UEFA Euro 2024 Final Preview & Betting Tips
Spain vs England
Berlin, Monday 15th July, 5:00am AEST
Road to the Final:
Spain: 4-1 vs Georgia (Round of 16), 2-1 A.E.T vs Germany (Quarter Final), 2-1 vs France (Semi Final)
England: 2-1 A.E.T vs Slovakia (Round of 16), 1-1: 5-3 on penalties vs Switzerland (Quarter Final), 2-1 vs Netherlands (Semi Final)
Spain and England have taken remarkably different journeys to the Final, however that will mean nothing when kick off takes place on Monday morning. Spain have been undoubtedly the best team of the tournament, with three wins in the group stage alongside wins over hosts Germany, as well as France to qualify for the Final.
England on the other hand have been far from convincing, with two draws in the group stage and two of their three knockout games going beyond 90 minutes. England have been behind in all three of their knockout games, requiring late heroics that will give their group belief on Monday regardless of the situation of the game.
England’s strongest attacking performance came in the first half of the Semi Final against the Netherlands where they created an abundance of chances. They weren’t as fluent in the second half, but Gareth Southgate produced a stroke of genius bringing on Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins who combined to score the winner in stoppage time.
Spain have been the highest scoring team at Euro 2024, scoring 13 goals from six games led by Olmo who is the equal leading scorer at the tournament with 3 goals. Spain have had nine different goalscorers at the tournament, which is remarkable given England have only scored 7 goals at the tournament.
Both teams love to possess the ball, averaging over 57% possession throughout the campaign, so whoever can control the tempo in the middle of the pitch will go a long way towards winning the game. If England can deny Spain a free flowing game, and take the game deep, they’ll trust their ability to find a way late as they have done all tournament long.
Although Spain have been the best side at Euro 2024, it’s very rare that the Final of a major tournament presents an open game with easy ball movement. If the game goes beyond 90 minutes, England will be very confident given their record late in games at this tournament. Spain haven’t been great in extra time or penalty shootouts at major tournaments over the last decade, and England will be able to hold up defensively to produce an upset.
