England want to avenge their defeat in the last Euro final and have an extra “fire in their belly” to beat Spain on Sunday, said Harry Kane.
Speaking at a press conference alongside the manager Gareth Southgate Before the final in Berlin, the Three Lions captain said the team would draw inspiration from their painful penalty shootout defeat to Italy three years ago.
O 30 year old striker admitted it is “difficult to erase the memory”, but said the players have “extra hunger and fire in their bellies to make sure this one goes our way”.
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“It would mean everything,” he said.
Southgate, for his part, said England must “do everything right” to win Spain in the Euro 2024 final, adding: “We would love to give everyone another special night tomorrow.”
His team will face a Spanish team that has been in excellent form, winning all six games played so far in the tournament, including victories over Germany and France.
But England themselves will have a lot of confidence going into the game after a strong performance in the 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-finals and beating Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals.
The England manager said: “I don’t believe in fairy tales, but I believe in dreams.”
“We had big dreams, we felt the importance of it. But you have to make these things happen.
“The destiny, the run we had, the late goals, the penalties, that doesn’t mean it’s our moment. We have to make it happen tomorrow and be at the level we need.
“It would be a lovely story, but it’s our hands and our performance that are the most important things.”
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Southgate showed his team photos of Trafalgar Square celebrating past successes of the English rugby and cricket teams and said: “When you are trying to create dreams, you want to have a clear picture of what you see in the end.
“I think it lights a little fire for some people and for others it’s different, but we know what it would mean for everyone at home, for us as a team and for the hard work that has gone into it.”
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He said England will have to be “very well organized” against Spain, who press with “real intensity” and maintain possession well.
Southgate wants to see a repeat of the performance against the Netherlands and said he was pleased with his side’s progress on penalties.
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When he took charge of England in 2016, he quickly created an 18-month task force to end the mess of six out of seven penalty shootout defeats.
“We wanted to take control of these processes, to feel in command of them. This is helped by the fact that we have more players who regularly take penalties for their clubs,” he says.
“But even so, we have already won three of our last four [shootouts]which is a big difference from where we were before.
“A lot of people can be very satisfied with this work and we have to be ready if this is needed tomorrow.”
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