament award.
Rodri helped Manchester City win the Champions League title in June, including scoring the only goal of the final against Inter Milan.
On Sunday, Rodri was replaced at the break by Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi.
"You only have to see the family we have built. Now, we are the national team that has won the most European Championships," said Rodri, going on to pay tribute to Spain's young players in particular - Williams, 22, and Lamine Yamal, 17. They won the player of the match and young player of the tournament awards, respectively. "Today we are champions of Europe, but we're not going to stop here. Imagine what comes next. We made history, but this doesn't stop here. The future for us is going to be everything. We have the talent to keep going and winning," added Rodri.
Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente also hailed his young brigade and warned of more glory to follow. "It's not that I thought we were favourites, but I felt we were in a position to win the tournament and we did. It's hard to improve on what we've done here, but this group can keep growing because they do not tire of hard work. These players have made history and they still have a long way to go," De la Fuente said.
47th min: Nico Williams (right) opens the scoring for Spain... 1-0
73rd min: Cole Palmer hammers in the equaliser for England... 1-1
86th min: Mikel Oyarzabal slides in to tap the winner for Spain... 2-1
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