Exactly a month on from Germany’s thrilling opening game against Scotland, the final game of the 2024 European Championships is set to take place on Sunday when Spain take on England in a potentially fantastic spectacle at Berlin’s iconic Olympiastadion.
Both teams have fought incredibly hard to make it to the final and they will now have one last battle on their hands as they fight against each other for the coveted Euro 2024 trophy.
Spain vs England
Sunday 14 June, 20:00
Olympiastadion
Spain have been a majority of people’s choice as the best-performing team throughout Euro 2024, playing outstanding football and beating some immensely difficult teams along the way.
Starting in Group B, dubbed the ‘group of death’, alongside Croatia, Italy and Albania, Spain comfortably finished top of the group with three wins from three, scoring five and conceding none, the only team throughout the group stage that did not concede.
A tough draw saw them face up against Georgia, who had just defeated Portugal to progress into the knockout rounds, but Spain dismantled them with ease as they ran out 4-1 winners and booked their place in the quarter-finals.
Hosts Germany would be the next team on the Spanish chopping block in a game that ebbed and flowed in favour of either side, but after 120 minutes Luis De La Fuente’s men had secured victory thanks to a 119th-minute winner from Mikel Merino.
France were their opponents in the semi-finals and despite going behind after just nine minutes, Spain dominated the game and soon found themselves level thanks to 16-year-old superstar Lamine Yamal’s outrageous curling strike. Dani Olmo scored just four minutes later to give Spain the lead and they never looked back as they moved into their first final since lifting the Euro trophy in 2012.
Their outstanding talent to keep and move the ball quickly between the attacking players, while having tremendous wide players in Nico Williams and Yamal and defensive solidity from Rodri, Laporte and many others, make Spain a formidable side to come up against and the favourites heading into the final.
As for England, this tournament has been far from smooth sailing for Gareth Southgate’s men, beginning with a group stage that saw them win one and draw two, scoring just two goals and conceding one. The Three Lions still managed to top their group and entered into the much more favourable side of the draw, avoiding teams such as Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Portugal.
Their first knockout game saw them come up against Slovenia, and they were sent into shock in the 25th minute when Ivan Schranz gave them the lead. Despite dominating the possession, England were unable to create any real chances of note to get back into the game. That was until a long throw was sent into the box in the final seconds which was flicked on by Marc Guehi and Jude Bellingham met it with an incredible overhead kick to send the game to extra-time. Harry Kane then get on the scoresheet a minute after the restart to send England through to the next round.
Once again England would dominate the possession against Switzerland, but once again they went behind as Breel Embolo scored with just 15 minutes remaining. Bukayo Saka soon equalised with a curled strike in the 80th minute, but neither team could find another goal in the remaining 10 minutes or extra time, sending the game to penalties. England, with flashbacks to the Euro 2021 final, started excellently as Jordan Pickford saved and went on to win with all five takers scoring.
A difficult semi-final against the Netherlands awaited and England once again fell behind, this time through Xavi Simons’ powerful shot in the seventh minute. A controversial penalty allowed for Kane to equalise and even though the Three Lions were much improved compared to previous performances, they could not break through the Dutch defence. There was one final chance though, as Cole Palmer picked up the ball and played it through to fellow substitute Ollie Watkins, who took a touch and smashed across goal to send England to back-to-back Euro finals.
Bet9ja Tips
Spain have undoubtedly been the better-performing side of the two throughout the entire tournament, with England struggling to impress outside of a good first 45 minutes in the semi-final against the Netherlands.
Williams, Yamal and Olmo have been constant threats to opposition teams and Rodri has an outstanding record of not being on the losing side. England, however, have found a way of winning in all of their matches up to this point and remarkably earned their place in the first major tournament final on foreign soil.
After the heartbreak of the penalty defeat in the last tournament, alongside their knack of picking up difficult victories in this tournament, we believe that England will manage to secure a historic victory, and you can get odds of this to happen of 3.40.
Bellingham has a breathtaking ability to score goals in hugely important moments for both club and country, from the last-minute equalising overhead kick for England to two last-minute winners against Barcelona for Real Madrid last season. For these reasons, we believe that the Englishman will once again show his worth and get on the scoresheet here, and you can get odds of 6.00 for this to happen at Bet9ja.
Bet9ja Odds (at time of writing): Spain to win: 2.52, Draw (after 90 minutes): 2.83, England to win: 3.40
Booking Codes:
6SJRJ7K, 6SJRL89
