It’s been nerve-wrecking and it’s rarely looked likely, but England find themselves in a second straight European Championships Final on Sunday, facing Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin. If you were to produce a ‘tale of the tape’ you’d get two profiles that could hardly contrast more, as unlike England’s dramatic twists and turns, the Spanish have largely sauntered through the tournament so far.
With that in mind, it is Spain who are the narrow 1.64 favourites to lift the trophy with kwiff at the time of writing, but there is very much everything to play for ahead of Sunday evening. We’ve picked out five key talking points ahead of the Berlin showpiece, as Gareth Southgate looks to become the man who finally brings football home.
The respective roads to the Euro 2024 final
England began Euro 2024 as favourites to win the tournament, though the ride to Berlin has rarely been smooth, needing their fair share of drama to get past each of Slovakia, Switzerland and Netherlands in the knockout stages. Much like during the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the last Euros, England have found themselves on the right side of the draw, with just two of the six sides they’ve faced to date being in the top 20 on the FIFA rankings.
Meanwhile, Spain’s journey to the final has been one fraught with difficulty on paper, facing both Croatia (ranked 10) and defending champions Italy (9) in the group stages, before taking on the hosts Germany (16) and fellow tournament favourites France (2) in the latter stages. The Spanish have impressed throughout however and created history in becoming the first side to win six straight games in the finals of the Euros – a feat they managed in 2010 on their way to winning the World Cup in South Africa.
It is worth pointing out that Spain have played the two lowest ranked teams in the tournament on their way to Berlin in Albania (66) and Georgia (75) respectively, though it’s difficult to argue that they arrive here as the side with the strongest resume. England have begged, borrowed and stolen to get to Berlin, but you just get the feeling that their name might be on the trophy. They’ve required a mixture of last-minute goals and penalty shootout drama to be here and if you fancy the Three Lions, the 11.0 available with kwiff for them to win in overtime looks an attractive proposition.
England’s route to Berlin (R4) Spain’s route to Berlin (R8)
Serbia (33) 0-1 England (Group Stage) Spain 3-0 Croatia (10) (Group Stage)
England 1-1 Denmark (21) (Group Stage) Spain 1-0 Italy (9) (Group Stage)
England 0-0 Slovenia (57) (Group Stage) Albania (66) 0-1 Spain (Group Stage)
England 2-1 Slovakia (48) AET (Round of 16) Spain 4-1 Georgia (75) (Round of 16)
England 0-0 Switzerland (19), 5-3p (Quarter Final) Spain 2-1 Germany (16) AET (Q Final)
Netherlands (7) 1-2 England (Semi Final) Spain 2-1 France (2) (Semi Final)
Euro 2024 Final: England clicking?
It has been a fairly traumatic four weeks or so for England manager Gareth Southgate, who has taken his fair share of stick throughout the tournament. He deserves plenty of credit for leading his country to a second straight European final, though you would be hard-pressed to say that England have been impressive in getting there.
Southgate spent the first four games stubbornly sticking with a 4-2-3-1 formation that rather struggled to get the best out of his players for multiple reasons, and it very much showed. Having been bailed out by a moment of magic from Jude Bellingham in the dying seconds against Slovakia, Southgate switched to a back three against the Swiss, with Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka acting as wing backs.
That game once again proved to be hard work, but there can be no doubting that England produced by far their best performance of the tournament against Netherlands in the last four. Things still aren’t perfect, but the Three Lions are on the right track, for all that question marks remain about several key figures. Southgate is unlikely to tinker with his starting line-up, meaning his much-maligned in-game tactics will likely make or break his chances on Sunday.
Euro 2024 Final: Southgate Masterclass Needed
There is no doubting that England have one of the most exciting and talented squads on the planet, though under Gareth Southgate they have regularly come up short against the very best. Defeats against each of Croatia (2018 World Cup semi-final), Netherlands (2019 Nations League semi-final) and Italy (Euro 2020 final) when deep into tournaments occurred after England taking the lead and Southgate has come under strong scrutiny for this.
His ultra-safe mentality has been often criticised, with England shutting up shop all too often when getting themselves in front in games, like they did against both Serbia and Denmark earlier in the tournament. Supporters of Southgate will point to his decisions in the knockout rounds so far, with his stubbornness to stick rather than twist against Slovakia eventually paying off, while the introductions of both Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins ultimately proved to be the difference against the Netherlands on Wednesday evening.
Such changes have perhaps taken too long to happen however and the manager’s instinct to tighten things up has often proven to be his downfall against the very best. Southgate has said in the build up that his side will need to be “tactically perfect” if they are to life the trophy and you get the feeling that if England are to get the better of free-scoring Spain on Sunday, they will require a game plan that won’t need to be ditched.
Euro 2024 Final: Come From Behind Specialists
It seems absurd to say, but perhaps we should be hoping for Spain to score first in the final. It certainly wouldn’t be ideal, but there is a case to be made that it could help England out. The Three Lions have looked listless for the majority of the tournament, largely struggling to break teams down in the final third of the pitch.
Their best play has arguably come in distress, as they showed when they went a goal down to the Dutch, playing by far their best football of the tournament in the first half. A fortuitous penalty sent them into the interval level, but having dominated the first 45 minutes they were sluggish for large parts of the second half.
It took a couple of substitutions to win the game, suggesting that it’s requiring the plan book to be ditched for England to be seen at their very best. Regardless of whether England stick or twist, their run to Berlin tells us it’s highly likely they will hit a flat spot at some point, opening the door to Spain but also to the likes of Palmer, Watkins and Ivan Toney to make an impact from the bench. With that in mind, it could be worth taking the 1.95 with kwiff about both teams to score in the Euro 2024 Final.
Euro 2024 Final: The Spanish LIttler
We make no apologies for taking a rather biased look at the final, but it is worth giving a mention to teenage superstar Lamine Yamal, who has belied his young age so far. Admittedly, it’s far from an insightful point to make, but it’s difficult not to have been blown away by the 16-year-old, who is due to celebrate his 17th birthday on Saturday.
With bags of pace as well as bundles of skill and clever positioning down the right flank, Yamal has all of the hallmarks of a generational talent. His blockbuster goal against France in the semi final not only put his side on the way to Berlin on Tuesday, but it also made him the youngest scorer in tournament history in the process.
The left-hand side has been an issue for England throughout the tournament and it’s certainly an area which Spain and Yamal will be keen to target. Southgate will be hoping that Luke Shaw will finally be fit enough to start, though it would certainly be a risk, having managed less than 90 minutes of pitch time so far.
Euro 2024 Final Selections
Back Both Teams To Score @ 1.95 with kwiff
Back England to win in overtime @ 11.0 with kwiff
By Nick Seddon
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