Harry Kane overtakes Ronaldo, Lukaku in Golden boot race

Bayern Munich maintained their perfect start to the season and jumped to the top of the Bundesliga table after hammering newly-promoted Holstein Kiel 6-1. Jamal Musiala scored the third fastest goal in Bundesliga history, giving Bayern the lead after just 15 seconds.

A mistake by Kiel captain Lewis Holtby opened the door for his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Harry Kane, who doubled Bayern's lead seven minutes in.

It went from bad to worse for the hosts, as Musiala took advantage of another defensive error to deliver a cross that was eventually turned into his own net by Nicolai Remberg.

After just 13 minutes Bayern Munich were 3-0 up.

Three years on from their famous victory against Bayern in the second round of the German Cup, Kiel looked starstruck.

Kane scored his second just before the break, before substitute Michael Olise smashed in a rebound shortly after the hour mark.

Armin Gigovic's header gave the home fans something to cheer about, but Bayern had the last word as Kane dispatched an injury-time penalty to seal his hat-trick and an emphatic Bayern victory.

Bayern are two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, but Vincent Kompany's side now turn their attention to their Champions League campaign which starts with a home game against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday.

- Leverkusen bounce back -

Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen put their first defeat in 35 Bundesliga games behind them on Saturday when they thumped Hoffenheim 4-1 with Victor Boniface bagging a brace.

The win will be a confidence-boost for Xavi Alonso's men Leverkusen, who start their Champions League campaign next Tuesday in Rotterdam against Feyenoord. Frenchman Martin Terrier scored his first Bundesliga goal to give the visitors a deserved lead, before Boniface danced around defenders to add a second while Mergim Berisha soon pulled one back.

"It comes from a Tiktok trend in Nigeria, who created this dance and he asked me if I could do it after I score," said Boniface, explaining his goal celebration. But eventually, Leverkusen found a way through.

Florian Wirtz converted a penalty before Boniface added a well-taken second. Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, making his 464th Bundesliga appearance to draw level with German football legend Lothar Matthäus, made a string of saves to keep the home side in the game.

"A good team loses once, but not two, three or four times in a row," Granit Xhaka said afterwards.  - Leipzig held - Despite dominating, Leipzig couldn't find a way past Union Berlin and had to settle for a point after a 0-0 draw.

With Marco Rose out suspended and Bo Svensson sick, both teams were without their head coaches on the sideline. Xavi Simons hit the bar, and Union goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow saved a Lois Openda penalty and a David Raum free kick to frustrate the hosts, who couldn't maintain their perfect start to the season.

Elsewhere, Frankfurt beat Wolfsburg 2-1 as Omar Marmoush came back to haunt his former employer by scoring a goal in each half.

At the third time of asking, Stuttgart got their first win of the season by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-1 thanks to two goals in four second-half minutes from Ermedin Demirovic. In-form Germany striker Deniz Undav had given Stuttgart the lead in the first half, only for Alassane Plea to equalize for the hosts.

A brace from Junior Adamu helped Freiburg to a 2-1 win over Bochum, who had taken the lead with their first goal of the season.

Bayern Munich host PSG on Tuesday in a battle between two sides flying high domestically but seemingly struggling to adjust to the new Champions League format. After four games, Bayern have lost twice and sit 17th, which would leave them unseeded for the knockout phase play-off. PSG's situation is even worse, with the French champions in 25th -- one spot outside the knockout places entirely. Both teams, however, lead their leagues by six points.

**Harry Kane will be the dangerman against PSG as the English striker will be looking to add to the 20 goals he has scored in all competitions this season. His hattrick on the weekend against Augsburg saw him become the fastest to 50 Bundesliga goals

**Bayern have won each of their last three games against PSG in the Champions League, played between 2021 and 2023.

**Meanwhile, Hansi Flick's Barcelona will be aiming for their fourth consecutive win in Europe when they welcome Brest as the knockout phases start to take shape. A high-flying Barca were stopped in its track in LaLiga by Real Sociedad and were denied a win by Celta Vigo on the weekends but the Catalans still remain top in the league and will look to put a stop to their mini-slide.

**Forwards Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha each have five goals in Europe this season and will be banked upon to deliver the goods for Flick once again. Brest, placed fourth on the table, are one of five teams who are yet to taste defeat so far in the Champions League.

