Key events
Spain defender Aymeric Laporte believes England have not been up to standard at Euro 2024 so far. In a recent interview with Sid Lowe, he said: “I’ve been watching England because I have ex-teammates of mine there. We exchange messages once in a while. What surprises me is how good they are individually and how we’ve seen less of that here. Against Slovakia, they score in the 94th minute. All the players they have, even the subs, and they weren’t able to show football of a great level. They didn’t overrun Slovakia, didn’t create as much football as I perceive them to be individually.
Why? “I don’t know. I feel like either they have their day or they don’t. When you see [Phil] Foden, what he does always at his club and in the national team, when you see [Bukayo] Saka, [Harry] Kane … these are players who are very hard to defend.”
Neil Clough is writing in from a sleeper bus in Vietnam! He says: “Currently on a sleeper bus from Nha Trang to Hoi An, Vietnam. Will be watching the game at 2am Monday morning on my laptop in my Airbnb or maybe in a Hoi An bar if I can find one. They are football mad in Vietnam and there’s plenty of Brits here so good chance I’ll find somewhere. If not it will be ITV and the great Ian Wright.”
2am! That’s real dedication!
Greg Williams will be watching the match all the way from Chile! He says: “It’s not as far away as New Zealand, but probably more remote.
“I’m working on a mining project in the Atacama desert in Chile. The internet is terrible and ominously cut out for 4 hours yesterday afternoon. I’m more worried about that than the result, to be honest. I will lock myself away in a site office tomorrow afternoon and pretend I’m on a Zoom call. Keep up the good work with the live blog; it makes me feel like I’m not so far away.”
No injury concerns for England – all 26 players train
England stars have been busy in training this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow’s final. All 26 players were involved, with no injury concerns expected before kick-off.
Feel free to email me with any Euro 2024 final plans, predictions or any funny stories you may have from the tournament so far – I want to hear from you!
Good afternoon! Lunch has been consumed and I’m back with you again for the next few hours. Keep the ticket price stories coming and let me know where you’ll be watching tomorrow’s match from!
That’s all from me for now. I’m handing over to Emillia Hakwins who will keep you updated for the next couple of hours.
We’ve got a ticket price story from David Williams:
“I spent 120,000 yen (about 700 GBP at the time) for England vs Brazil in 2002 in Japan, that was after 70,000 for England vs Denmark a week earlier. My wife reminds me of this ‘once in a lifetime investment’ at every possible opportunity. I’ll be watching the final at 4am in Tokyo. Hoping for a win in 90 mins I have to go to work.”
England boss Southgate was asked about the fitness of Trippier and Kane on Friday, saying: “No scans, no. As far as we know they’re OK, but we haven’t done a lot out on the pitch, so we’ll find more out (Saturday). Obviously, we’re not expecting anybody to rule themselves out for the final.”
There’s some team news from the England camp courtesy of the Press Association:
“England’s full squad trained ahead of their departure to Berlin for the Euro 2024 final against Spain … Kieran Trippier went off at half-time of the semi-final with a knock and captain Harry Kane was in discomfort after winning the penalty from which he equalised. But both were in action on Saturday lunchtime as the full 26-man squad trained at their Blankenhain base for the final time before making the journey to Berlin.”
Kate Connolly
Hitler reportedly reacted with disgust after seeing the black American Jesse Owens become the most successful athlete at the [1936 Olympic] Games. Owens, who won four gold medals, was celebrated by anti-racist campaigners for single-handedly macerating Hitler’s bogus Aryan supremacy theory with his prowess.
It is fitting then, that 88 years on it will be two multicultural teams who are battling it out on the same ground, making Europe’s right-wing populists squirm perhaps as much as Hitler did.
It’s great to know there’s such a range of fans tuning into the final from various locations. The final being held in the Olympiastadion Berlin is particularly significant given the stadium’s history. Kate Connolly writes all about it here:
Actually, Jon Radcliffe is in the best location:
“I live in Berlin and, after weeks of trying to get tickets for the matches across Germany, I finally took the plunge and got a ticket for the final (not cheap, as you can imagine). I do, at least, not have to worry about travel and accommodation, a small silver lining. Ultimately, though, I would not have forgiven myself if I wasn’t there on Sunday. Watching my nation play in my home city in a major tournament final – it’s once-in-a-lifetime.
