England v Spain final – live: FA ‘want Southgate to stay’ regardless of final result

England will meet Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday in Berlin following their dramatic 2-1 victory over Netherlands.

Ollie Watkins scored a dramatic last-gasp winner in Dortmund on Wednesday to send England’s men to a first major final on foreign soil.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at previous meetings between Sunday’s European Championship finalists.

Trent Alexander-Arnold feels it would be a “crime” if England allowed any doubts to creep in as they prepare for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final against Spain.

Gareth Southgate’s squad beat the Netherlands in a dramatic semi-final on Wednesday night with a late goal from Ollie Watkins to book a trip to Berlin.

It is the first time an English men’s team has reached a major final overseas – and a second successive European Championship showpiece for a side who lost on penalties to Italy at Wembley three years ago.

During every England game, the cries across pubs, living rooms and social media insist that the England boss make immediate changes by bringing on a very specific player that the armchair manager knows for sure will definitely, 100 per cent win the Three Lions the game. Of course, this is a different player for each armchair manager but the certainty is always there.

Then, the ‘hilarious’ memes of Southgate wearing a life jacket in the shower or a helmet on an exercise bike to signal his excessive caution will be fired around WhatsApp groups, normally accompanied by scathing wit such as “lol, this is so true.”

But is Southgate’s reputation underserved? Here we look at every substitution he has made throughout Euro 2024, rating and ranking each one to find out exactly which changes have been the most impactful:

And the former Three Lions striker insists Luke Shaw, replacing Kieran Trippier at left-back, could offer an extra dimension in attack.

“If you notice, particularly when he brought Luke Shaw on, there were two or three occasions where Kieran Trippier got down the left-hand side and the ball could have come in early,” Shearer said on The Rest is Football Podcast.

England forward Ollie Watkins appeared relaxed as he joined in a game of darts with journalists during a press conference ahead of the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final against Spain.

Watkins, whose last-minute goal against the Netherlands fired England into the Euro 2024 final, spoke to reporters on Friday afternoon (12 July), ahead of Sunday’s final.

But, before getting down to answer the questions from journalists, a smiling and relaxed Watkins joined in with a game of darts – much to the delight of those watching at home.

Spain were convincing in dispatching France and Germany on their route to the semi-finals, and have been one of the most in-form sides of the entire tournament, despite not being among the favourites before the start.

They were prolific in the tournament, winning in both 2008 and 2012 in a golden generation that delivered three major trophies. While England have never won the competition, but have an impressive recent history after reaching the final four years ago.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match, starting with the latest team news from both camps.

Declan Rice says that England know “not to sit back” in order to win Sunday’s Euro 2024 final against Spain at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, having learned from the painful memory of Euro 2020.

The midfielder said the squad are “desperate” to “rewrite history”, as he admitted that seeing Italy lift the trophy will haunt him forever. That may also involve learning from history, as Rice said that experience has shown them “how we can win this final”.

No news of the manager yet but we’ll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, England had a closed session training outing today but Kane was on hand to meet fans afterwards.

That’s it from Ollie Watkins for now and we’re still awaiting manager Gareth Southgate of course.