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• Trippier: Tiredness no excuse for Euro 2024 heartbreak

  Kieran Trippier says England cannot use tiredness as an excuse for their Euro 2024 heartbreak after losing the final to Spain.

  The Three Lions fought back through Cole Palmer after Nico Williams' early second-half opener but conceded a late Mikel Oyarzabal goal in their 2-1 defeat to La Roja.

  It is the second consecutive European Championships final England lost, with Gareth Southgate admitting after Sunday's match that some players were "a little bit short of their physical peak".

  However, Trippier, who started all six of their games en route to the final, says that is not an excuse.

  "The team that we've got is fit," the right-back said. "If you see the running stats, I think we're probably the highest in the whole tournament. So that's not an excuse.

  "They [Spain] get the second goal, and it's always difficult when you're chasing the game against a team like Spain.

  "Football is all about fine margins. It's one of those where the lads gave everything."

  England's run to the final was not a smooth one, having to come from behind in the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals to set up the meeting with Spain.

  Jude Bellingham scored a late equaliser to ensure the Three Lions did not make an early exit in the round of 16 against Slovakia, while 22-year-old Palmer came off the bench to score in the final.

  Kobbie Mainoo and Marc Guehi also impressed in their maiden major tournament appearances, and Trippier is confident England have a bright future ahead of them.

  "They will have learned a great deal from this tournament," added Trippier.

  "The young players stepped up in big moments for us. They can learn a lot from this. It will make them grow."

• Cucurella reveals 'uncomfortable' Saka plan as Palmer wish made

  Marc Cucurella is hoping that Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer remains on the bench as he laid out his plan to stop Bukayo Saka ahead of Spain's Euro 2024 final against England. 

  Palmer is yet to start for Gareth Southgate at the tournament, despite netting 22 goals in 34 Premier League appearances in a turbulent season at Stamford Bridge. 

  However, the 22-year-old proved his worth from the bench, teeing up Ollie Watkins' late strike against the Netherlands to secure their place in back-to-back European Championship finals. 

  Asked whether he had been in contact with his Chelsea teammate, Cucurella told Mundo Deportivo: “I spoke with him, but it was over a week ago. We talked for a while in the previous rounds.

  “For me, it’s much better if he doesn’t play and stays on the bench.”

  Having endured a difficult season at club level, Cucurella has starred for La Roja in Germany, starting all but one of their fixtures at the finals. 

  Injuries to Jose Gaya and Alejandro Balde resulted in his inclusion in Luis de la Fuente's final 26-man squad. 

  Although many expected Bayer Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo to start at left-back, Cucurella has made that position his own and has been one of the most consistent players at the tournament. 

  But when asked by The Athletic if there was an English player he particularly struggled against, Cucurella said: "He has not played a lot at Euro 2024, but it has to be Cole Palmer. 

  "His football brain works so quickly, he is always a step ahead of the rest. His decision-making is almost always excellent, and that sort of intelligence is the most difficult thing to defend against, you just can’t predict what he’ll do next. I’ve suffered a lot in training.

  "He reminds me a lot of Lamine Yamal. Same style of player. He is a guy who does not care too much about anything. They don’t take life or themselves too seriously.

  "If you ran into Palmer in the streets, you would never tell he is a footballer. But then he plays and… oof.

  "He arrived at a tough time for Chelsea, when the team was struggling, and he made an impact from the start. That helped him a lot to keep growing and getting more confident. If you manage to get those kinds of players in a situation of confidence, they make the difference.

  "I’m so happy and hope he carries on like this… but after this weekend!"

  Cucurella is likely to come up against Saka in Berlin should Gareth Southgate stick with the same side that edged past the Netherlands last time out.

  The Spaniard knows all too well the threat that Saka possesses, having seen him notch an assist in each of their Premier League encounters last season. 

  And Cucurella plans to make Sunday's final as uncomfortable as possible for the Arsenal man. 

  "I know how Saka plays. I don’t really need to watch a lot of footage as I normally watch all the Arsenal games," Cucurella said.

  "It is so tough to mark him, but those challenges are nice for me. Playing against rivals of such quality is nice, I’m sure we both can’t wait for it. 

  "My main target is to make him feel uncomfortable. I also think that the game’s script will depend a lot on Spain and how we play, rather than what England do.

  "If we dominate the ball as we’ve done and stay aware of the high pressure and everything we need to do to avoid counter-attacks, we’ll have plenty of chances to win."

• Netherlands celebration 'a promise' to England substitutes, says Watkins

  Ollie Watkins revealed that his celebration in England's semi-final victory over the Netherlands was dedicated to both Lewis Dunk and Dean Henderson. 

  Watkins scored late to book England's place in the Euro 2024 final against Spain on Sunday as the Three Lions came back from Xavi Simons' opener. 

  The Aston Villa striker netted only the second ever 90th-minute winning goal in a European Championship knockout tie, sparking wild scenes in Dortmund. 

  Watkins raced away after squeezing the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen, running towards the England bench to celebrate his fourth and most important international goal. 

  Both Dunk and Henderson, who have yet to play a single minute in Germany, were among the first to embrace Watkins. 

  "I did make a promise to Deano and Dunky that, if I scored, I would run over and celebrate with them," Watkins said on the latest episode of the Lions' Den.

  "Sometimes you can feel a little bit left out because you're not on the pitch making that impact.

  "So me celebrating with them, obviously I've been on sitting on the bench experiencing that and I just wanted to make it special for everyone.

  "It was nice that they all jumped on the pitch and could be a part of it."

  Watkins' strike saw him become England's newly crowned hero on the international stage, but fellow substitute Cole Palmer also played an important part in the winner. 

  The pair were introduced in the 80th minute and made an almost instant impact. 

  Palmer's assist for Watkins was the first time two substitutes have combined for a goal for England in the knockout stages of a major tournament.

  The 28-year-old said that he predicted the impact he and the Chelsea midfielder would have on proceedings having worked closely together in training. 

  "You've got to have that belief when you're going on the pitch to that you're going to bring something to the team, bring some energy, and for me, when I've got the ball there, I knew I had to be selfish and shoot because I may not get another opportunity," Watkins said.