My partner is German and, while I wanted them to do well throughout the tournament, I am relieved we are not playing them in the final – that wouldn’t have been much fun either way! All in all, it promises to be a special occasion and hopefully, this time, football goes home. Come on England!”
Wendy Bassam is in a great location for the game:
“My husband and I live in Spanish town in Andalucia called Chiclana. There is approximately 900 British people living here not many Spanish speak English. We have a dilemma do we watch with the Spanish locals or with the English. I think we might go to the only English bar in terms of town Bar Neros.”
Daniel Ryan finishes in a close second:
“It’s freezing here at the moment, and a school night. Hoping not to wake the wife and toddler on the way out the door as I did before the semi!”
Woah, I think we might have a winner for the furthest distance from the stadium with Matthew Wilson:
“Auckland, New Zealand. Kick off at 7am NZ time. Hoping England will win it within the 90mins as I have a 9am meeting to attend!”
Here’s one from James Fielding:
“Bom diiiiiiia, I will be watching the final in my local bar here in Benfica, Lisbon with a load of English supporting, sagres soaked locals! Ps, my PMT (pre match tension) is already through the roof, I honestly don’t know how I’m going to get through the next 36hrs, cheers!”
We’ve got another location! Here’s where Brendan Large will be watching the game from:
“I too enjoyed the piece. I will be watching on my own on my laptop here in Kristiansand Norway (family away and I had to work), accompanied by several Danish beers.
After reading Max’s column about what will happen if win, I started wondering what I would do. But that is madness, so I will continue assuming the worst and hoping for a miracle (again). Come on England!”
Xaymaca Awoyungbo
The success of the black players was success for many black people who felt for the players who missed their penalties in 2021. Many of us didn’t look at the racist abuse they dealt with as an isolated incident but as a moment indicative of a culture that celebrates black people when they’re excellent but vilifies them when they’re not.
Well, thank you for that segue Phil. My pre-match anxiety is already building, not just because of Sunday but also because of the EURO 2020 final and the racist abuse that followed. I hope England can win it in normal time. Read my article about it here:
I wonder who is watching from the furthest distance away from the stadium. Phil Keegan is definitely a contender:
“I live in Vietnam so the game will be on at an unsocial 2am. I know that the Puku cafe in Hanoi old quarter will be showing the match so I may head there.
Enjoyed your piece about the penalty takers and the racism by the way.”
Wow, we’ve got some dedicated fans. Here’s a message from Brian Roberts:
“I’m working in Vientiane, Laos and am out now on a forlorn expedition to find a bar that will be showing the match at 2 am.”
Thomas Preston shares where he’ll be watching the game:
“I’m English but grew up in France. I’m living in Lille but there’s nowhere decent here to watch the game.
I looked at flights to Berlin, Eurostars to London. In the end I’ve decided to go to Paris – I’m at the station now – and I’ll be heading to the Bombardier, the most British pub you can find in Paris! Got the England shirt in my bag, with a the flag. Can’t wait.
Let’s bring one to win!”
Resale sites selling final tickets for £1,690
Some of you may be dedicated enough or simply rich enough to book a last minute trip to Berlin to watch the game in the Olympiastadion Berlin. Official match day tickets have sold out but resale websites are selling tickets from £1,300 (plus a staggering £390 service+tax fee). A £4.99 postage and packaging fee on Amazon is enough to make me reconsider my order so I can’t imagine spending so much for a match. What is the most you’ve spent on a football ticket? Send me an email – the more extortionate, the better.
Where will you be watching Spain v England? I imagine pubs across the country will be heaving and I know free tickets to attend a screening at the O2 have sold out. Email me to share where you’re watching the game.
Max Rushden
Perhaps it’s important to write about England winning 48 hours before kick-off. Because right now, it could happen. And it could. Forgive me if you heard this existential crisis before – but am I, are we, ready to know what to do if, IF, England are victorious on Sunday night?
