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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

England: Why Spain are 'seeking revenge' against Cole Palmer in Euro 2024 final

Spain are seeking revenge against England star Cole Palmer in the Euro 2024 final.

La Roja and the Three Lions face off in Berlin on Sunday, and for Palmer it is the second European Championship final against Spain in as many years after last summer's Under-21 win.

The Young Lions won 1-0 that day to secure a first European trophy in 39 years, with Palmer's deflected free-kick on the stroke of half-time sealing a narrow 1-0 victory.

Palmer sparked a brawl on the touchline when appearing to celebrate his goal in front of the Spain bench. After the melee, Spain fitness coach Carlos Rivera and England assistant coach Ashley Cole were sent off.

Cole Palmer celebrating his goal last summer (The FA via Getty Images)

When the half-time whistle went, there were further altercations as the players headed down the tunnel to the dressing rooms. The ill-tempered scenes continued in the second half, and when goalkeeper James Trafford saved Abel Ruiz' last-gasp penalty, England's Morgan Gibbs-White and Spain's Antonio Blanco were both shown red cards in the aftermatch.

Speaking to Channel 4 after the game, Palmer admitted he may have gone too far with his provocative celebration but blamed Spain's perceived play-acting and "screaming". He said: "Obviously, it means a lot. Been working a lot over the past few years for this moment and it's come so I'm buzzing.

"I was a bit frustrated with the way they were going down and screaming [earlier in the match]. The celebration was maybe a bit over the top but [I'm] just happy."

Spain defender Sergio Gomez said at the time: "It surprised me. He [Palmer] didn't want to apologise or anything like some of his other team-mates. I don't know, I would have celebrated it in a different way and my team-mates would have done it in a different way as well.

"They [England] have the attitude they want to have. This is not the first time something like this has happened with this team. We have tried to represent our country in the best possible way and have the utmost respect for all our rivals. They wanted to celebrate it like this and also after the missed penalty."

Spanish media report that the senior men's team have not forgotten and have a "score to settle" with Palmer on Sunday.

Palmer is not expected to start the final, having failed to make a starting line-up at the tournament, but has made an impact in four substitute appearances so far, including assisting Ollie Watkin's last-gasp winner over Netherlands.

The Chelsea man told the media on Thursday: "It’s huge. We played them last year in the Under-21s final, England versus Spain. Even that was a massive game, so I can’t imagine this one!"

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