•England’s forward Ollie Watkins celebrates goal with teammates
With anxiety to end a 58-year search for success, it’s high time the Three Lions of England came out of their cage to roar on their biggest continental outing yet.
England face Spain in the Euro 2024 final today, Sunday, July 14, at Berlin’s Olympiastadion — their second successive European Championship final after their Euro loss to Italy four years ago on home soil.
They lost the final to the Azzurri on penalties after a 1-1 full-time draw. The trio of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho missed their spot kicks.
With a few hours to kick-off, the English men’s team has been presented with another golden route to victory, to write their names in the indelible sand of the nation’s rich football history.
The match venue will no doubt be painted in mixed colours of white and red as supporters from both sides have flooded the streets of Berlin in anticipation of the much-coveted continental trophy.
The English team last won a major trophy on July 30, 1966, when Sir Alf Ramsey’s side won the World Cup.
England have “qualified for 20 major tournaments under 11 managers without ever escaping the storyline of disappointment,” the BBC said.
Gareth Southgate’s squad boasts of some of the biggest names in world football; the likes of Jude Bellingham, Saka, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, among others.
However, it’s no understatement that the country’s performance so far has been nothing short of a disappointment, at least not the one you would expect of a younger squad with an average age of 26.1 years.
The squad equally has seven Champions League winners.
With an average run of only three wins across six matches played so far, England scored seven goals in contrast to Spain’s 13.
“I’m not a believer in fairy tales but I am a believer in dreams.
“Fate, the run that we’ve had, the late goals, the penalties, that doesn’t equate to it being our moment,” Southgate admitted during a pre-match conference yesterday.
“We have to make it happen tomorrow and perform at the level that we need to perform,” the manager charged.
The Three Lions were twice on the brink of elimination before their eventual 2-1 wins in both last two matches.
The first one came during the Round of 16 match against Slovakia. Bellingham secured a stoppage-time equaliser with an overhead kick landing into the bottom right corner of the post.
Kane’s header in the first of the extra 30 minutes sealed the victory for the Three Lions, guaranteeing their progression in the tournament.
Afterwards, Southgate’s charges faced the Netherlands in the semi-final, another hurdle to scale in the semi-final.
Dutch sensation, Xavi Simons unleashed a stunning shot in the 7th minute before it was cancelled by Kane with a well-placed penalty kick. As the attack went underway, with pressure mounting before the end of normal time, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins came on to rescue the Three Lions.
Watkins received a through ball from fellow substitute, Palmer, before slotting the ball into the Dutch goalpost.
— Ready to swap career for Euro win —
In a final pre-match conference yesterday, Kane had stated his readiness to win the Euro championship glory with England.
He said, “It’s no secret I haven’t won a team trophy, and every year that goes by, I’m more motivated to change that.
“Tomorrow night, I have the chance to win one of the biggest you could ever win and make history with my nation.
“No question I’d swap everything I’ve done in my career to have a special night and a win tomorrow evening.”
As the hands of the clock go tick-tock, so does the wait for Southgate and his charges for glory in faraway Berlin draw close.
