For all the questions that surrounded Gareth Southgate’s England team this summer, there was only one that mattered come kick-off in Berlin: did you dare to dream?

Despite the negativity aimed at the Three Lions over the last six weeks – at times, it felt like kicking the manager became its own national sport – there were good reasons to believe.

Never before in England’s 74-year history of tournament football had they come from behind to win a knockout game. Then came Slovakia in the round of 16 and Jude Bellingham’s famous 95th-minute overhead kick.

They came from behind twice more in the nerve-jangling games that followed, with perfect penalties against Switzerland and Ollie Watkins’s last-gasp winner against the Netherlands. Now, in England men’s first final on foreign soil, it felt like football might – finally – be coming home.

But after a nervy 94 minutes against the best side in Europe, it was not to be. “It’s heartbreak once again,” said Kieran Wilson, 20, stunned as 16,000 disconsolate fans emptied Manchester’s AO Arena at full-time in Berlin.

“We’re a team that play in moments and we had that moment with Cole Palmer but it was just too late unfortunately.”

Drowning his sorrows in front of a huge HD screen, Michael Stubbs, 30, said: “I’m gutted but proud to be an Englishman.”

Stubbs, from Sunderland, said England had been “shit for the first half of the tournament” but credited Southgate with getting more out of the team in the knockout round. “You can’t ask for more than that. They were phenomenal. To get here, I’m just so proud.

“I think we should get to the same place next time. We’ve got amazing players and a young amazing squad so why shouldn’t we?”

The arena erupted when the second-half substitute Cole Palmer slotted in a characteristically cool 73rd-minute equaliser after Spain went ahead just after half-time. Ciders went skywards and pints pirouetted as dozens of fizzy missiles showered fans in booze.

Joy turned to despair 13 minutes later when Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal put England behind with only four minutes remaining. Even after the heroics against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands, this was the end of the road for Southgate’s men.

“I feel sad right now but we were elated earlier,” said Zunny Dar, 35, who had claimed a prime berth at Road to Victory at the AO Arena, in front of what was said to be the UK’s biggest HD screen.

“I don’t know much about football but I know they didn’t play their best. But the positive is we got to the final … We’re proud of our team and we’re proud of our country.”

Dar, a manager at a charity supporting vulnerable young people, said victory had been important for national morale: “Everyone’s struggling right now. People are going through a lot. This is what makes a country come together – the football. I don’t watch football but I have in the Euros because England have been doing really well. It’s made me want to get into football.”

Her friend and colleague, Idris Khan, 28, said he was determined not to let it spoil their summer – or their night: “It’s not put a dampener on tonight. We’re still living our best lives.”

Keir Starmer issued a rallying cry before kick-off at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, telling Southgate his team had “united the country”. But at times it felt the country was united against Southgate.

Plastic glasses were hurled in his direction after the 0-0 draw with Slovenia, while Gary Lineker described England’s early performances as “shit”. Living rooms and beer gardens frothed with even fruitier language.

“I think it’s England fans getting a bit restless because they weren’t dominating teams they should have been dominating,” said Nolan Haworth, 37, who described Southgate as “the best we’ve had in my lifetime by a country mile. Who did we have before him? Fucking Sam Allardyce. Do you know what I mean?”

The grumpy backdrop this summer was in contrast to the national optimism that swelled around Southgate’s team the last time they played a European Championship final, against Italy at Wembley, in 2021.

But as Berlin beckoned, fans in Manchester took hope from the spirit of England’s most recent victories: the never-say-die attitude and the composure under enormous pressure.

For all the debate about Southgate’s starting lineup over the past four weeks, the focus before the final was on the opposition. Could Foden outfox his Manchester City teammate, the masterful Rodri? Could England keep a lid on Spain’s 17-year-old sensation, Lamine Yamal?

Some were thinking about other pressing matters. “I don’t have a doubt in my mind that it’s coming home tonight,” said Jack Turner, 23, at the AO Arena. “I just don’t know what to sing after it’s come home. That’s all I’m worried about, what I’m gonna sing.”

Turner, from Sale in Greater Manchester, said the atmosphere towards Southgate had been “nothing but negative, which I’ve been a part of” but admitted the manager had done something right. “It’s been 58 years – it’s time to come home,” he said.

Tens of thousands of England fans descended on Berlin in the 48 hours before kickoff, and pubs and bars at home are expected to serve up an extra 10m pints on Sunday, with many hoping to enjoy record takings in what has so far been a drab British summer.

In the capital, 15,000 fans watched the match on huge screens at the O2 arena after snapping up free tickets. In Trafalgar Square, police kept a watchful eye as red pyrotechnic smoke filled the air around Nelson’s Column.

At the AO Arena in Manchester, Tia Lee, 23, said win or lose it would be “history in the making” for England. Her friend, Corey Yaud, 25, added: “A lot of people said it’s lucky and fluky but you can’t be lucky or fluky that many times. It’s not been brilliant – it never is – but as long as you’re getting through it doesn’t matter. It would mean everything to win. You can’t really put it into words.”