It was quite a Sunday for Spain from a sporting context. The country first saw 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz win a second consecutive title at Wimbledon, by beating the usually inconquerable Novak Djokovic for the second year running in the title clash of The Championships. Hours later, Alcaraz and the rest of Spain celebrated as their men’s national team won the country’s fourth UEFA European Championship title.
Alcaraz was tweeting away throughout the final, in which Spain beat England 2-1 in Berlin, Germany. He marked the moment Spain won the match by tweeting: “CAMPEONES! CAMPEONES! CAMPEONES! Qué grandes sois @SEFutbol!!! Vaya espectáculo de Eurocopa (CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS! CHAMPIONS! How great you are @SEFutbol!!! What a Euro Cup spectacle).”
He also celebrated the two goals that Spain scored before that and kept reacting to a number of moments quite loudly on his X handle.
Alcaraz had said earlier on Centre Court with the iconic Wimbledon trophy that he is hoping it will be a “good day for Spanish people”, with hours still left for the final to kick off in Berlin. It led to the predominantly English crowd booing the Spaniard in jest after a majority of them cheered him on against Djokovic for much of the final in which he steamrolled the 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
“Being a Spaniard, yeah, it would be a perfect Sunday,” said Alcaraz. “Obviously these last days I’ve spoken with a few players. We send best of luck in every match. Obviously we send the best of luck on Sunday.”
Young guns bring a major title back to Spain
Spain’s young wingers Niko Williams and Lamine Yamal were the ones who inspired the team’s victory. The youngsters have been key on their side’s run to the final in Berlin and combined to send Spain ahead against England, a moment that felt fitting given their supreme summer. Williams’ well-taken strike gave Spain a deserved lead and the duo both came close to extending it before Cole Palmer’s equaliser for England. Mikel Oyarzabal then struck the winner for Spain and they won their first major title since 2012.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the pair had a “gift from god” earlier in the tournament and he deserves credit for choosing to deploy both, rather than choosing a more cautious path. As a result, Spain did not always end up with more of the ball than their opponents but that did not matter to them or their fans as they celebrated with the trophy.