Euro 2024 Final preview: Can England stop formidable favourites Spain who are chasing a record fourth European Championship title
England will face Spain in Berlin for the 2024 European Championship trophy. An incredible ride as Southgate’s side have now made back to back Euros finals. A Spanish beast is what stands between them and a trophy, let’s look ahead to the action.
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00:00So, Will, a dramatic night for England. It seems like every single time that they're
00:07playing at this Euro 2024, they need to rely on a huge moment. Do you feel like they've
00:11got another one up their sleeve as they go to face Spain in the final?
00:16Well, you could say that England have now hit the peak. I mean, people have been waiting
00:22for England to really show the best and certainly the first half against East Holland, they
00:28were excellent. They were maybe fortunate with the penalty. I personally didn't think
00:33it was one, but they had enough chances. Obviously, the Phil Fulton one cleared off the line and
00:39the one that hit the woodwork. Yeah, Gareth Southgate makes the subs and they both make
00:43an impact, but without a doubt, this is the toughest game since today. I think a lot of
00:50people would agree that Spain have been the best team in the tournament. There were some
00:54doubts around at the start that maybe they were just a little bit too young. You know,
01:01you're looking at Lamine Yamal and Nicole Williams, 16 and 21 respectively, you're thinking,
01:06well, can they keep going? Well, they've been excellent, haven't they, Spain? And I think
01:12maybe it might come down to who can concede fewer goals, potentially.
01:18Lamine Yamal, of course, stealing all the headlines, but just their squad, their unity,
01:22the way they pass the ball around so effortlessly and so quickly, they make England look poor and
01:29we're in the final. So I've got to have a lot of respect for Spain and I expect it to be a very
01:34tough game for England. A bit of a breath of fresh air away from club football, I think
01:39there's a lot of pressure on the Premier League and how to play this type of football. This
01:44tournament's sort of proven that you can go back a few years and play that free-flowing game and
01:50take long shocks, for example, and, you know, just really enjoy it. I mean, it's come across
01:55that a lot of the players have just had such a great time out there.
01:58Yeah, we've seen loads of fantastic long-range goals. You've had Arda Guler,
02:02Stanchu for Romania, of course, Lamine Yamal, plenty of others, Jude Bellingham scoring a
02:07bicycle kick in the last minute to get us to extra time. On a global scale or on a European scale,
02:12at least, we're seeing that that kind of football does still exist and it's great to see.
02:15You very rarely have a team during a major tournament who start brilliantly and just
02:19blitz their whole way through the tournament, the competition, although Spain, I suppose,
02:23could actually do that if they win on Sunday. They've been by far the standout team for me in
02:27this tournament. But England, look, I think there's a mentality that's grown and a, I don't
02:34know, an ability to find ways to win football matches. And I wouldn't compare them to Real
02:40Madrid in the Champions League, but there are shades of that that just, they just know how to
02:44get through in these important games and these important matches. And their consistency in the
02:49international stage now is, over the last four tournaments since Garry Southgate's been in
02:54charge, it's been fantastic. Spain are obviously favourites, but England are more than capable,
02:58in my eyes, of winning the game.