The European Football Championship is coming to an end. The decisive match of the German Euro 2024 will be played today in Berlin: the national teams of Spain and England will take to the field of the Olympiastadion arena. Sports prepares fans for the momentous event and introduces ten important facts about Sunday's final.
Spain — England
- When: June 14, 22:00 Moscow time;
- Where: Olympic Stadium, Berlin;
- Broadcast: You can follow the decisive Euro match in the Sport match center. The live broadcast will also be available in the Okko online cinema.
1.At Euro 2024, both teams remain undefeated. But the magnificent Spaniards Luis de la Fuente had a 100% result (they confidently beat the Croats, Italy, Albania and Georgia, put the finishing touches on France in the semi-finals; only they had to fiddle with the Germans in the quarter-finals in extra time), while the British had two draws in the group (they survived Denmark and Slovenia), victory over obscure Serbia, hard-won success over the Slovaks after 120 minutes and the Swiss (failed in a penalty shootout). Plus a dramatic triumph over the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
2.The teams' paths crossed 27 times: the Spaniards emerged victorious from the confrontation ten times, and the British 13 times. Of course, we cannot help but recall the quarter-finals of Euro 1996, when the founders of football at London's Wembley Arena won on penalties after a goalless draw.
Important: England head coach Gareth Southgate played the entire match as a defender.
3. The England team reached the Euro final for the second time in history: in 2021, the founders of football missed out on the trophy at their home Wembley, losing to the Italians in a penalty shootout. Spain has much better statistics: a fifth appearance in the final and the opportunity to become a four-time Euro winner, returning the trophy ten years later.
4. “The Curse of Harry Kane” is perhaps the most interesting plot of the finale. The poor Englishman scores a lot: the main goalscorer in the history of his team, in the match with the Netherlands, scored his sixth goal in the playoffs of the European Championships and became the top scorer in the history of Euro knockout games. But he has no trophies at all! He lost in the finals of the Champions League and Euro — even the move to Bayern did not change anything, because the Munich team failed the season miserably and for the first time since 2012 did not win anything.
English fans believe that the striker's bad streak will finally end in Berlin.
5. Six players are vying for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the top scorer at the end of the Euro: Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Dani Olmo (Spain), Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Cody Gakpo ( Netherlands) and Kane. Everyone has three goals, but only the Spaniard and the Englishman have a chance to take the lead and become the sole winner.
However, Harry's partner Jude Bellingham, who has two goals scored, can also intervene in the race.
6. Despite harsh criticism for the lackluster performance of a strong team, Southgate reached the finals twice in the last four international championships. He took charge of the England team in 2016, after which, in addition to the final in Germany, he played in the Euro 2020 final, finished fourth at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and was eliminated at the quarter-final stage at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
7 . The day before, Lamin Yamal celebrated his 17th birthday, the main opening of Euro 2024. In Germany, the young Spaniard scored and provided three assists, rewriting several records at once. To begin with: in the first match of the tournament, Yamal became the youngest football player in the history of the Euro. The Spaniard also surpassed the great Pele, becoming the youngest participant in the semi-finals at the World Cup/Euro, and the Swiss Johan Vonlanthen — now he is the youngest goal scorer in the history of the European Championships.
8.We talked about the younger generation — let's also give credit to the veterans. In the semi-final with the French, Spain defender and world champion Jesus Navas was 38 years and 231 days old — the oldest player ever to participate in the semi-finals of the European Championships. By the way, the Sevilla player won gold in the Kiev final in 2012 — today he will try to pass on the experience of big victories to the youth.
9. About the main location of the tournament, the Olympic Stadium. The arena in Berlin has hosted many big football events: the finals of the Champions League (2015) and the UEFA Cup (1986), the most dramatic decisive match of the 2006 World Cup with Zinedine Zidane hitting Marco Materazzi in the chest. But the Euro finals have never been played at the Olympiastadion — today this will be corrected.
10. Bookmakers rightly consider Furia Roja the favorite: 1.7 versus 2.2 for the most expensive team championship.
PollWho will win Euro 2024?
Spain82.6%England17.4%VoteVoted:264Yesterday, 07:00