Euro 2024 day 31: England aiming to end trophy drought against Spain in final

The Euro 2024 final between England and Spain will be contested tonight in Berlin.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the sides have been doing ahead of the match at the Olympiastadion.

Nothing preordained

Gareth Southgate said the moments that have led to England’s appearance in the final do not mean they are destined to triumph against Spain.

Despite a number of incidents that have felt like turning points during the team’s run – including late goals from Jude Bellingham and Ollie Watkins that helped ensure passage against Slovakia and the Netherlands – the manager insisted nothing was pre-ordained ahead of the final.

“Look, I’m not a believer in fairy tales but I am a believer in dreams, and we’ve had big dreams,” said Southgate. “We’ve felt the need and the importance of that, but then you have to make those things happen.

“And fate, the run that we’ve had, the late goals, the penalties, that doesn’t equate to it being our moment. We have to make it happen.

“We have to perform at the level that we need to perform. Of course it would be a lovely story but it’s in our hands and our performance is the most important thing.”

A proud captain

Harry Kane said he is “proud to be English” as he affirmed he would happily swap individual accomplishments accrued during his career for victory against Spain.

The 30-year-old broke goalscoring records during his debut season with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga and is Euro 2024’s joint-top marksman with three goals ahead of the final.

However, the captain revealed he would trade it all in if it meant lifting the Henri Delaunay Trophy in the Olympiastadion.

“Every year that goes by you’re more motivated and you’re more determined to change that and tomorrow I have the opportunity to win one of the biggest trophies you could ever win and to make history with my nation,” he said. “I’m extremely proud to be English.

“So yeah, no question. I’d swap everything in my career to have a special night by winning.

“So it’s a lot of hard work from now until that moment and I’m pretty determined to make tomorrow night special.”

No favourites

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente rejected the idea that his team are favourites to beat England to the European crown, insisting his side are “serene” ahead of what he predicted will be an “equal” game.

“We are serene, we have never lost perspective,” he said. “We know the kind of analysis that people do on the outside but we think our own way.

“We know there is no favourite tomorrow, it is a very, very equal game. Favourites? We will leave that for betting houses and stuff like that.”

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What’s next?

Sunday – final: Spain v England, 8pm (BBC and ITV)