England Faces Spain in Euro 2024 Final

England's Harry Kane (L) celebrates with Jude Bellingham after scoring his side's second goal during a round of sixteen match between England and Slovakia at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on June 30, 2024. (Thanassis Stavrakis/AP Photo)

Two of soccer’s superpowers will collide in the 2024 UEFA European Championship final as England takes on Spain on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET from Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.

These are two of the top five-ranked European teams, according to FIFA ranking, and among the top eight in the world with England at No. 5 and Spain at No. 8.

Even though the English are ranked higher, they had a much rockier road to reach the 2024 Euro Final than their Spanish counterparts. That road actually started just before the European Championships when England was stunned by Iceland in a 1-0 friendly defeat.

Once the tournament began, the Three Lions were listless in the group stage. They narrowly defeated Serbia in their opener, 1-0, before a 1-1 draw with Denmark and then a scoreless draw with Slovenia. None of those three opponents is ranked in the top 20, but England could still advance to the knockout round as they were the only ones of the four Group C teams who actually picked up a group stage victory.

The round of 16 provided all of the drama one could hope for as England was down 1-0 to Slovakia, entering stoppage time in the second half. Jude Bellingham then saved the English with one of the goals of the tournament on a bicycle kick in the 95th minute to push the match into extra time. Then, star striker Harry Kane gave England a lead one minute into A.E.T. to complete the comeback.

In the quarterfinals, England and Switzerland played to a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes— and after 120 minutes—before Gareth Southgate’s squad prevailed on penalties.

Then in the semis, England staged another comeback after going down 1-0 to the Netherlands in the seventh minute as an 18th minute goal from Kane, and then a 90th minute goal from Ollie Watkins, allowed the English to reach their first major tournament final on foreign soil.

As for the Spanish, they breezed through the group stage, never trailing in any match as they posted clean sheets in wins over Croatia, Italy and Albania. They then thrashed Georgia 4-1 in the round of 16, with the Georgians’ loan score coming off an own goal.

Their first bit of turbulence came in the quarters, where Spain seemed on its way to a semifinal contest as they led Germany 1-0 after 88 minutes. However, Germany got an equalizer in the 89th minute before Spain provided their last-minute heroics in extra time, as Mikel Merino scored the game-winner in the 119th minute. That set up a semifinal showdown with the top-ranked team in the tournament, No. 2 France, and things went the French’s way early with a ninth-minute goal. But La Roja responded with two first-half goals for a 2-1 win to allow them to compete for their third Euro title over the last five tournaments.

Spain's midfielder #08 Fabian Ruiz controls the ball during the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final football match between Spain and France at the Munich Football Arena in Munich on July 9, 2024. (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Spain’s success in the European Championships contrasts with England’s, as the former is a three-time Euro champion (1964, 2008, 2012), while the English have never won this tournament before. They did make the 2020 Euro Final, where they had an agonizing loss on penalty kicks to Italy. The English are seeking to become the 12th nation to win the UEFA European Championship, while Spain is looking to become the outright kings of this event as their three victories are tied with Germany for the most ever.

On paper, the Spanish have the edge as they lead the tournament with 13 goals, while they’ve allowed just .333 goals per match, which is the second-fewest amongst the 24 teams. The 13 goals are already tied for Spain’s most at any major tournament and just one behind the all-time Euros record of 14 goals by France in 1984. Luis de la Fuente’s side has scored multiple goals in all three knockout games, while England has scored multiple goals just twice all tournament—one of which came in extra time. The English have also conceded in all three knockout stage matches, only to either tie or take the lead in the 80th minute or later in all three.

But a similarity between both sides is that they possess prolific goal scorers as Kane of England and Spain’s Dani Olmo are tied for the tournament lead with three goals apiece. Additionally, England’s Bellingham and Fabian Ruiz of Spain have two goals each so who wins the Top Scorer Award will be decided on Sunday.

The 2024 European Championship Final will be the eighth meeting between England and Spain in a major men’s tournament and the first since England defeated Spain in penalties in the 1996 Euro quarterfinals. The English hold the edge with four wins, one loss and one draw, with the tie coming when they last met in the FIFA World Cup in 1982.

History will be made with either side prevailing on Sunday as England will notch their first-ever European Championship, or Spain will become the winningest nation in Euro history with a victory.