England vs Spain: All you need to know
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.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 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.
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.
●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.
●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.
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