European Football Championship - Spain vs England: The most exciting head-to-heads
Spain or England - who will be the Football-European Championship winner? The outcome of this final match on Sunday evening in Berlin (9:00 PM/ARDR and MagentaTV) will decide several exciting duels.
Duel of the Bundesliga-Stars
Harry Kane from Bayern Munich and Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig: Both can not only become European champions on Sunday evening but also still top scorer of this EM. With three goals each, they are among the six players who lead the scorer list of the tournament before the last game.
The balance of their previous duels in Germany is even: In Kane's first game for FC Bayern, the German record champion lost the Supercup final against Leipzig with three Olmo goals (0:3). England's captain avenged that with two goals for a 2:1 win against Leipzig in February of this year. Olmo was missing for the Bundesliga away game due to injury.
Duel of the Teenagers
Spain's Lamine Yamal is the discovery of this tournament. The day before the final, he celebrated his 17th birthday. Previously, he had already broken two records as the youngest player (against Croatia) and youngest goalscorer (against France) in EM history.
But the English also have a teenage star with remarkable development leaps. Still in the fall of 2023, the 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo played twice in the UEFA Youth League for Manchester United. Then it all went very quickly: Premier League regular starter since December, national team debut in March, EM regular since the round of 16 against Switzerland.
Mainoo also holds a record at this tournament: With a passing accuracy rate of 96%, he has the best value of all players who have played more than 100 passes at this EM and all other European championships since 1980.
Duel of the Coaches
Spain's Luis de la Fuente and England's Gareth Southgate have a similar coaching biography: Two former defenders who each only trained one professional club before switching to the association. They were later promoted from U21 to national coach.
The 63-year-old de la Fuente had many Spaniards wishing they wouldn't see him at this tournament. Not only the mediocre performances during the EM qualification caused criticism, but especially his handling of the Kussaffaire of the now retired and briefly arrested federation president Luis Rubiales during the Women's World Cup 2023. De la Fuente gave a boisterous applause when Rubiales gave a crude defense speech. He later apologized for it.
Compared to that, the criticism of Southgate after the poor performances of the English at the beginning of the EM was harmless. And football legend Gary Lineker told the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" in an interview about this final: "If he wins the EM, he can retire, receive his knighthood – and everyone will love him forever."
Duel of the Super Six
The position of the central defensive midfielder is strategically the most important in modern football. That's clear in Germany at least since Thomas Tuchel begged FC Bayern so desperately for a sixer. The Munich team didn't want to pay 120 million euros for the Englishman Declan Rice a year ago. Arsenal did. And the 25-year-old didn't miss a second at this EM.
England has the most expensive sixer in the world - Spain has the best. The 27-year-old Rodri from Manchester City is considered the nonplusultra in this position. "If Spain wins, I wouldn't be surprised if he was named best player of the tournament," even Lineker said.
Duel of the U21 Finalists
Spain against England - this EURO Final took place in the past year before. In the final of the U21-European Championship, the English won in Georgia with a score of 1:0. A reunion awaits on Sunday evening in Berlin for three players: For the English, Cole Palmer (FC Chelsea) and Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United) have made it into the current EM squad. For the Spaniards, only midfielder Álex Baena (FC Villarreal) has made it.
Significantly stronger represented in this EURO Final are the U21-European champions of 2019. Besides goalkeeper Unai Simón and Leipzig's Dani Olmo, there are also midfielders Fabián Ruiz, Mikel Merino and Mikel Oyarzabal. The Spanish coach was named de la Fuente back then, as he is now. However, the opponent in the final was different. In 2019, it was still Germany.
- Harry Kane and Dani Olmo, both from their respective German clubs, FC Bayern Munchen and RB Leipzig, are eager to clinch the title as the top scorer of the European Football Championship.
- Kane and Olmo have had a fiery rivalry, with their teams meeting in the Supercup final and a league game, resulting in a win-loss scenario for each.
- In the Supercup final, Leipzig emerged victorious with Olmo scoring three times, while Kane avenged the loss with a brace in the league match against Leipzig.
- Spain's Lamine Yamal, celebrated his 17th birthday ahead of the final and has made history as the youngest player and goalscorer in EM history.
- Kobbie Mainoo, an English teenage star, has also made waves during the tournament with impressive performances and records in passing accuracy.
- Both Southgate and de la Fuente, the coaches of England and Spain, share similar coaching backgrounds, transitioning from defending roles to national team coaching after brief stints at a professional club.
- De la Fuente faced criticism during the qualifiers and his handling of the Kussaffaire scandal involving former federation president Luis Rubiales, while Southgate faced less severe criticism nearby.
- England has the most expensive central defensive midfielder in Declan Rice, while Spain boasts Rodri, considered the best in the position, with Lineker predicting a potential Best Player of the Tournament award for him.
- The pair of competitive midfielders, Rodri from Manchester City and Declan Rice from West Ham, are set to face off in the final match of the European Football Championship.
- Spain and England previously faced off in the U21 European Championship final where England emerged victorious with a 1:0 victory.
- Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon, English players in the current EM squad, have also experienced the U21 European Championship alongside Spain's Álex Baena.
- The U21 European Championship-winning Spain have a strong representation in this tournament, with goalkeeper Unai Simón, Dani Olmo, Fabián Ruiz, Mikel Merino, and Mikel Oyarzabal continuing their form from their previous success.
