By Emeka Ugwuanyi
The Spain vs England match will kick off at 8pm BST on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany.
According to analysis by the INDEPENDENT Newspaper, England will continue to show improvement, but it is hard to see how they will be a match from Spain, who have already come up against Europe’s best in the competition, compared to the easier route for Southgate’s men. Spain 1-1 England (Spain to win in extra time)
England reached their second major final under Gareth Southgate with victory over the Netherlands and will take on Spain in Berlin as they seek to end a run of 58 years without a major men’s trophy.
Ollie Watkins scored a stunning late winning goal to set England on the road to Berlin, just as the match looked like it would be headed for extra time, and even penalties.
For large parts of the clash with the Dutch, England looked a different side to the one who struggled to create clear-cut chances against Slovakia, and Kobbie Mainoo and Phil Foden showed their best form of the tournament.
Spain will be a different challenge. They have come through the significantly harder side of the draw, beating hosts Germany and World Cup finalists France on their route to the final, and will have had an extra day of rest compared to England, having played their semi-final the previous day.
Southgate is likely to have some decisions to make for the final. Luke Shaw has been playing an increasingly bigger role in the quarter-final and semi-final, and might be considered fit enough to start, in place of Kieran Trippier.
Predicted line-ups
England XI: Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka, Mainoo, Rice, Shaw; Foden, Kane, Bellingham.
Spain XI: Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Olmo, Rodri Fabian Ruiz; Yamal, Morata, Williams.
