Euro 24 The Final Awaits: Lions Roar While France Grinds To A Stop; England Versus Spain In Final

England came from behind for a third consecutive knockout match, advancing to Sunday’s European Championship final with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands. Late game heroics have been the norm for The Three Lions who have struggled for long stretches of play during this tournament. Wednesday’s victory was just the second time in six matches that England has won before extra time or penalties.

Important late match substitutions have also been a storyline and the semifinal win was no exception. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins delivered the winner in the 90th minute against the Netherlands after Chelsea’s Cole Palmer threaded a pass through the Dutch defense. Neither player made their appearance until 80 minutes had already gone by as Gareth Southgate again found late hour magic on his bench. Palmer has become a regular second half substitution. Watkins had been an afterthought since a cameo in the group stages. Brentford’s Ivan Toney had been the favored late entering striker in England’s last two matches. The Villa man, however, seemed unsurprised by both his appearance and his heroics, recounting to the media how he had told Palmer before the match how things would end with Palmer setting up his teammate for Watkins’ first goal of the tournament.

The glorious ending was far over the horizon when England started poorly against the Dutch. Just as they had done in their previous two knockout matches, England conceded first. Xavi Simons scored for the Dutch just seven minutes into the match after taking the ball from Arsenal’s Declan Rice and easily beating Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. The early wake-up call seemed to rouse the English side to some heretofore little seen attacking play. The equalizer came by way of a penalty kick from Harry Kane at the 18-minute mark after his shot follow-through was interrupted by the Netherlands’ Denzel Dumfries’ studs. Shortly thereafter, Dumfries would clear a shot off the line fired by England’s Phil Foden. A resurgent Foden would hit the bar with another shot attempt as England applied pressure through the balance of the first half. After the break, that attacking intent would seem a mirage as England played most of the second half in the manner of previous matches, generating little but snores, and a few catcalls, from English supporters. Palmer and Watkins would then enter and change all that.

The Three Lions now move on to their second consecutive European Championship Final, this time facing Spain in Berlin on Sunday. While England may have the best team on paper, Spain has played like the best team in the tournament to date. Tuesday’s 2-1 win over France marked Spain’s sixth victory in six tournament matches, outscoring opponents by a 13-3 goal margin. Just as England would do the next day, Spain fell behind early in its semifinal match. France’s Kylian Mbappe discarded his mask for the semifinal and flashed some of his brilliance with a cross to find former PSG teammate R. Kolo Muani for a French goal and early lead nine minutes into the match. Suspensions affecting two of its defensive starters saw Spain fielding 38-year-old former Manchester City player Jesus Navas lined up at right back facing the now maskless wonder. Early returns from the mismatch seemed promising for France, but Mbappe would revert to his quieter tournament form until only five minutes remained in the match when he skied a golden opportunity well high of the crossbar. Meanwhile, Spain came back from their early deficit in historic fashion. Lamine Yamal, at 16 years of age, became the youngest goal scorer in Euro history, knotting the match at the 21-minute mark with a rocketed strike from 25 yards out. France midfielder Adrien Rabiot had taunted the young Spanish prodigy in the press leading up to the match and it was fittingly Rabiot who failed to properly close down the Barcelona phenom before Yamal fired his equalizer into the top corner. Just four minutes later Spain would take the lead when Dani Almo scored his third goal of the tournament. Almo, an RB Leipzig midfielder expected to move in the transfer market this summer, became the unlikely Golden Boot leader with his goal, currently besting five other three-time scorers due to Almo’s greater assist total. After 25 minutes of exciting play, the Spaniards uncharacteristically pulled back on the reins and absorbed pressure in an effective match ending strategy almost spoiled by Mbappe’s late opportunity.

While much attention deservedly focused on Yamal’s historic blast and Olmo’s breakout tournament, Spain’s midfield dominated the French. Manchester City midfielder Rodri and midfield partner Fabian Ruiz have had outstanding tournaments and will present a challenge for England’s evolving midfield which now seems to be crystallizing around Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo. Having now consecutively knocked off two of the tournament favorites in Germany and France, Spain will enter the final as favorites against England. Their Spanish opponent will represent a major step up in class for much criticized England Manager Gareth Southgate and his Premier League centric side. The much-maligned Southgate, however, looked like a genius on Wednesday with his substitution of the game winning combination of Watkins and Palmer. With a depth of talent that Southgate often does not seem to know what to do with, there remains the thought that England still has not produced its best game despite progressing to the final.

Can the best team on paper realize its potential to win a first European Championship and its first international tournament victory since 1966’s World Cup, or will Spain win its fourth Euro title, breaking a tie with Germany for the most championships in the history of the competition? UEFA could not have hoped for a better matchup to end this tournament.