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England will play Spain in the final of the men’s European Championship on Sunday evening after a last-minute winner from Ollie Watkins saw Gareth Southgate’s side seal a 2-1 semi-final win over the Netherlands. It’ll be the first time the Three Lions have played in a major tournament final on foreign soil. Spain are the favourites having beaten the likes of France, Germany and Italy over the course of the tournament. La Roja have only trailed in games for a total of 33 minutes, while England have gone behind in all of their three knockout matches. Gareth Southgate’s side will need steely determination to overcome a world-class side managed by Luis de la Fuente. They also possess the tournament’s breakout star, 16 year-old Lamine Yamal, who became the Euros’s youngest ever scorer with a stunning strike against France in their 2-1 win on Tuesday.
History is on England’s side. They have only lost once in six matches at major tournaments against Spain, at the 1950 World Cup, and won on penalties the last time the two sides met at the Euros in 1996 – a game in which Gareth Southgate played in.
A victory on Sunday would be a crowning achievement in Southgate’s tenure in charge of England after reaching a semi-final and quarter-final in two World Cups and now consecutive finals in the European Championship.
His style of management throughout the tournament has been criticised by some for being inflexible, but his pragmatism was evident on Wednesday night when two substitutes – Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins – combined to score the winner.
Meanwhile, a victory for Spain would lift some clouds recently cast over the country’s football federation. Former president Luis Rubiales is scheduled to go on trial for alleged sexual assault after kissing Jenni Hermoso, the Spanish women’s national team footballer, on the lips in the aftermath of August 2023’s Women’s World Cup final in Sydney. He has also faced allegations of corruption.