The Manchester City captain still blames himself for missing a goal in the Euro 2024 final

For the second time in a row, the England national team reached the final of the European Championship. In 2021, they lost to Italy in a penalty shootout, and this summer, they were defeated by Spain.

La Roja opened the scoring in the Euro 2024 final early in the second half with a precise strike from Nico Williams, assisted by Lamine Yamal. However, by the middle of the second half, Cole Palmer equalized for England after a pass from Jude Bellingham.

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The decisive moment came when Mikel Oyarzabal successfully converted a cross from Marc Cucurella. Manchester City captain and England defender Kyle Walker blames himself for the conceded goal.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 5Live podcast, he expressed his belief that things could have been different if he had stopped Cucurella faster.

When asked if the second goal from Spain still haunts him, Walker responded briefly:

"Yes."

He then elaborated:

"The ball went right under my feet. It hit the sole of my boot, but I couldn't stop it.

And then you start thinking. Could we have pulled someone back? Could we have dropped a forward into defense? Could everyone have been a bit closer to the goal? Could we have stopped the cross then?

He could run freely with the ball and pass wherever he wanted. Why was no one tracking him?

But in the end, as fate would have it, the ball ends up in the box and then in the back of the net. Were the central midfielders covering the goal tightly enough?

You go through all these scenarios, but ultimately the only thing you can control is yourself."

He concluded:

"Probably, I should have gotten closer and tried to block him. But, as fate would have it, that didn't happen."

When asked if this defeat was more painful than the one in 2021, Walker replied:

"No. Of course, it was very unpleasant back then. But this time, it hurt more because the squad was probably stronger."

It's worth noting that England has never won the European Championship, and the Euro 2024 final was only the second in their history.