England are on the brink of history as they prepare to face Spain in a mouthwatering final showdown at Euro 2024.
How are you calling it? It’s the debate that has swept the nation ahead of Sunday’s final – and here’s what the talkSPORT family think…
Gareth Southgate‘s side are just one win away from ending their 58-year wait for major silverware after their thrilling semi-final win over the Netherlands booked their spot in Sunday’s decider.
Victory over La Roja would avenge England‘s Euro 2020 final heartbreak, when they narrowly missed out on glory with defeat to Italy on penalties in the competition’s last instalment.
And the Three Lions will have to be at their best to land a first ever European Championship trophy, with Spain heading into the clash as favourites having won every game so far, while they also boast the summer breakout star in 17-year-old wonderkid Lamine Yamal.
This promises to be an exhilarating end to Euro 2024, and the talkSPORT pundits have shared their predictions for the all-important showdown in Berlin…
Stuart Pearce, England legend
“Deliver the performance that you did in the first-half of the game against Holland – that was a magnificent performance, by far the best performance we’ve had in this tournament.
“Trust each other, rely on each other and I think you’ve got the ability to win this game.
“We’re going to have to be very good at nullifying their wide players. They’ve been outstanding in this tournament, so make sure that we deal with them.
“It will be a tight game. It might go all the way. It might go to penalties. But I have an inner confidence because the rest of the nation have – I think we’ll win this game.”
Adrian Durham, talkSPORT host
“People have talked about a cautious start, but England got an early goal in the last Euro final, I think the same might happen again.
“I think England might go in front and then it’ll be all out Spain attack.
“I actually think it’s going to end up 2-1 to England. So England get an early goal, Spain equalise, 1-1 at half-time, and England get a goal halfway through the second-half when Southgate makes a couple of earlier substitutions than normal, and they can’t handle our subs.
“That’s what’s going to happen, come on England!”
Martin Keown, ex-England defender
“If we get the tactics right, we can beat them.
“I don’t see Alvaro Morata as world-class, like a Erling Haaland at the top of the team. I think we can get out there too – Aymeric Laporte, we can get him behind him, like Olly Watkins did against Netherlands.
“But what we must do is when we don’t have possession of the ball, we’ve got to get every single player behind the ball, edge of the box, end of. Like the Thames barrier, it needs to be there, shut down. We can’t leave two or three up the pitch. Come all the way back.
“They get that right, in the transition, we can beat them.”
Faye Carruthers, England correspondent
“I think it’s gonna finish 2-2 and then it’s gonna go to penalties and we’re going to win on penalties.
“England are gonna win the European Championship on penalties. That is my prediction.
“And the reason is because we’ve been growing into this tournament. We’ve got confidence from coming from behind in three knockout games now. We’ve done a penalty shootout already and we can do it again.”
Gabby Agbonlahor, ex-England winger
“I think England are going to win on penalties, I really do.
“I think the game’s going to be 1-1. I think England are going to score first, it wouldn’t surprise me if Phil Foden scores first.
“Spain come into the game, [they] pressure us. Finally, they get a goal from an unlikely player, I’m going to say [Alvaro] Morata scores the equaliser.
“And it goes to extra-time, everyone’s tired and shattered, and England win the Euros on penalties.”
Jim White, talkSPORT host
“I think it’s going to be an incredibly tight game. I think from start to finish, there’ll be very little in it.
“We know tactically Spain are brilliant, we know what they’ll do, we know what Rodri does, and it’s up to England to combat that.
“Can England get the result they want? Of course they can. What do I think? I think after 90 minutes, it’s level. I think after extra-time, it’s level, and then it’s down to penalties. Anything can happen at that stage.
“Whoever wins it deserves to win it after that marathon.”
Shebahn Aherne, talkSPORT host
“I think this is going to be a tough game for both sides.
“I think England will come flying out of the traps, but I think might come up against it in the second-half, and I think their subs have been great and that will benefit them.
“Spain have been excellent this tournament, the best team to watch, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they win it.
“I’m going to go for an England win, 2-1 inside 90 minutes.”
Jim Proudfoot, talkSPORT commentator
“I think two things can work in England’s favour in this final – experience, and also the fact that they go into this game as bigger underdogs than in almost any previous match under Gareth Southgate.
“For the final in 2021, they had 115 tournament appearances between them in the starting eleven. Now this time around they’ve got 50% more than that, and the experience of playing in big games can’t be overstated.”
“Seven of England’s likely starting eleven have played in a major international final before. Of the other four, two have won an Under-17 World Cup final [Phil Foden and Conor Gallagher], one has won a Champions League final [Jude Bellingham], and the other scored the winner in an FA Cup final [Kobbie Mainoo]. So they know what it’s all about in games like this.
“The Spanish team have plenty of Champions League glory within their ranks as well, but they’ve only got a Nations League final for some of them on the international stage.
“Obviously it’s easy to make a case for Spain, but I think that England will be able to get the game to extra-time.
“I believe they’ve got the better attacking options off the bench, and they’re either going to be able to win it in extra-time, or on penalties. I do genuinely think this is England’s year”
Alex Crook, chief football correspondent
“We’ve had a few hair and scare and moments to get to this stage. Do you know what? Spain are the favourites. I’ll take that.
“England have been written off, not just in their own country, but the media have been having a little nibble all around Europe throughout this tournament. How about we go out there and prove them wrong?
“It might again be a game of patience. England tend to go behind, but they tend to come back and win it. I think that’s going to be the case again.
“Spain to score first, England to win by two goals to one and bring home that elusive first major trophy since 1966.”