GARETH SOUTHGATE believes that his English team will have to perform perfectly to beat Spain and win Euro 2024.
But the Three Lions coach believes his side’s rollercoaster journey to Sunday’s final in Berlin was ideal preparation for winning their first major tournament on foreign soil.
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Southgate said: “We have to be perfect to win this game and we will have to find everything we have within us.
“They are a very good side. They are precisely favorites, they have been the best team.
“They have an extra day. In the last three finals it was quite significant, so we have to recover.
Spain won the semi-final 24 hours before England beat the Netherlands on Wednesday – and Italy, Portugal and Spain have won the last three tournaments after playing in the previous semi-final.
Southgate added: “But we are there and there is no doubt that this new group has come together so well and learned so much from these six games.
“We have players who have played a lot of big games, so they will know what is needed that night.
“But in the coming days we will have to be perfectly prepared, as it is a very quick turnaround.”
The England team completed an indoor recovery session yesterday after returning to their base in Blankenhain following their 2-1 semi-final victory over the Netherlands in Dortmund.
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You could say it wasn’t pretty, but England are in the final… and we’re peaking at the right time, says Jack Wilshere
AFTER a tough tournament, what an opportunity Gareth Southgate and his team will have to finish in the best way possible, writes Jack Wilshere.
We could have liked a team that played better football. But it’s a results business.
Germany, Italy, France, Portugal and of course the Netherlands would love to be where we are.
People will say we are lucky because we are on this side of the draw.
But we won the group. France did not do so and then ran to Spain.
You might say it wasn’t that pretty, but we’re there.
Gareth and his coaches will not have been happy with some of the performances.
But I liked the way Gareth and his team handled it.
There was no panic leaving the camp.
They all delivered the same message: ‘We know we can do better, but we’re still here.’
And on Sunday they will be in Berlin to play against Spain.
They will probably have to produce two halves of football as good as the first against the Netherlands to beat them.
We got better as the tournament went on and that’s how you win things.
You want to peak in the final.
If Gareth can lead England to the big trophy we’ve all been waiting for, it will be the perfect response to the criticism and a brilliant day for us all.
Read Jack Wilshere’s England v Netherlands verdict in full.
Or check out all of columnist SunSport Jack’s views on Euro 2024…
Kieran Trippier is hoping to be fit after suffering a groin injury on Wednesday, but Luke Shaw could still start his first game of the tournament on the left.
Harry Kane hopes to overcome the foot problem he suffered after being kicked by Denzel Dumfries.
Inside Lamine Yamal’s brilliant and disconcerting story – from bathing Messi to doing homework while winning euros
LAMINE YAMAL has confirmed his status as football’s next superstar at Euro 2024 – but has only played 11-a-side matches for four years, writes Jack Rosser.
The incredible 16-year-old Spaniard scored the goal of the tournament so far against France as La Roja sealed their place in the final.
But his first five years at Barcelona’s academy were spent playing seven-a-side football, until he was aged 12 in 2020, when he finally got a chance in 11-a-side games.
Yamal’s story is baffling, brilliant and almost unbelievable in equal measure.
He is a boy with a Moroccan father and an Equatorial Guinea mother, who turns 17 tomorrow and was cradled by football royalty at just six months old.
Stunning photos of Yamal as a baby being held and bathed by Messi, taken for a Barcelona charity calendar 16 years ago, resurfaced this week.
He hasn’t restricted his brush with greatness to Barcelona either, with images of Yamal as an academy player walking around as a mascot for Spain and Real Madrid icon Sergio Ramos at an El Clasico in 2016.
There is a touch of destiny in this jewel, Spain’s “little MVP”, as his teammate Nico Williams nicknamed him.
Yamal has been doing his homework in his spare time and received his test results during the tournament. He passed, obviously.
He is now the youngest goalscorer at the Euros, also becoming the youngest player to start a major semi-final – taking the title from Pelé.
But it’s Yamal’s humble approach on and off the field that most impresses everyone he meets.
And French star Adrien Rabiot probably felt quite embarrassed as he boarded his plane back from Germany.
He tried to intimidate Yamal before the semi-final clash – telling Yamal he “needs to do more”.
Was that good enough then? Yamal responded with an unforgettable goal and a man-of-the-match performance.
A season that began with a pre-season game against Tottenham, where Yamal stood out but was overshadowed by Oliver Skipp, who scored two goals, will end on the biggest stage European football has to offer on Sunday.
Being overshadowed by Skipp and surpassing Pelé’s records isn’t a bad year’s work – imagine what he’ll do when he grows up.
Read all about Lamine Yamal’s incredible rise in full…
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