I’ll be watching the game at my local town hall for an enhanced experience that beats cracking open a few cans and watching it on my couch.
Can you imagine the scenes IF England win? I assume that may be too unfathomable for some but don’t worry, our very own columnist Max Rushden has already done all the imagining for you. Read his article here:
Thank you Emillia. I’ll be providing you with Euros updates for the next couple of hours. Email me with your thoughts in the build up to the big game.
That’s all from me this morning, Xaymaca Awoyungbo will be with you for the next few hours and I’ll be back later!
Xaymaca… Over to you!
Jonathan Liew
“We know that winning or losing the Euro final isn’t going to change anything. But after a panoply of dismal days, one magical night will feel like the world…”
Ollie Watkins detects a winning demeanour similar to that of the Champions League winners Real Madrid in an England side one game away from a historic achievement in Berlin.
The Aston Villa star said: “You see someone like Real Madrid in a Champions League game: they are comfortable without the ball, they have that confidence that when they get the ball they are going to score.
“I feel like it is the same here. We are definitely hard to beat, then we just need that one chance and we can win the game. It doesn’t matter if we are playing poorly or if players are having an off day, we still have that world-class talent where we can pop up and get that goal.”
Who is leading the Euro 2024 Golden Boot race?
Six players have scored three goals at Euro 2024 so far – Including Spain’s Dani Olmo and England captain Harry Kane. Olmo is currently top of the rankings with two additional assists.
Georgia striker Georges Mikautadze, Netherlands star Cody Gakpo, Slovakia’s Ivan Schranz and Germany youngster Jamal Musiala have also scored three at this summer’s tournament.
Spain stars were in good spirits this morning in their final training session before tomorrow’s huge match. Manager Luis de la Fuente led the session in Donaueschingen.
Happy Birthday, Lamine Yamal! The Spanish superstar turns 17 today – 17! He is set to be one of the first names on Luis de la Fuente’s team sheet in Berlin tomorrow. What a way to spend your birthday weekend!
“What we’re seeing here is something very, very special. How special, we will have to wait and see. To do what he is doing: I can’t quite get my head around it.” England icon Gary Lineker heaped praise on teenage superstar Lamine Yamal in his recent interview with Sid Lowe. The Barcelona youngster has featured in every match for Spain in Germany, impressing each time.
Speaking of the Lionesses… Sarina Wiegman’s side took a huge step towards Euro 2025 qualification last night with a 2-1 win over Republic of Ireland. Alessia Russo and Georgia Stanway were on the scoresheet for England, with Julie-Ann Russell netting a late consolation.
You can read Tom Garry’s match report from Carrow Road here:
Declan Rice will take inspiration from the Lionesses when England face Spain in the Euro 2024 final. He said: “We saw when the women’s team won it, what it meant to them and the nation. I see some of the girls at Arsenal and that’s what we want. We want to win and make the nation proud.
“We are back in another final, which is history itself, but now we are aiming to do one more. We don’t want to keep talking about it and getting to finals and be happy with that. We now want to be a country where we win. We want to continue to grow and, for the young players coming in, we want to be a really big force.”
England’s Phil Foden is set to face off with his Manchester City team-mate Rodri on Sunday evening. Both playmakers, both crucial members of their respective teams. But who will have the biggest impact? And who will lift the trophy?
Declan Rice insists he is ready to “run through a brick wall” to set England on course for Euro 2024 glory tomorrow.
He said: “The first couple of games, I was feeling more tired than I am now. As the adrenaline kicked in more, as the games ramp up, it gives you that extra bit of energy, extra bit of fire.
“I think now. especially on Sunday, all of us will run through a brick wall to do anything to win this game – whether that’s in 90 or 120 (minutes) – we’ll give absolutely everything and that’s all we can ask for.”
Preamble
Hello hello and good morning! The big day is almost here! England take on Spain in the Euro 2024 final tomorrow. We are approximately 34 hours and 51 minutes away from kick-off so the countdown is officially on! Stay with us all day as we bring you everything you need to know about tomorrow’s crunch clash and more.