Millions of England fans across the country are gathering ahead of the Three Lions’ European Championship final against Spain this evening.
Supporters are gathering in fan parks and public viewing areas in the hope of seeing Gareth Southgate’s men make history and lift England’s first major tournament trophy in 58 years.
Tens of thousands of fans have also made the journey to be in Germany, with the Prime Minister and Prince of Wales set to be among those in attendance.
Speaking ahead of the final, the England men’s manager said he hoped his side could bring “happiness to our nation” by winning only their second major trophy.
England will take on Spain in the final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, with kick-off at 8pm this evening.
Follow i‘s live blog for the latest updates
Gareth Southgate is making England more respectful on and off the football pitch
“Governance of a country has nothing to do with a study of its football fixtures.” So said former Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who lost a General Election only days after England suffered a shock defeat to West Germany in the World Cup of 1970. He didn’t think there was any correlation between national politics and our national game. I’m not so sure these days, and neither, by the sound of it, is Sir Keir Starmer.
The serendipity of England’s achievements at the Euros coming shortly after a landslide Labour victory has certainly not been lost on our current Prime Minister, who, in the wake of the quarter-final victory over Switzerland in a penalty shoot-out, was quick to reference that England had “not missed a penalty” under his administration.
Less than a week later, he found himself in the Oval Office with Joe Biden, who, likewise, knew where to place the credit for England’s semi-final triumph over The Netherlands. “It’s all because of the Prime Minister,” said the American President. Our PM bashfully assented, echoing his previous line by saying that England “had not lost a game under the Labour government.”
You will not find Gareth Southgate taking responsibility for the UK’s new political settlement, but the England manager’s style of leadership – modest, grounded and largely undemonstrative – is certainly in tune with a more reflective, less flamboyant way of doing politics that, thus far, seems to characterise the newly installed government.
Read more about this story from Simon Kelner here.
‘You have to have faith,’ says England fan in Berlin
Ian Grant from Milton Keynes is in Berlin ahead of the Euros final.
He told i: “You have to have faith.
“Ivan Toney will come on and bundle it over the line for a last minute England winner!”
Steve Eva, another England fan in Berlin, said: “This is our time.
“I’ve got the same feeling I had before the 1980 FA Cup Final.
“We knew when we played Arsenal we would win. That’s going to happen tonight.”
‘This is our time!’: England fans in Berlin hopeful ahead of finals clash
Kirsty Payne, who is from the Cotswolds and is visiting Berlin for the Euros final, said: “We’ve been lucky throughout this tournament.
“We are underdogs against Spain. We need one more bit of luck and for the boys to pull together and play like we know they can.
“This is our time!”
In pictures: England fans celebrating in Leicester Square, London
‘The soccer is here to connect us – I hope fans don’t start fighting each other,’ Berlin resident says
Alisha, a local resident in Berlin, told i: “I haven’t seen anything violent or chaotic. I’m happy that Europeans are coming here and having a great time and meeting each other. The soccer is here to connect us and there’s always some individual people who don’t follow the rules, but mostly people are just having a great time and they are enjoying being part of this.
“I hope they connect with the locals and the other teams, and celebrate the soccer together and don’t start fighting against each other.”
England Euro 2024 squad in full
Gareth Southgate has finalised his 26-man England squad for Euro 2024, a tournament which the Three Lions enter as favourites.
Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and James Maddison were among the controversial omissions from the final group, which was whittled down from an initial 33-strong provisional squad.
Captain Harry Kane will lead the star-studded squad in Germany, with other names including Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice, and Manchester City’s Phil Foden.
England are in Group C, alongside Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.
Read more from George Simms about England’s Euro 2024 team, including a brief bio of each player, here.
England fans celebrate with German police in Berlin
England fans have been spotted chanting alongside German police officers in Berlin ahead of the Euros clash with Spain.
German police in good spirits with England fans out in Berlin this afternoon.
— Football Away Days (@FBAwayDays) July 14, 2024
Fair play to them!pic.twitter.com/5DghMkojql
Fans also appeared to gather around the England team hotel in Berlin earlier today.
In pictures: England fans gather in Berlin ahead of Euros clash with Spain
England fans have been gathering around the Olympiastadion in Berlin ahead of their Euros clash with Spain this evening.
Meet the French referee taking charge of England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain
England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain on Sunday will be officiated by French referee Francois Letexier.
Gareth’s Southgate’s side reached the Berlin showpiece after beating the Netherlands in Dortmund on Wednesday night.
That game featured a highly-controversial refereeing decision, as German official Felix Zwayer awarded England a penalty for a foul on Harry Kane.
Meanwhile, Spain have won all of their six Euro 2024 matches and go into the final as favourites.
Here’s everything you need to know about Letexier and the officiating team for the Euro 2024 final.
Who is Francois Letexier?
Letexier is a 35-year-old French referee, who predominantly officiates in Ligue 1 but has been on the Fifa international match roster since 2017.
He is the youngest referee to take charge of a game at Euro 2024, something of an officiating prodigy if there is such a thing.
Read more about this story from George Simms here.
In pictures: England fans gather in Trafalgar Square in London ahead of Euros final
Southgate issues rallying cry to England fans ahead of historic Euros clash with Spain
Good afternoon and welcome to i‘s liveblog for the 2024 Uefa European Championships final where England are set to face Spain.
Gareth Southgate has issued a rallying cry to England fans ahead of the Euro 2024 final, telling them that his side is “grateful” for their support throughout the tournament and that he hoped for the “same again” during the match against Spain.
In a video posted on social media by the England football team, Southgate said: “To all of the fans that travelled to the games, I know there have been some epic journeys, hours and hours of travel, so grateful for that support.
“It’s meant so much to us in the stadium, and it’s so important for the players, so same again please for the final.
“To everybody at home, we’ve for a long time wanted to create memories for everybody.
“I think we’ve had a lot over the last seven, eight years. This tournament has thrown up more, the knockout phase in particular.
“I think we’ve shown amazing resilience, never say die spirit, composure under pressure at different moments.
“So, we’re looking forward to this challenge. We know we’ve got to be exceptional again against Spain. But we’re in here fighting and we hope to do you proud again.”
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