Soccer Monday: Spain crowned Euros champion and Argentina takes the Copa America again
Kick the week off with all the news from this past weekend
Happy Monday!
It’s been quite a few weeks of exciting international soccer — and it all came to an end on Sunday.
Here’s a recap from the day’s two big championship games that saw Spain win the European Championship and Argentina take the Copa America once again:
Spain wins record fourth European Championship
Once again, it’s not coming home.
Playing in a tournament it dominated from start to finish, Spain defeated England 2-1 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the winning goal four minutes from time.
“Here we are, champions of Europe,” said Nico Williams, whose opening goal for Spain in the 47th minute was canceled out by England substitute Cole Palmer in the 73rd. “We are thrilled and hope this can keep going and we can go for the [2026] World Cup.”
For England, the game was another agonizing near-miss for manager Gareth Southgate and his men after losing the Euro final to Italy three years ago on penalties.
With the win, Spain is again a major player after winning both the Women’s World Cup (also against England) and the UEFA Nations League last year. Since 2001, Spanish men’s teams have won 23 consecutive major finals in club and international soccer.
Argentina captures second straight Copa America
Argentina won its second consecutive Copa America, overcoming Lionel Messi’s second-half leg injury to beat Colombia 1-0 on Lautaro Martínez’s 112th-minute goal.
Argentina’s extra-time win at Hard Rock Stadium just outside Miami also ended Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten streak dating to a February 2022.
Martinez entered the game in the 97th minute and scored from a Giovani Lo Celso pass. One-on-one in the box, Martinez sent a right-footed shot through the arms of goalkeeper Camilo Vargas for his 29th international goal and tournament-high fifth.
The game got underway after a delay of more than an hour because of crowd issues, including fans breaching security gates.
Video posted on social media showed fans jumping over security railings near the southwest entrance of the stadium and running past police officers and stadium attendants.
Who’s better: Argentina or Spain?
The final of both the Euros and Copa America falling on the same day set up this delicious question: What is the world’s best team?
Argentina, in winning two Copa America titles and a World Cup in three years, can certainly lay claim to being the best. The latest FIFA rankings have the Albiceleste at No. 1.
Spain, however, with its new generation of talent can certainly lay claim to being one of the best. In fact, La Roja totally dominated the field at the Euros.
The World Cup will certainly help solve this question, but we could get some answers before 2026. The UEFA-CONMEBOL game — known as the Finalissima — will pit the winners of the Euros and Copa America against one another. In 2022, Argentina defeated Italy in 3-0 to capture the Finalissima.
When and where the game will be played remains to be seen. But a Messi-Yamal matchup — the old guard against the new — is certainly a tasty subplot to such an encounter. It’s also yet another great encounter waiting to happen that will go a long way in helping to settle which national team is currently the best on the planet.
In other news: Sophia Smith’s persistence was finally rewarded in the second half on Saturday at Red Bull Arena in suburban New York as the USWNT defeated regional rivals Mexico 1-0 in a pre-Olympic friendly on Saturday afternoon. … Uruguay defeated Canada in a dramatic penalty-kick shootout following a 2-2 draw in the Copa America third-place match on Saturday at the Bank of America Stadium in Atlanta. In the shootout, Canada midfielder Ismael Kone had his spot-kick saved by Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet. Alphonso Davies attempted a panenka, only to see the ball hit the crossbar to seal Uruguay's win. … In a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup Final, the visiting Columbus Crew demolished LAFC 5-1 on Saturday at BMO Stadium. In handing LAFC their largest home loss in club history, the Crew have now built a five-game winning streak. The Crew are now third in the Eastern Conference.