There's nothing like a massive live event to get social buzzing, whether it's a Taylor Swift show or an international soccer championship.

As people watch from home, at a bar, or live, social plays a huge role in the experience as many seek to share their unique perspective on proceedings.

Social listening plays an important role for anyone looking to get a holistic view of what's happening – the moments that are resonating, the key people being talked about, or the unexpected activities happening outside of the official event itinerary.

So let's take a look at the England vs Spain final from a social lens: Spain may have taken the trophy on the pitch, but who won on social?

Methodology

We took a look at public online mentions of the match and the two teams during the period of the final (9pm-11pm Berlin time). We didn't filter by language, instead picking up use of popular hashtags or mentions of the event in general. During the time of the game we collected 563k mentions to analyze.

The most talked about moments

Minute-by-minute analysis shows a slow first half and a roaring finale to the game.

If we look purely at mentions per minute, the key moments were:

  1. 9:55pm - Fans celebrate Spain's win at the final whistle (31.7k mentions)
  2. 9:07pm - Williams scores first goal for Spain (1-0) (7.6k mentions)
  3. 9:33pm - Palmer scores for England (1-1) (7.3k mentions)
  4. 9:47pm - Oyarzabal scores for Spain (2-1) (6.2k mentions)
  5. 9:39pm - Fans reshare Chelsea FC's praise for Palmer (6k mentions)

Chelsea's praise for Cole Palmer, who plays for the club, is a good example of how reactive content can cause a stir even when you'd expect eyes to be firmly focused on the pitch.

The top mentioned players

Let's talk about the players who generated the most mentions during the game.

5. Mikel Oyarzabal - 7.9k mentions

The man behind the final goal of the game was mentioned nearly 8,000 times throughout the match.

Looking at the minute-by-minute analysis above, you might be surprised that the goal from Oyarzabal so close to the end of the game didn't generate as many mentions as the previous goals from Williams and Palmer. The goal, which effectively won Spain the game, came so late that many viewers were likely too busy biting their nails ahead of the final whistle to post about it.

4. Harry Kane - 14.5k mentions

England captain Harry Kane didn't have a great game. He was booked for a foul in the first half and eventually came off the pitch in the 61st minute.

3. Nico Williams - 27.7k mentions

Nico Williams scored the first goal of the game, causing an eruption in mentions.

2. Cole Palmer - 29.8k mentions

Cole Palmer was the only player to score for England, and fans celebrated the goal for an extended period.

1. Lamine Yamal - 30.5k mentions

While Yamal didn't score during the game, he caused a lot of mentions. The just-turned-17-year-old has been a popular figure throughout the tournament and has made headlines after photos resurfaced of him as a baby being bathed by Lionel Messi. It looks like, after both Spain and Argentina won on Sunday, the pair may be reunited when the countries play in the upcoming Finalissima.

Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal on the same pitch? We're not sure social can handle it.

Which team won the hearts of social?

Spain won on the pitch and they won on social too.

Looking at overall mentions of the two teams, Spain took 57% of the overall share of voice. Spain also had a much higher ratio of positive to negative mentions.

Congratulations to Spain!

Interested in how social listening could help your brand monitor a campaign, a crisis, or even a huge live sports event? Get in touch today.