Spanish flair up against English resilience

BERLIN: Spain and England meet in the final of the Euro 2024 on Sunday. Spain is seeking a record fourth title at the Euros to break a tie with Germany/West Germany, while England is bidding for a first major trophy in men’s soccer since the 1966 World Cup.

Spain will start as the favourites after winning all six of its matches at the tournament and being widely regarded as the best team at the tournament. Winning the title would continue a strong period of success for Spanish national teams, with the men having captured the UEFA Nations League in June last year and the women following that up by winning the World Cup two months later.

Lamine Yamal is Spain’s new star having set up three goals before the semi-final,where he scored a spectacular long-range strike in the victory over France — all at the age of 16. He turned 17 on Saturday, the day before the final. It is a breakthrough major tournament for Yamal, much like it was for a 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe at the 2018 World Cup and a 17-year-old Pele at the 1958 World Cup.

Spain last appeared in a final at a major tournament in 2012, when the team won the third of its European Championship titles by beating Italy 4-0. England played in the final of Euro 2020, which was played in 2021 because of the covid pandemic, and lost in a penalty shootout to Italy.

England has shown resilience by coming from behind in all three of its knockout-stage matches at Euro 2024. Jude Bellingham scored an equaliser from an overhead kick in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the extra-time win over Slovakia in the last 16, Bukayo Saka equalised in the 80th minute against Switzerland in the quarter-final before England won a penalty shootout, and substitute Ollie Watkins scored a winner almost exactly on 90 minutes against the Netherlands in the semi-final.

England coach Gareth Southgate is often criticised for his in-game management but he has changed the culture inside the squad and is regularly getting the team deep at major tournaments. In Southgate’s tenure that started in 2016, England has reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and now back-to-back European Championship finals.