ENGLAND can make the nation proud THIS SUNDAY when they battle Spain in Berlin with the Euro 2024 trophy up for grabs.
Noise levels were at full volume on Wednesday night when super sub Ollie Watkins fired the Three Lions into the final and sent Holland home.
And it now means that Gareth Southgate‘s side are on the verge of ending a 58-year title drought after securing back-to-back Euro final spots.
However, to do that, England will need to beat a Spain side that sent pre-tournament favourites France crashing out of the tournament.
Furthermore, La Roja have won every single match up to this point and are likely to end Euro 2024 as top scorers.
But form goes out the window when it comes to a final, and the Three Lions will be determined to make amends for what happened at Euro 2020.
Both sides have enjoyed some big results, with Spain arguably the more impressive of the two.
Luis de la Fuente’s men are the only team to win every single one of their matches thanks to exciting new stars like Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal.
They have wiped out giants including Italy, Germany and France, with unsung heroes like Marc Cucurella and Fabian Ruiz stepping up to the plate.
On the other hand, England have relied on late strikes to down the likes of Slovakia and the Netherlands.
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While they required penalties to get past Switzerland.
But after firing home all five of their spot-kicks, England will not be afraid of going to penalties once again.
Spain and England are both on a roll, despite getting through the Euros in different manners.
The former have won all their matches so far – the only team to do so.
Spain conceded zero goals in the group stage as they beat Croatia, Italy and Albania.
They then knocked out Georgia before KO’ing hosts Germany in the quarters.
And Spain showed their mettle with a 2-1 win over France to book their place in Sunday’s final.
As for England, they picked up just one win during the group stage by beating Serbia 1-0.
The Three Lions then drew with Denmark and Slovenia before setting up a last-16 tie with Slovakia.
England were 90 seconds away from being knocked out before Jude Bellingham equalised with an overhead kick.
Harry Kane then scored a winner in extra time, throwing England into a quarter-final with Switzerland.
The game went to penalties after finishing 1-1.
But England made no mistakes from the spot as they scored five and conceded just three.
They then beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semis thanks to an 89th minute wonder-strike from Ollie Watkins.
And fans are dreaming of making up for the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy by securing victory in Berlin this weekend.
Gareth Southgate will be tempted to hand semi-final hero Ollie Watkins a start following his 90th-minute winner against Holland.
And Luke Shaw will also be pushing to start ahead of Kieran Trippier who has struggled in the left full-back position.
Elsewhere, Luis de la Fuente is expected to throw Real Madrid legend Dani Carvajal and midfield maestro Robin Le Normand right back into the mix after they both missed out on the France win due to suspensions.
Alvaro Morata is also likely to start despite being taken out by a security guard during the celebrations of Spain’s semi-final win.
Both teams have plenty of magnificent players.
But Sunday will surely become a repeat of El Clasico, with Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and England’s Jude Bellingham both ready to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
Gareth Southgate: “It’s not as simple as us having the ball and making them run.
“They press very, very well so we’re going to have to be exceptional with the ball and we’re going to have to be exceptional without it. It’s a final so you expect it to be that way. They’ve been the best team. We’re starting to show a better version of ourselves.
“The extra day [of rest for Spain] is a concern, in the last few tournaments that’s been a problem for finalists. We’ve got to do the very best we can to recover the players as well as we can.
“We’re not going to be on the training ground, that’s simple. We’ll be walking through things or delivering things in meetings, it was the same for this game, but we’re in there and with what we’ve shown to this point, we have as good a chance as they do.”
Luis de la Fuente: “Before starting the tournament, England and France would have been favourites, as well as Germany for the fact they were playing at home.
“We have had the chance to keep overcoming those games [against the favourites] and now we have another huge match. Maybe Spain have offered a better version so far at the finals [than England], but that won’t have any influence on a one-off game.
“England have quality players that can appear at any moment. We are up against a really powerful side full of experience, not just in terms of the national team, but at club level as well. It’s going to be tough.
“But we’re looking forward to this one. We want to keep growing. This group of players are going to keep fighting to try and win the trophy.”
One of the most pivotal matches in England’s history sees them take on the tournament’s most impressive side.
The Three Lions will be made to shed blood, sweat and tears if they want to land a first-ever Euros trophy
But after a slow start, Southgate’s men have shown plenty of heart in the knockout stage.
And we are tipping England to narrowly edge out Spain with a battling performance for the ages.
Final score: England 2 Spain 1
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England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain can be watched for FREE in the UK on both channels as long as you have a valid TV license.
In 90 mins
To lift the trophy
*Odds courtesy of William Hill are correct at time of publication
