Daniel McDonnell: Stars of a new Spain generation will now believe they can take ownership of this German summer
Euro 2024 quarter-final: Germany 1 Spain 2 (AET)
Spain's Mikel Merino, left, celebrates his winning goal against Germany. Photo: AP
The day that Germany’s European Championship exploits finally seemed to stop the nation will also be remembered as the evening when the dream died.
In defeat, Julian Nagelsmann’s side arguably showed they had the ingredients of a team capable of winning the competition. But a minute away from a penalty shoot-out that seemed to be building towards an inevitable tale of German triumph, they were undone by a moment which backs up the argument that Spain possessed a superior squad.
