England will face Spain in the final of EURO2024 on Sunday, with the men aiming to win a first trophy in 58 years. But, they face a Spanish side on a date with destiny, looking to wrap up a stunning tournament with the ultimate prize.
89 minutes and 59 seconds into the Anglo-Dutch war of attrition, Ollie Watkins found himself in an impossible position. Stefan de Vrij had done everything right: he’d forced him wide enough that a shot would be a pipe dream. A swing of a leg; a hit and hope. His body language suggested just that. He’d done his job. He’d done it properly.
But Watkins had other ideas. It was a swing of the leg; it was a hit and hope. He didn’t have to hope for long though. Less than a second after his right boot made contact with the ball, he was wheeling away in celebration. His face painted a picture of unbridled joy. For that moment, he wasn’t Ollie Watkins, the Aston Villa and England striker; he was Ollie Watkins, the kid, the football fanatic, watching his wildest dreams unfold before his very eyes. 89 minutes and 59 seconds in. By the time the clock hit 90 and the fourth official raised his board, England had stamped their ticket to Berlin.
It didn’t look like they’d get this far. Reactions to the dismal draws with Denmark and Slovenia back in the group stage ranged from the disgruntled to the borderline apocalyptic. Another golden generation limping when they should’ve been striding.
But that’s England for you. More aptly, that’s Gareth Southgate’s England for you. The Three Lions have, for the last seven years, failed upwards. Bad performances yielded good results. They should’ve gone out against Slovakia, but the spirit of Zlatan Ibrahimović possessed Jude Bellingham right at the very end. They leave it late, England. Extra time was needed in that game, penalties against Switzerland and almost the last kick of the game against Netherlands.
But we’re here. England are here, in the final of the EUROs again. But they’ve never jumped this hurdle – well, the men’s team that is. When the Lionesses defeated Germany – with the last kick, as per – back in 2022, they showed how it’s done. England can win the Euros. England have won the EUROs.
A year prior, Southgate’s side suffered a different fate. You know it all too well by now: what happened at Wembley that day is probably engrained in your mind whether you like it or not. The elation after Luke Shaw smashed his volley home two minutes into the game translated to agonising hope. Maybe this would be the year. Maybe England’s 55 years of hurt would finally come to an end.
Of course, we all know that’s not how it happened. Agonising hope turned into sheer fear upon the equaliser and genuine agony by the end. Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho had their penalties saved; Marcus Rashford hit the post. Penalties, again, as ever. How typically English.
Embed from Getty ImagesFinals at Wembley are a rarity. They’ll get the chance again in four years, when the EUROs will be held on British soil – but Berlin will have to do for now. And what could be more fun than winning the whole thing in the country with whom English football has its most fervent rivalry?
There is one more obstacle to overcome though and it’s a pretty big one. That obstacle is Spain. The only team to win all its games and the team which defeated Italy, Germany and France on its way to the final. A nightmare run which they turned into a dream. They’re the top scorers at the tournament with 13 goals to their name; two more than next best Germany and almost double England, who have scored as many as an Austria side eliminated all the way back in the round-of-16.
Spain have been monstrously good. They’ve towered head and shoulders above everyone else at the tournament. They didn’t concede a single goal in the group stage, they play the best football and have the most legitimate claims to players of the tournament, with Fabián Ruiz showing everyone why he’s so highly rated and Lamine Yamal playing the best football a 16-year-old has ever played.
That goal against France was special. Cutting inside, 25 yards from goal, he curled a beautiful effort off the post and in past a helpless Mike Maignan. It was fine art; a painting or a sculpture, impeccably designed by an artist at their creative peak with every little detail in mind.
Except Yamal isn’t at his peak. As this is being written, he’s enjoying his 17th birthday, something most would do in a brightly lit kitchen with drinks in hand and Drake blasting on the speakers.
That’s not how Yamal is spending it. Instead, he’s preparing for the biggest game of a player’s career. Not just the biggest game a teenager could play, but the biggest game anyone on either side could dream of. There’s only one player in the Spain squad with memories of the glory days. Only one of them was there.