**Crisis has struck out of the blues in Manchester as the positivity from the contract extension of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was punctured on Saturday with a 4-0 thrashing at the hand of Tottenham Hotspurs which handed Guardiola a fifth straight defeat for first time in his managerial career. The Citizens, currently on 10th in Europe, will be hoping to get their mojo back when they host Feyenoord who are 21st on the table.

**London rivals Arsenal, on the other hand, will face a steep challenge as they will go to Sporting Lisbon, the Portuguese champions who managed to slay 4-1 City on matchday four.

Harry Kane's move to Germany has not yet yielded the trophies he craved, but in Berlin on Sunday the England captain could quench his craving for silverware in style by winning Euro 2024.

Kane's strike to bring England level in a dramatic semi-final victory over the Netherlands was his 406th goal for clubs and country.

Yet, he is approaching his 31st birthday without a single trophy to his name.

Kane transferred his prolific Premier League form to the Bundesliga with ease last season, scoring 44 times in 45 appearances since joining Bayern Munich from Tottenham for a reported fee of £82 million ($105 million).

Yet it still did not result in collective success as Bayer Leverkusen did not taste defeat once in winning a domestic league and cup double, while Bayern bowed out to eventual winners Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.

Kane came off towards the end of the decisive second leg against Madrid with a back injury that hampered the end of his club campaign and rolled into the Euros.

He was unusually the target of stinging criticism from former England strikers Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer for his laboured performances early in the tournament which were symptomatic of a highly-fancied side that failed to shine.

The Three Lions won just one of their opening five matches in Germany in 90 minutes and have needed late goals to come from behind in each of the three knockout rounds against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Dutch.

"We've had to show unbelievable character, resilience, physical strength, mental strength -- we've shown it all but there is still one more to go," said Kane.

"It's been a tough journey but it's one more. Ninety minutes, 120 minutes, penalties, whatever it takes."

'Positive influence'

After Kane hobbled off against the Netherlands 10 minutes from time, it was his replacement Ollie Watkins who smashed in a stoppage-time winner to send England to a first-ever major final on foreign soil.

Yet, the prospect of Kane not starting Sunday's final is unthinkable given his outstanding record.

"Unless Harry Kane is injured, he plays. He's the captain and the record goalscorer. There's no way you can leave him out," said Shearer.

Wayne Rooney, who Kane surpassed to become his country's all-time leading goalscorer, has hailed him as England's greatest-ever player.

Kane's controversial penalty against the Netherlands took him into a share of the lead for the Golden Boot on three goals and made him the top scoring European in major tournament knockout stages of all-time with nine.

"He's leading the team incredibly well, he's such a positive influence around the camp and guiding young players through everything the squad have had to deal with in the early stages of the tournament," said Southgate in defence of his skipper.

Together captain and coach have marked an era of unparalleled consistency for English football.

In four major tournaments together, Kane and Southgate have never failed to reach the quarter-finals -- progressing three times to the semi-finals and now twice to the final.

Prior to this run, England had only ever been to one final in winning the 1966 World Cup.

Yet, that remains their only-ever taste of tournament success and England must end a 58-year wait for more against a Spanish side that have thrilled on their way through the tougher half of the draw.

Kane moved to Germany to end his own personal trophy drought, but, at the end of a season that failed to deliver, he has the chance to lift the one that will matter most to his legacy as an England legend.

France and Croatia go into Sunday's World Cup final in Moscow with the same starting line-ups as in their semi-final wins over Belgium and England respectively.

Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann support Olivier Giroud in attack in France's 4-2-3-1 formation, while Ivan Perisic and Ivan Strinic, who had been pre-match injury doubts, have been passed fit for Croatia.

Perisic was the star of Croatia's 2-1 extra-time victory over England at the same Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday, scoring his country's equaliser and then setting up the winner for Mario Mandzukic.

Croatia are in their first ever final, while France are aiming to win the trophy for the second time, after beating Brazil 3-0 in the final as hosts in 1998.

France beat Belgium 1-0 in the semi-final with a Samuel Umtiti goal in the second half.

