Euro 2024 Finals: Spain in search of more honours as England seeks first glory.

All is now set for the Euro 2024 finals between three time winners, Spain and England who are yet to win the trophy and will be playing their second successive finals.
Set for Berlin, the German capital, the finals promises to be explosive and entertaining considering the calibre of world class players being paraded by both teams.

While on paper, Spain seems to be the favourite to win the title for the fourth time but the three Lions performance in the knockout stage has shown that they’re capable of withstanding any team especially with their hope of lifting the giant trophy for the first time.
However, for England to dream of lifting the trophy, they must contend with Spain young star, Lamine Yamal who turned 17 on Saturday and has created history as the youngest player in Euros and World Cup history to score in a match, passing Pelé’s previous record.  
The three Lions should also have it at the back of their minds that in this competition, Spain became the first team to win six games at a single edition of the Euros ever, and the first to win six consecutive matches at a single Euro tournament and as such they possess the players that can cause heartache to any team.

Spain have enjoyed a remarkable run to the final, having already created history with a 100 percent record from their six games, and are clear favourites in the run-up to the match. England, in contrast, have stuttered, spluttered and dragged themselves from the brink of elimination to reach the showpiece in the German capital, Berlin.

With victories in 1964, 2008 and 2012 already behind them along with a 2010 World Cup win the Spaniards can enter the match without fear of failure, while boasting a form book that is fluttering freely. They swept through their group without conceding a goal and have rarely looked challenged in the knockout stages despite being pitted against the host nation, Germany and the pre-tournament favourites, France.

Only Georgia caused a momentary hint of an upset for Spanish fans, when they took the lead in the round of 16 encounter but Spain swept to a 4-1 win

Among those to shine against the Georgians was Lamine Yamal, now a household name the world over. The Barcelona winger could have had a hat-trick in that match but saved his first tournament goal to level the semi-final against the French, which wrote him into the history books as the youngest goal scorer at a European Championship.
England on the other hand, after a poor display of one win and two draws in their group were seconds away from elimination in the round of 16 against Slovenia before Jude Bellingham’s last-gasp overhead kick took the tie to extra time. Harry Kane settled matters without the need for penalties.

Gareth Southgate’s side were pushed all the way to spot kicks by Switzerland, when Bukayo Saka was among the heroes and banished the memories of his miss in the Euro 2020 final defeat by Italy.

That is the closest England have previously come to a Euro crown, but they have had their moments, including on home soil in 1996 when they agonisingly lost their semi-final on penalties to Germany having been the better side in open play.

On their way to the last four in that edition, they beat Spain on penalties following a goalless draw in the quarter-finals. They also produced one of their most memorable performances since winning the 1966 World Cup; their only major international trophy when they beat Netherlands 4-1 in the group stage.

It was against the Dutch, in the semi-finals, that they produced their most stirring performance at this edition. The first-half display was comprehensive, while Netherlands produced a more obdurate response in the second period. That nearly wore down Southgate’s team but, with extra-time looming, Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score a deserved injury-time winner.

There is little to no doubt that England possess the potential as a team to overcome Spain in the final but that is based on the quality of the individuals at Southgate’s disposal.

Should the England manager get a song out of his stars then football may well be “coming home” and 58 years of waiting will come to an end with only a second piece of international silverware for the nation heralded with the greatest domestic league in the world.