Comments on the European Championship final

Kane on the ground: “Will hurt for a while”

Harry Kane can't celebrate a title with England either.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Spain's triumph in the European Championship final has once again plunged England into a valley of tears. Captain Harry Kane is certain that the Three Lions will feel the pain for a long time. In Spain, on the other hand, there is great euphoria and anticipation of celebrating with the fans. 

Luis de la Fuente (Spain team manager): "I couldn't be happier. I see the fans, I see the players - a real team, the European champions. I've already said that I'm proud, and today I'm even prouder. It confirms who we are. For me, they are the best team in the world and today I confirm that definition."

Nico Williams (Spain goalscorer/player of the match): "Wonderful, I'm very happy that we won here. It's great for our parents, for our fans - they've always supported us. We suffered a lot against a good team. We had to play 100 percent and we did it. Now we're European champions."

Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain goalscorer): "I did what I could. Of course I wanted to help, a bit of luck is also part of it in the end. It was a tough game, we all got stuck in. After my injury, I'm especially happy that I'm back now and that what happened happened. I'm delighted. Of course I'm incredibly proud that I scored the goal. I see that Cucurella has pulled up. Then I looked to get forward and got to the ball and it went in."

Nico Williams (left) and Mikel Oyarzabal

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Lamine Yamal (Spain player/best young player of the tournament): "It's a dream come true. I'm already looking forward to when we come back to Spain. It was very difficult at the beginning, we didn't have much space. But our team made it, we kept fighting. I'm very happy that we all played together and won together."

Rodri (Spain player/player of the tournament): "Oh my God. What a day. Probably the best day of my soccer career. They always talk about the past generation in Spain, but now we've become one. Today we've made history. It's down to the mentality of this incredible team. The coach knows what he's doing and how to prepare us. He's always humble, quiet, but he's a fantastic coach. I hope that the whole of Spain will be very proud of us tomorrow."

Dani Olmo (Spain player/shared top scorer): "It's a great team, we're so proud of it. We've had a great journey. We started in Berlin and we wanted to finish in Berlin and that's how it is. I was absolutely full of confidence - throughout the tournament. It's great to have played the tournament here in Germany. To win here in Berlin is the pinnacle."

Alvaro Morata (Spain captain): "Positive news leads to positive things - and we saw how strongly Spain believed in us. I hope they are proud of this team and everything that is to come in the future because you have seen that."

Gareth Southgate (England manager): "I'm very proud of my players, they gave everything in the tournament. We weren't good enough to win the game. Spain were the best team. Small mistakes, a good finish - those are the differences in games like this."

Harry Kane (England captain/shared top scorer): "It's hard to put into words. It's very painful - as painful as it can be in a soccer match. We did well to get back into the game. We had the momentum, but we couldn't keep the ball and were punished for it. That's how the final is. It's not easy to get into these finals. You have to grab it when it comes like that and we didn't do it again. That's going to hurt for a while."