Euro 2024 was a strange tournament in many ways. It started with a bang, fell to a hush midway through and built its way back to a crescendo, with Spain overcoming England in the final. The best team won and we can’t always say that about major tournaments.
The hosts kicked things off in Munich by beating Scotland 5-1 (still the highest-scoring game), but other pre-tournament favourites struggled to get going. France, blessed with the most talented squad and regular finalists in recent years, were not nearly as exciting as Georgia, the lowest-ranked team of the 24. England, the other great contenders before a ball was kicked, were dreadfully dreary at times and yet also gave us some of the tournament’s most memorable moments: Jude Bellingham’s overhead kick, Jordan Pickford’s bottle-assisted penalty save and Ollie Watkins’ late winner against the Netherlands.
