After a month of exciting matches in Germany, England will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday night.
While La Roja, tipped by many as the favourites to prevent football from coming home once again, are already familiar with the feel of the Henri Delaunay Trophy, the 1966 World Cup winners are yet to hoist the iconic cup aloft.
Luis de la Fuente’s red-clad superstars and Gareth Southgate’s hopefuls both had to do it the hard way in their semi-final ties. Spain denied France a shot at the Euros supremacy, while the Three Lions roared to a mesmerizing victory over the Netherlands to reach back-to-back finals.
Read Also: Euro 2024: A Breakdown of how much each team will warn
De la Fuente’s side has impressed in Germany, winning all six of their matches—already the most wins any side has earned in a single edition of the UEFA European Championship. La Roja overcame a tough group of Italy, Croatia, and Albania before getting past Georgia, Germany, and France to reach the final.
After falling behind early to France in their semi-final on Tuesday, Spain hit back with goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to win 2-1 in Munich. Aged 17 years and one day, Yamal could become the youngest player to ever feature in a World Cup or European Championship final, breaking Pelé’s record from the 1958 World Cup (17 years, 249 days).
Read Also: Euro 2024 Final: Watkins confident ahead of England vs Spain clash
Yamal’s stunning goal against France saw him become the youngest player to score at a Euros, while he also has three assists in the tournament—no Spaniard has ever provided four at a single European Championship.
Spain will fancy their chances, having won their last three major tournament finals, capturing the European Championship in 2008 and 2012 and the World Cup in 2010. No European side has ever been successful in four consecutive World Cup/Euros final matches before.
England, on the other hand, have never won the competition, with this being only their second Euros final. Their previous one was Euro 2020, making consecutive appearances in the showpiece event.
They have now reached more major tournament finals in four attempts under Gareth Southgate (2) than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup/Euros combined (1) before his arrival as manager.
This will also be England’s first major tournament final played on foreign soil, with the 1966 World Cup and Euro 2020 finals both played at Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions have a good record in Berlin, having won four and drawn two of their six games in the German capital. England finished top of a group that featured Serbia, Denmark, and Slovenia before getting past Slovakia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands to make the final.
The Three Lions have not won consecutive meetings with La Roja since a run of seven between 1960 and 1980. The Opta supercomputer makes Spain the favourites to win the Euro 2024 final, with De La Fuente’s side winning inside 90 minutes in 40.5% of its 10,000 pre-match simulations.