Starting line-ups for the World Cup final between France and Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Sunday (1500 GMT kick-off):

France (4-3-3)

Hugo Lloris (capt); Benjamin Pavard, Raphael Varane, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Hernandez; Paul Pogba, N'Golo Kante; Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Blaise Matuidi; Olivier Giroud

Coach: Didier Deschamps (FRA)

Croatia (4-3-3)

Danijel Subasic; Sime Vrsaljko, Dejan Lovren, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic; Luka Modric (capt), Marcelo Brozovic, Ivan Rakitic; Ante Rebic, Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic

Coach: Zlatko Dalic (CRO)

Referee: Nestor Pitana (ARG)

A brilliant Spain team featuring teenage sensation Lamine Yamal stands between England and a first major men's international trophy in almost 60 years in Sunday's Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Spain have been the outstanding side at this European Championship, their run to the final taking in wins against title-holders Italy, hosts Germany and pre-tournament favourites France.

England, in contrast, have laboured their way to Berlin, going four straight games without winning inside 90 minutes before a stunning last-minute strike by Ollie Watkins gave them a 2-1 semi-final victory over the Netherlands.

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England face Spain puzzle in trophy homecoming quest

But a team led by Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane contains enough match-winners to believe it can go toe to toe with Spain and end England's wait for glory which goes back to the 1966 World Cup.

Unlike the country's women, who won their equivalent competition two years ago, England's men have never won the European Championship.

●This is the third meeting between Spain and England at the European Championships, with England winning 2-1 in the 1980 group stage, before progressing 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 draw in the 1996 quarterfinal.

●England have failed to score in three of their four major tournament (World Cup/Euros) games against Spain, with the last two such matches both finishing 0-0 (1982 World Cup, Euro 1996).

●Spain have won their last three major tournament finals, winning the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, and the FIFA World Cup in 2010. No European side has ever been successful in four consecutive World Cup/Euro final matches before.

●This is Spain's fifth Euro final, winning the trophy three times (1964, 2008, 2012) and losing once (1984). They could become the first team to win the competition on four separate occasions.

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England must win to earn respect of football world: Southgate

●England have reached the European Championship final in consecutive editions. They've now reached more major tournament finals in four attempts under Gareth Southgate (two), than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup/Euro combined (one) before his tenure.

●This will be England men's first major tournament final played outside of England, with the 1966 World Cup and Euro 2020 finals being played at Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions have never lost a match in Berlin in six attempts (W4 D2), only playing more in Helsinki (8), Amsterdam (7) and Sunderland (7) without ever suffering defeat.

●Spain have won all six of their games so far in Euro 2024, already the most wins any side has picked up in a single edition of the European Championship. Since the introduction of the group-stage in 1980, only France in 1984 (5/5) have won the competition while maintaining a 100 percent win rate.

●Spain have scored 13 goals so far in the ongoing edition – only France in 1984 (14) have scored more at a single edition of the Euros.

●England have conceded the first goal in all three of their knockout stage games so far. They're unbeaten in their last six when conceding first in the Euros (W5 D1), with no side winning more such games in the competition's history.

●Spain have applied more pressures in the final third than any other side at Euro 2024 (890), while England have had the most pressures received so far at the tournament (3,369).

●England's five shots on target against Netherlands in their semi-final victory were their most in a single match so far in Euro 2024. Meanwhile, Spain have had five or more shots on target in four of their six games at the tournament.

●Spain coach Luis de la Fuente will be 63 years and 23 days on the day of this game, the third-oldest manager to take charge of a European Championship final, after Luis Aragonés with Spain in 2008 (69y 337d) and Otto Rehhagel with Greece in 2004 (65y 330d), both of whom won the trophy.

●England boss Gareth Southgate  will be the third manager to take charge of more than one Euro final (excluding replays), after Helmut Schön with Germany (1972, 1976) and Berti Vogts with Germany (1992, 1996), with all three doing so in consecutive editions. No manager has ever lost two finals in the competition before.

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De la Fuente calls on Spain players to make history

●Aged 17 years and one day, Spain's Lamine Yamal could be the youngest ever player to feature in a FIFA World Cup or European Championship final, surpassing Pele's record from the 1958 World Cup (17y 249d). He has three assists so far in EURO 2024, with no Spaniard ever providing four at a single edition of the tournament.

●England striker Harry Kane has scored more knockout-stage goals at major tournaments (World Cup/Euro) than any other European player (nine), including a record six in the Euros.