Euro 2024 final: History beckons for either Spain or England on Sunday

Who: Spain vs England
What: Euro 2024 semifinals
Where: BVB Stadion in Dortmund, Germany
When: 9pm (19:00 GMT) kickoff on Saturday, July 14
How to follow: Al Jazeera will bring you live text commentary of the game with build-up starting four hours before kickoff

When Spain meet England in the final of Euro 2024, history will beckon for either winner.

The Spanish will become the outright record winners of the competition, moving clear of Germany, if they lift the trophy for the fourth time, while the English will be crowned continental champions for the first time if they come out on top.

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 Spanish 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 pretournament favourites, France.

Only Georgia caused a momentary hint of an upset for Spanish fans, when they had the audacity to take the lead in the round-of-16 encounter – Spain swept to a 4-1 win and it could have been double that in the end.

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 semifinal against the French, which wrote him into the history books as the youngest goalscorer at a European Championship. Saturday marked his 17th birthday.

Are England finding form just in time for Spain showdown?

After a limp display of one win and two draws in their group, England 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 semifinal 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 quarterfinals. 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 semifinals, 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 hurt 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.

Fun fact

Spain are the first team to win six consecutive times at the European Football Championship games. Will it be a magnificent seven for the Spaniards or will England burst the Spanish pinata?

Spain team news:

Spain welcome back Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand from suspension. Both full-backs started the quarterfinal victory against Germany with the former sent off in extra-time for a cynical second bookable defence in the sixth minute of additional time in extra-time. The former picked up a 29th-minute yellow card before being withdrawn at the interval. The Spaniards have no new injury concerns otherwise, so are unlikely to make many more changes as they seek a seventh straight win at the tournament.

England team news:

England captain Harry Kane was substituted in the semifinal victory against Netherlands due to fatigue, having also limped out of the quarterfinal win against Switzerland. A tumble into the water bottles in the technical area during the last-eight encounter caused both Kane’s calves to cramp, leading to his withdrawal. Following the last-four win against the Dutch, the Bayern Munich striker declared that he would be fit and ready to go in the final.

Luke Shaw has made his first two appearances of the tournament from the bench as he continues his recovery from injury, but Southgate may be inclined to opt for the Manchester United defender’s experience from the start for the final.

Possible line-ups:

Spain: Unai Simon:  Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Dani Olmo, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Alvaro Morata, Nico Williams

England: Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi; Bukayo Saka, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Luke Shaw; Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden; Harry Kane

FIFA ranking:

Spain (8), England (5)

Head-to-head record:

27 games:

10 wins for Spain
13 for England
4 draws

Last five matches:

Spain: W-W-W-W-W
England: W-D-D-W-W