Spain face England in Berlin on Sunday in their bid to secure a fourth European title, while England hope to end a 58-year title drought.
Euro 2024 ends on Sunday with the final between Spain and England at 9pm in Berlin, the most anticipated football match of the year.
A duel between the best team in the competition and the most resistant.
This is England’s second consecutive Euro final after losing the previous one at home to Italy in 2021. Beating Spain would see the Three Lions lift their first European trophy, and end a 58-year run without a title after winning the World Cup in 1966.
Spain, for its part, has the chance to win a record fourth title. It is already the most successful team in the history of the competition, along with Germany.
La Roja are favourites. They have won their first six matches of the tournament, eliminating other favourites such as Germany and France.
England dragged themselves to the final, struggling to realise their true potential, with the exception of the semi-final against the Netherlands, where they showed much more aggression, speed and solidity.
Head-to-head results: England ahead, but only just
Spain and England have only met 12 times in official matches (World Cup, Euro, qualifiers and Nations League).
England have fared better, with five wins to Spain’s four and three draws. The last head-to-head meeting was in 2018, a Spain-England (2-3) in Seville in the Nations League.
The only knockout round in a major tournament took place 28 years ago. In the quarter-finals of Euro 96. Hosts England eliminated Spain 4-2 on penalties, after a 0-0 draw in which current England manager Gareth Southgate took part.
England-Spain was also the last Women’s World Cup final, in 2023. Spain won 1-0.
Bookmakers and algorithms predict Spain win
According to Google, Spain have a 40% chance of winning after ninety minutes. A draw represents a 33% chance, while England have only a 27% chance of winning.
The gap between the two teams is even greater according to OptaAnalyst’s algorithm, which predicts a 60.38% chance for Spain to win the trophy, compared to 39.22% for England.
The bookmakers are perfectly aligned and place Spain in the lead with 8/11 odds to win the tournament against 13/10 for England. Spain are also favourites in the 90 minutes, with a bet of 8/5 against 13/5 for England. A draw is offered at around 19/10.
That said, England have the highest valued squad in the tournament with €1.52 billion in player value, compared to €966 for Spain, who sit in fourth place, according to Transfermrkt.
17-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal can (again) make history
Spain have the best attack in the tournament with 13 goals scored, as well as the most different players to find the net (10).
Lamine Yamal, the youngest player to have participated in the Euro and scored, played a key role in La Roja’s performance.
The FC Barcelona winger, who turns 17 this Saturday, scored a superb goal in the semi-final against France and provided three assists. Along with his partner Nico Williams, 21, he helped raise Spain’s attacking level.
Speaking about Yamal’s performance against France, his coach described his goal as “a touch of genius from a great player that we all know and that we must help to progress.”
“I can only advise him to continue to move forward with the same humility and work ethic, keeping his feet on the ground.”
“He will continue to improve with the same attitude, professionalism and maturity that he shows in matches, despite his young age. It makes him look older and more experienced than he actually is. But above all, he must enjoy playing for us. I hope we can enjoy him for many years to come.”
The Spanish defence will also be more solid with the returns from suspension of Robin Le Normand and Dani Carvajal.
England’s Harry Kane eyes Euro 2024 Golden Boot
With three goals, England striker Harry Kane is the tournament’s joint top scorer and remains in the running to win the Euro 2024 Golden Boot.
He converted a penalty to equalise in the semi-final against the Netherlands before Ollie Watkins, who replaced Kane in the second half, scored the winner in stoppage time.
England’s other big star, Jude Bellingham, has scored twice so far, including a spectacular overhead kick in stoppage time that saved the team from being eliminated by Slovakia in the last 16.
The Real Madrid midfielder is also among the candidates for the Ballon d’Or, as he also won the Champions League at the end of the season.
Gareth Southgate said he was “immensely proud” of “to be able to take England to their first final abroad.”
“The only reason I took this job was to try and bring success to England as a nation and to try and improve English football.”
He acknowledged that England would face “The best team in the tournament and we have one less day to prepare, so it’s a huge challenge. But we are here and we will fight.”
Pedro Sánchez: “Spain deserves to be favourites”.
Speaking at the latest NATO summit in Washington, Mr Starmer’s counterpart, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, said Spain “deserved to be the favorite” throughout the tournament and congratulated the players on their great team spirit.
“All of Spain is behind them”did he declare. “We are extremely proud of our national team and the expectations are high. Hopefully we will be European champions on Sunday.”
Berlin Olympiastadion at a glance
The Olympiastadion is the second largest football stadium in Germany. It has a capacity of over 74,000, although it originally could hold up to 100,000 people.
Designed by the March brothers, it was built by Nazi Germany in 1936 for the Berlin Olympics. It is renowned for its imposing design, symmetrical architecture and iconic Olympic bell.
It hosted the 2006 FIFA World Cup final, won by Italy against France. It is home to German second division club Hertha Berlin.
The England-Spain match will be refereed by Frenchman François Letexier, who at 35 will become the youngest referee in a Euro final.
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