Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw played all 90 minutes including added time as England suffered a 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Spain took the lead just two minutes after the break through Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams. The electric La Liga winger – who was unmarked – got on the end of a superb ball from 17-year-old Lamine Yamal before expertly sweeping it past Jordan Pickford.
Substitute Cole Palmer restored parity in the 73rd minute when he nonchalantly passed the ball into the far corner from around 20 yards out.
With the match level, England surprisingly retreated and assumed deeper positions. Unfortunately for them, Spain capitalized on their reluctance to push forward and mount attacks despite having the wind in their sails.
With four minutes of regular time left on the clock, Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella guided a superb low cross into the path of Mikel Oyarzabal, who got away from Marc Guehi to slide the ball into the back of the England net. There were fears among the Spaniards that Oyarzabal may have been offside but those fears were put to bed after a quick review by VAR.
During the time he was on the pitch, Shaw was solid and especially did well to keep young Yamal quiet.
Shaw made four clearances and one interception. The United star also put in three tackles.
He delved into six ground duels and came out on top four times. He was not required to contest any challenges aerially.
The left-back touched the ball on 35 occasions and successfully found an England teammate with 14 of the 15 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass completion rate of 93%.
Shaw tried to connect with two crosses and one long ball. None of his crosses found their intended target but the one long ball he pinged was successful.
The 29-year-old embarked on two dribbles, completing just one.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
For Shaw, all attention will undoubtedly now shift to quickly getting past the heartbreak of England’s loss in the final before reporting back to United for pre-season.
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