Mikel Oyarzabal reveals how he scored the winning goal of Euro 2024 against England

Mikel Oyarzabal will remain a legend of Spain and Real Sociedad long after his career is over.

The Basque striker ended Spain’s 12-year wait for a major title by beating England 2-1 in the final in Munich.

Luis de la Fuente opted to include him as a second-half substitute for captain Álvaro Morata with Spain winning 1-0.

Cole Palmer’s late goal looked to have sent the game into extra time before Oyarzabal’s decisive impact with four minutes remaining.

The experienced striker showed a keen desire to cross two English defenders and admitted there was an agonizing pause for the moment which was ruined by VAR.

“I can see Cuckoo [Marc Cucurella] He is running away and the ball is going to come right to him. That’s when I start moving,” he said in an interview with The Guardian.

“When the ball comes, I think: ‘Go there, give it a touch.’ When it comes in I don’t know if I’m offside. I look at the linesman and he starts running.

“We have to wait. I ask the referee: ‘Is everything okay, does it count?’ And finally he says, ‘Yes.’”

Oyarzabal’s frank omission shows the full spectrum of emotions that were running through his head as Spain finally crossed the line to glory.

It is by far the most important goal of Oyarzabal’s career and his time with the national team shows no signs of ending ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.