Hard-working striker Mikel Oyarzabal emerges as Spain’s unlikely hero in Euro 2024 final
![Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal celebrates after winning the final match against England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/apimg/2024/07/Euro_2024_Soccer_Spain_England_81119.jpg)
Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal celebrates after winning the final match against England at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Matthias Schrader]
BERLIN (AP) — Spain’s exhilarating youngsters led the charge to a record fourth European Championship but it fell to a player who has lived through the hard side of soccer to clinch the title. Mikel Oyarzabal went on as a second-half substitute and scored the championship-winning goal when he poked in an 86th-minute winner to beat England 2-1 on Sunday. Oyarzabal says “something put me in that position to score that goal.” The 27-year-old player for Real Sociedad has been a regular – when healthy – for Spain. But he missed the 2022 World Cup with a serious leg injury. He now says “I am so fortunate to be able feel this immense joy after having gone through what I went through.”
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