BERLIN: England are hoping to finally end their long wait to win a men’s major international tournament when they take on an outstanding Spain team in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday.
The match at the Olympiastadion in Berlin kicks off at 9:00 pm (1900 GMT) and will bring the curtain down on a month of football in which Spain – featuring teenage sensation Lamine Yamal – have been comfortably the most impressive side.
They have already eliminated several of the continent’s heavyweights while winning all six matches en route to the final as they aim to become European champions for a record fourth time, after 1964, 2008 and 2012.
England, meanwhile, have often struggled against lesser opposition but produced their best performance yet in beating the Netherlands in the semi-finals, when Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score and seal a 2-1 victory.
Now they are into their second consecutive European Championship final as they aim to banish the memory of their penalty shoot-out loss to Italy at Wembley in the deciding game of the last edition, three years ago.
If Gareth Southgate’s team can do that, England’s men will have a first title in 58 years, since the 1966 World Cup which they won on home soil.
“We know that we have to do this one, we have to get this trophy to really feel the respect of the rest of the football world,” Southgate told reporters on Saturday as he reflected on the number of near misses his team has had in recent years.
England were semi-finalists at the 2018 World Cup before losing the Euro 2020 final and going out of the 2022 World Cup in the quarter-finals to France.
A team led by Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham arrived in Germany as one of the leading contenders but won just once, against Serbia, and scored only two goals in the group stage.
They then needed Bellingham to come to the rescue at the death against Slovakia in the last 16, in a tie they eventually won in extra time, before prevailing on penalties against Switzerland and edging out the Dutch.
Spain represent comfortably their biggest test yet, as the sides prepare to meet at a major tournament for the first time since Euro 96, when an England team featuring Southgate as a player won on penalties in the quarter-finals.
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“The belief has grown as we’ve gone through the tournament,” Kane said.
“What we have been through with the late goals and the penalty shoot-outs builds resilience and builds belief. The team is obviously confident.”
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Spain’s exciting new generation under coach Luis de la Fuente have taken the nation to their first men’s major tournament final since their remarkable run of victories at Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.
With the swaggering Rodri Hernandez in midfield and flying wingers Nico Williams and Yamal – who only turned 17 on Saturday – they have lit up what has otherwise often been a disappointing tournament.
Spain won all their group games without conceding a goal, notably beating 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and reigning European champions Italy.
They beat hosts Germany in extra time in the quarter-finals in Stuttgart, before a stunning Yamal goal helped them come from behind to beat Kylian Mbappe’s France in the semis.
“Tomorrow is when I will ask the least of my team. They have been giving everything. Tomorrow is simply about enjoying it,” insisted the 63-year-old De la Fuente.
“We are two great sides, the best two teams. Of course it will be a very even game.
“It really is just little details that decide matches like these. The team that makes the fewest mistakes has more chances of winning.”
England are likely to be unchanged with Kane leading the attack and Watkins again on the bench at kick-off despite his match-winning contribution against the Netherlands.
UK media reports have suggested that England fans could account for as much as half the crowd inside the 71,000-capacity Olympiastadion, despite both finalists only receiving an official allocation of 10,000 tickets for the match.
The Olympiastadion was also the venue for the 2006 World Cup final, when Italy beat France on penalties.