Jesús Navas, as it has been pointed out recently, isn’t just old enough to be Yamal’s dad; he’s actually older than him. 14 years on from the World Cup final he won in South Africa and now at the age of 39, he was tasked with the nightmare job of keeping Kylian Mbappé at bay in the semifinals. It’s the kind of job he might’ve relished five years ago, but now with legs ageing and body waning, it was far from ideal. He didn’t make it far; he had to be withdrawn in the first half, giving Nacho Fernández the burden instead. It could be his last game for Spain too. His European career is over, and what better way to bow out than with a trophy in hand?
That speaks to what’s so wonderful about this Spain squad. It’s a finely curated blend of youth and experience. There’s Yamal and Navas of course, but they’re right at the ends of the spectrum. Nico Williams has been exchanging passes with Álvaro Morata; Dani Carvajal has been playing into Dani Olmo; Pedri (pre-injury) was linking up play with Rodri. There’s a bit of everything.
They don’t always play like the archetypal Spain, either. They do keep the ball and they’re very good at it, but there’s an element of dynamism previous sides have lacked. Luis de la Fuente’s Spain isn’t Vicente del Bosque’s Spain, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s an evolution, not necessarily better, not necessarily worse. They’re the same but different and they can beat anyone – they’ve already done that against the holders and favourites.
Now they face a clash with the other favourites. France and England were odds on to win before a ball was kicked, but only England can prove the bookies right. Safe to say, though, they’re not favourites anymore.
It’s a situation England have been in twice, in two different ways, in the last three years: the final of the EUROs, and a final clash with Spain. Of course, it wasn’t the men’s team who played Spain in a final; last year’s Women’s World Cup culminated into the same cauldron of a match and England did not win.
Of course, there’s no way of using that match to predict what will happen in Berlin: Spain’s men’s side doesn’t have Olga Carmona, and England’s doesn’t have Mary Earps. But it is an eery omen nonetheless.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhat this side has to learn from is that game at Wembley three years ago. England led, sat back, and let Italy pounce. Truth be told, it’s what they did throughout the group stage.
But Gareth Southgate has finally learned to adapt. Trent Alexander-Arnold didn’t work in midfield, nor did Conor Gallagher. Kobbie Mainoo came in, the results kept coming and he’s kept his place.
In truth, Southgate’s game management has been one of his biggest strengths at this tournament. So often in the past his selections and substitutions have been scrutinised, but since the knockout stages he has learnt his lesson: Ivan Toney and Alexander-Arnold, both off the bench, helped England beat Switzerland on penalties. Ollie Watkins, another substitute, won the game against the Dutch.
In many ways, England’s best chances of winning come when they don’t score first. They trailed in all three knockout matches and had to play on the front foot. That’s a gamble that might not work against Spain; this is a team who can beat you regardless of who scores first, as they showed against France. But it is telling that England and Southgate have learnt from mistakes at this tournament.
Yes, they’ve been lucky. Yes, they’ve played badly (going forward, at least). But England have afforded to do that by having world-class players who can produce a moment of genius without a second’s warning. Bellingham did it against Slovakia, and Phil Foden finally found his feet against the Netherlands.
The question is whether they can afford to do that again against a Spain team who are as close to flawless as a tournament side can be. In truth, they’ve been the best tournament team since… well, Spain back in 2012.
In a fair world, and this doesn’t make particularly pretty reading, Spain would win and they’d win comfortably. They’ve been everything England haven’t; consistent, free flowing, jaw-droppingly exciting. But tournament football doesn’t work like that. England may have the odds stacked up against them, but this is EURO2024, and not a lot has gone the way we thought it would.
So, it’s all up in the air. Spain are effortlessly brilliant while England are doing just enough. But just enough to win the Euros means you’ve still won the Euros. That’s what England will hope for on Sunday, when the men try to win a first trophy since 1966. For Spain, though – well, it’s theirs to lose.