England player ratings: Kane anonymous and still trophyless, Rice exposed, Pickford brilliant

Spain are European champions and England have lost back-to-back European Championship finals. Here are our player ratings on a heartbreaking night in Berlin.

Jordan Pickford
Has there been a more consistent player for England under Gareth Southgate? Ignoring the fact he assumes the role of a spectator in plenty of qualifying matches, the answer is no. There used to be so many question marks over his ability due to a few errors at club level but he has never put a foot – or hand – wrong for his country.

Against Spain in the final of Euro 2024, he was superb. There was no clean sheet to show for it but he couldn’t have done much to stop Nico Williams’ opener and for Mikel Oyarzabal’s winner, the Marc Cucurella cross was perfect and impossible to defend.

At 1-0 down, Pickford made a crucial save to deny wonderkid Lamine Yamal and with the score at 1-1, he made a very similar save against the same player. The command of his area helped relieve pressure on his defence during relentless Spanish attacks. England’s best player.

Kyle Walker
This man always looks so dangerous on the overlap and then he receives the ball. His end product frequently lets him down and from a low cross that failed to trouble Spain to an overcooked cross that landed 20 yards past its desired destination, Kyle Walker was guilty once again of fluffing his lines in the final third.

There will be question marks over his positioning for Nico Williams’ opening goal as the Athletic Club winger found himself in acres of space from close range, thundering the ball past a helpless Pickford.

Dani Olmo had another huge chance in a similar area not long after the opener but he couldn’t finish with his weaker left foot. Not a great night for Walker, who cannot be starting for England at the next major tournament.

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John Stones
His first one-on-one battle with Williams with Walker AWOL went well, showing him down the line and blocking the shot. Besides a worrying pass back to Pickford in the first half, he had a fine game. Not outstanding but not poor by any stretch, showing his ability to drive forward with the ball before the nosebleed led to conceding possession.

Stones had one clearance when Alvaro Morata got the ball past Pickford – though the shot was going wide, he took no chances and got rid.

Marc Guehi
Guehi’s first proper aerial duel of the match saw him be dominated by Rodri – who gave England fans false hope by coming off injured at half-time.

He was fine defensively and had a good tournament overall . It was always going to be a busier night for the full-backs against Yamal and Williams than for the centre-backs against Spain captain Morata.

Guehi came so bloody close to making it 2-2 but his header was cleared off the line by Olmo. Beers were likely thrown in vain.

Luke Shaw
Considering it was his first start since February 18, Shaw can be pleased with his individual performance, especially against Yamal in the first half.

There was a lack of impact going forward and he certainly faded in the second half, which was to be expected.

Declan Rice
Arsenal midfielder Rice showed some good moments defensively and contributed to England’s first shot on target with a dangerous ball from a free-kick that was knocked on towards an outstretched Phil Foden.

In possession he left a lot to be desired and will hopefully have learned a thing or two playing against Fabian Ruiz and Rodri. His inability to resist the Spain press hurt England at times, hoofing the ball up the pitch when Rodri would recover the ball and find a team-mate, or at least make a more measured launch.

In the close-range melee which saw Guehi nearly score, he had one header which produced a decent save from Unai Simon before missing the target to huge Spanish celebrations.

Rice had a great season for Arsenal and showed some promise at Euro 2024 but games like these show that he has plenty of room for improvement.

Kobbie Mainoo (off for Palmer, 70)
It was a difficult evening for Mainoo, who struggled to get involved in the opening 20 minutes before a couple of important defensive moments. He did look confident on the ball at times but it was tough for him out there.

Bukayo Saka
Early on he gave Cucurella a knock following a poor touch from the Spain left-back knowing he will receive plenty of those the other way around. Saka didn’t have his best night against the best left-back at the tournament . He was nowhere near hindering England, though.

Phil Foden (off for Toney, 89)
Being outshone by every other England attacker at the tournament – who had proper minutes on the pitch – isn’t a great look for the PFA Footballer of the Year.

Man City playmaker Foden passed the ball to Olmo from just outside the box early on but was not punished and had England’s first shot on goal, stretching and doing well to find the target.

Tonight was at least another example that he is wasted for England on the left wing and is at his best through the middle. It’s a shame he could not get a foothold on this game but the occasional moment of danger but a largely unimpactful performance sums up his tournament.

Jude Bellingham
England’s starboy was being relentlessly hunted every time he got on the ball and had a cheeky nutmeg on Rodri but instantly lost it.

It was a difficult match against the nation where he plays his club football, however, that assist for Cole Palmer’s beautiful equaliser was spectacular. The ability to hold off the defensive pressure to lay it off to Palmer was world-class forward play that the Chelsea star bettered by stroking the ball past Simon.

Bellingham’s tournament had moments of brilliance but more moments of frustration. Without him, though, England would have been on the beach a while ago.

MORE ON ENGLAND’S DEFEAT FROM F365
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👉 Can Euro 2024 winner Rodri win the Ballon d’Or ahead of Real Madrid pair?

Harry Kane (off for Watkins, 61)
Joined Bayern Munich last summer and captained the pre-tournament favourites at Euro 2024; Harry Kane has somehow finished the season without a trophy, meaning he still has no medals to show for a wonderful career , aged 30.

Southgate made the brave, yet correct, call to bring off his captain just after the hour mark after an alarmingly ineffective performance, which we knew would happen .

Having been uninvolved to see the big-game narrative roar, Kane picked up a yellow card for a follow-through with his Sketcher boot on Fabian Ruiz. The Bayern striker’s first touch let him down basically every time he got it and was a useless outlet for Pickford and his defenders when they went long.

Ollie Watkins’ name was being sung by the England fans and Southgate listened, aptly and swiftly bringing the Aston Villa man on to try and hurt the Spain defence in behind.

Substitutes

Ollie Watkins, (on for Kane, 61)
His desire to press forced Unai Simon to cease possession, something Kane did not do in 61 minutes. Unfortunately, Watkins could not replicate his Netherlands heroics but at least showed more in 30 minutes than his captain did in double that.

Cole Palmer (on for Mainoo, 70)
Basically his first involvement led to a beautiful goal, caressing the ball into the bottom corner from 25 years as once angry fans again had to admit Southgate’s genius when it comes to substitutions.

He did his bit and what a moment it was. The boy is special.

Ivan Toney (on for Foden, 89)
Couldn’t help England find an equaliser after being thrown on for injury time.

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