Spain could break a 40-year European Championships goalscoring record when they clash with England in Sunday’s final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Luis de la Fuente‘s Spain could break a 40-year goalscoring record when they lock horns with England in Sunday’s mouthwatering Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
La Roja are regarded by many as the favourites to win a fourth men’s Euros title in the German capital, adding to their triumphs from the 1964, 2008 and 2012 tournaments.
No nation has ever won four senior men’s European titles before, and De la Fuente’s men have progressed to the Berlin final with a perfect record of six wins from their opening six matches.
Spain made light work of the so-called group of death with Albania, Italy and Croatia, where they scored five goals and conceded none to take a perfect nine points, becoming the only side at the current tournament to win all of their group games.
Georgia then took a shock lead against De la Fuente’s men in the last 16, only for Spain to emphatically respond with four goals of their own, before a gripping 2-1 triumph over Germany in the quarter-finals after extra time.
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Spain out to break France record in Euro 2024 final
After again shipping first to France in their semi-final encounter, La Roja fought back through Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo in another 2-1 success, which saw La Roja score their 12th and 13th goals of the tournament.
Spain are now just one shy of equalling the all-time record for a single edition of the men’s Euros, set by France back in the 1984 tournament, where Les Bleus found the back of the net 14 times en route to the title.
As a result, La Roja – who were coincidentally France’s victims in the final that year – will set a new single-tournament goalscoring record at the European Championships if they can net twice at the Olympiastadion on Sunday.
That feat is just one of a few on the line for Spain, who could also become the first European nation to win four successive World Cup/Euros finals, having conquered the continent in 2008 and 2012 either side of their South Africa stardom in 2010.
Furthermore, six victories is already the most that one side has achieved in a single edition of a European Championships, and La Roja also emerged victorious in the 2022-23 Nations League.
De la Fuente: ‘Spain are in their best moment’
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The 1984 loss to France represents the only time that Spain have been beaten in a World Cup/Euros final, and De la Fuente believes that his crop are in their “best moment”, having now won eight games on the spin in all tournaments.
“We are happy, excited and very pleased. Tomorrow is a final, very difficult, complicated, because we are both great teams, the best, that’s why we are in the final and, of course, it will be a very balanced match,” De la Fuente told a press conference.
“I know that, many times, the analysis has to be done so that people understand that in these very close matches, it is really the details that decide the games. I repeat again and again, let’s not make mistakes and the one who makes the fewest mistakes has the best chance of winning.
“We are very focused, the team is in the best moment and has recovered from all the inconveniences we have had. Right now we are in an exceptional moment to face a final of this importance.”
Spain and England crossed paths in two major tournament finals last year, as the Three Lions defeated La Roja 1-0 in the Under-21 Euros showpiece, before Spain beat the Lionesses by the same scoreline in the Women’s World Cup final.
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