Euro 2024 final: England v Spain in numbers

How ready are you for the big game?

Whether you’ve followed the tournament or not, it is bound to come up in conversation today. If impressing your friends with random football facts is important to you then read on, we’ve got you covered.

Since the turn of the millennium, The Spanish Fury have come out on top in the Euros finals of 2008 and 2012 (and won the World Cup in 2010) but the Three Lions’ desire to end 58 years of hurt could see them defy the odds.

While English hearts may dare to believe, what do the cold hard facts say?

For many fans, the heartache after England’s Lionesses lost to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final will still be raw.

The good news is England’s men have a strong record against Spain – of the three times they have faced off at the Euros, the Three Lions triumphed in the previous two.

But Spain have the forward momentum in this tournament, according to the latest official stats published by UEFA.

They’ve scored nearly twice as many times as England – 13 goals compared to seven. They’ve also notched up 42 more attempts on goal, had more runs into the opposition’s penalty area and fired more crosses and corners.

Spain are also more willing to get their boots dirty, committing 83 fouls to the Lions’ 50 and picking up more yellow cards (latest score is 15 – 11, in case you’re wondering). Daniel Carvajal was even sent off in the quarter-final against Germany.

Let’s face it – penalties might decide the result.

England can take comfort from their recent performance when put on the spot: they’ve scored all six of their penalties this tournament. Spain haven’t scored any. Though, to be fair, they haven’t taken any either.

The squads are closely matched when it comes to important things like age, height, and top running speed. But England have covered more ground, running 737 km (456 miles) compared with Spain’s 724 km (450 miles).

Declan Rice has outdone all other players in the tournament, running a whopping 75km (46.6 miles) so far. That’s the same as running up the pitch 745.5 times.

Both sides have teenagers making their senior international tournament debuts.

Lamine Yamal, the Spanish prodigy, was just 16 when the Euros started (he turned 17 on Saturday).

Kobbie Mainoo, England’s breakout midfield star, is a worldly-wise 19 by comparison.

And what about the captains? Harry Kane and Alvaro Morata are closely matched in age and height and have recorded a near-identical top speed of 32 km (19.88 miles) per hour this tournament.

But Kane has outrun his Mediterranean rival, covering 63 km (39.15 miles) compared with Morata’s 45 km (about 28 miles).

If the Euros was a long-distance race, England would have this in the bag.

Local rivalries dominate football. So where in England is best represented in the 2024 squad?

At 31%, more players in this England squad were born in the North West than any other region.

Of the 94 different players selected for the Euros between 2004 and 2024, more than half came from the North West or London.

The East Midlands is represented for the first time since 2004, with Ivan Toney taking over the region’s mantle from Emile Heskey.

There have been no players from the East for two Euros in a row now – the region was last represented by Stevenage’s Jack Wilshere in 2016.

Outside penalties, only one England player scored at the last Euro finals – London-born Luke Shaw. Hopefully, that list will grow on Sunday.