BERLIN (AP) — He solely performed half the sport, however Spain midfielder Rodri referred to as it the very best day of his profession.
Spain appeared to have suffered a serious blow when Rodri went off with an unspecified damage at halftime within the European Championship ultimate towards England on Sunday with the rating at 0-0.
Rodri mentioned he felt one thing odd in his leg after operating into teammate Robin Le Normand and that he knew he couldn’t preserve going after making an attempt a dash.
However fears of a second-half drop in depth have been put to relaxation when Nico Williams scored quickly after the break, then substitute Mikel Oyarzabal scored late for Spain to win 2-1 and declare its fourth European title.
“My God, what a day, that is certainly the very best day of my profession,” Rodri mentioned after he was introduced with the participant of the event award.
Rodri helped Manchester Metropolis win the Champions League title in June, together with scoring the one objective of the ultimate towards Inter Milan.
On Sunday, Rodri was changed on the break by Actual Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi, thought-about among the finest holding midfielders within the Spanish league, however untested internationally. He greater than rose to the problem, profitable all his tackles and with a greater passing price than Rodri.
“You solely need to see the household we now have constructed … Now we’re the nationwide group that has received essentially the most European Championships,” mentioned Rodri, who paid tribute to Spain’s younger gamers particularly — Williams is simply 22 and Lamine Yamal turned 17 on Saturday. They received the participant of the match and younger participant of the event awards, respectively.
“Many people right here received Underneath-19 and Underneath-21 European Championships, and that is one thing that’s cultivated and nurtured and you’re employed onerous for,” Rodri mentioned. “Right now we’re champions of Europe and we’re not going to cease right here.”
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AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024