Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand and Premier League icon Alan Shearer were both on the same wavelength after England’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Spain completed their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany without suffering a single defeat, with La Roja lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy on Sunday evening.
Luis de la Fuente’s men were considered the favourites going into the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin after an impressive run of form at the tournament.
England were one of the tournament favourites ahead of this summer’s Euros, but they were lacklustre at times with their performances en route to the final.
Gareth Southgate’s side reached their second consecutive European Championship final under the Three Lions boss, only to fall short at the final hurdle again.
The 53-year-old England manager is out of contract in December and Southgate’s future with the Three Lions remains unclear after the Euro 2024 final defeat.
England were fortunate to avoid an exit from Euro 2024 in the round of 16 after producing a late 2-1 comeback win against Slovakia last month.
The Three Lions punched their ticket to the final against Spain after a 2-1 comeback win against the Netherlands in Dortmund in the semi-finals last week.
Spain had knocked out host nation Germany in a 2-1 quarter-final win before they secured a 2-1 comeback victory against France in the semi-finals.
Ferdinand on England fans’ reaction
Spain initially took control of the Euro 2024 final early in the second half after Nico Williams broke the deadlock at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday.
Luis de la Fuente’s side impressed with their attacking flair and failed to build on Nico Williams’ opener, with England overwhelmed at times by the Spain attack.
However, England rallied back into the contest after Chelsea star Cole Palmer came off the bench and scored a crucial equaliser for the Three Lions.
Mikel Oyarzabal ensured that Spain walked away with the Henri Delaunay trophy after finding the back of the net in the 86th minute against England.
Speaking on BBC, Rio Ferdinand admitted that England fans’ immediate reaction to the final would have been towards the conservative approach to attacking football.
The Manchester United legend spotlighted how England’s dynamic changed after Ollie Watkins came off the bench and replaced Harry Kane in the second half.
However, Ferdinand insisted that Three Lions supporters watching the final would be asking why England couldn’t play with the “shackles off” from the start of the match.
“The top teams get control and are aggressive from minute one and take games off opponents,” he said, as per The Daily Mail.
“Every fan watching would have thought, ‘Why have we waited to go a goal down to let the shackles off and start going at them?’
“It wasn’t until Ollie Watkins came on and he started hurrying them.
“We have waited so long? Why should we wait for so long to be on the front foot when we’ve got quality players all over the park?”
Shearer’s reaction to Spain vs England
Alan Shearer, much like Ferdinand, echoed his frustration at not seeing England “play more front-foot football” during the Euro 2024 final.
The Newcastle legend also admitted that he expects England boss Gareth Southgate to bow out of the Three Lions dugout after the Spain defeat.
“We would have loved to have seen them play more front-foot football,” Shearer said.
He added: “First is first and the rest are nowhere, I’m afraid.
“I suspect it will be Southgate’s last game. From where he took over and where they are now.”