This coming Sunday, 14 June, Spain face England in the final of Euro 2024, which is being held in Germany. The Spanish side are the favourites, so it is not far-fetched to think they could be European champions again, just 12 years after the success of 2012. Better to be prepared, then: here are 8 ways of apologising to your English friends. Even if it is only for appearances’ sake, saying sorry in English costs nothing.

Saying sorry in English, in all sorts of ways

Saying sorry, in any language, carries plenty of connotations and meanings. You can use it to apologise, to ask forgiveness, to express regret when someone runs into trouble, when you feel bad about something, when you are asking permission… Since what we are doing here is preparing for the possibility of having to console England fans, even if a little condescendingly and with feigned kindness, we are going to focus on sorry used as an apology.

I’m sorry, the all-rounder

The one everybody knows, and the most universal: I’m sorry, with its more or less “heartfelt” variants such as “I’m very sorry“, for example. It is a generic expression of apology. If you do not need to come across especially well and just want to be minimally polite, say “I’m sorry” every time Spain score. Let’s hope that is many times over.

More elegant ways of saying sorry in English

If you want to be more specific, formal and precise in your apologies, here are some rather more elegant forms that show a more advanced command of English.

I beg your pardon – A very formal way of asking someone to excuse you.

I apologize – I offer my apologies.

You can blame me for that – This expression is about admitting that the blame and the responsibility for something are yours (or those of the brilliant players in the Spanish squad, in this case)

I’m sorry that happened to you – A refined way of regretting someone else’s misfortune. Because much as we want to win the Euros, we are not going to take pleasure in other people’s suffering, are we?

And more colloquial ways of telling the English that yes, they have lost

But football is football, so there is no need to be too formal to stop our English friends feeling too bad about the (possible) defeat. Do you want to convey your regret, your apologies and your sorrow?

Oops!/Whoops! – The most colloquial way of saying sorry in English

Oopsie-daisy! – The most colloquial register of all, an expression halfway between condescension and silliness. Ideal if your English friends are not, in fact, that good friends.

Come on, Spain!

Will there be a language school blog in England writing about how to say “I’m sorry” in Spanish? Probably, but let’s hope they are the ones who have to delete their post on Sunday and that we come back from Berlin with a fourth star above the badge. Let’s get them!