Ahead of Sunday’s Euro 2024 final between Spain and England, Sports Mole picks a combined XI from both squads.
One year on from the women’s teams clashing in the World Cup final, and the Under-21s scrapping for continental stardom, Spain and England fight for the ultimate Euro 2024 prize in the form of the Henri Delaunay Trophy on Sunday evening.
A fervent Olympiastadion atmosphere awaits both sets of players in the German capital of Berlin, where Spain arguably arrive at the favourites as they bid to win an unprecedented fourth title at the men’s European Championship.
Luis de la Fuente‘s men have won all of their games at the summer tournament – sinking Georgia, Germany and France in what was billed as the tougher side of the knockout draw – while England have only prevailed twice in normal time.
However, the Three Lions proved their mental grit in an extra-time success versus Slovakia, a penalty-shootout triumph against Switzerland and an unforgettable beating of the Netherlands, which saw Gareth Southgate take the Euro 2020 runners-up to consecutive continental finals.
Wise old heads and vivacious young talents – some of whom have been labelled generational by keen onlookers – will be sharing the field on Sunday, and here, Sports Mole picks a combined XI for the Euro 2024 final, using only players expected to be available for the match.
A goalkeeper who perhaps does not receive as many plaudits as he should, Unai Simon actually sits above Jordan Pickford when it comes to save percentage at Euro 2024, stopping 78.6% of attempts compared to Pickford’s 76.5%. However, the England number one has proved his major tournament calibre time and time again – from saving Manuel Akanji‘s penalty to that brilliant reaction stop in the second half of the semi-final – and he takes the gloves on this occasion.
Despite seeing red – quite literally – in the quarter-final against Germany, Dani Carvajal has been in exceptional form for club and country over the past 12 months and will come straight back into the Spain XI on Sunday after serving his suspension. Kyle Walker, meanwhile, may have to take on a more defensive role in a back three, but he has made a more significant attacking impact – ranking inside the top 10 of players for progressive passes and passes into the final third – and he just edges out his equally experienced colleague.
Had Luke Shaw been fit and strutting his stuff on the left throughout the tournament, he would have been a routine pick, but the Manchester United man has now gone almost five months without starting a game. In contrast, Marc Cucurella – who has had a troubled time of things at Chelsea – has defied pre-Euros expectations to keep Bundesliga winner Alejandro Grimaldo out of the team, and he has made more tackles and blocks (nine each) than any of his teammates, so he keeps Shaw out of this XI too.
However, there is another Mancunian representative in the backline in the shape of John Stones, who may have fallen out of favour under Pep Guardiola earlier this year but has continued to prove his worth to England alongside fellow standout Marc Guehi. The Crystal Palace man can count himself unfortunate not to make it in on current form, but Stones’s former Citizens teammate Aymeric Laporte has not lost his nous since joining the Saudi Pro League and boasts the highest progressive carrying distance at the Euros with 1,165 yards; Stones coincidentally sits second in that chart with 1,094.
Onto potentially the most straightforward selection of our Euros final XI; as he has done for Manchester City for a number of years, midfield fulcrum Rodri has made the Roja engine room tick – despite having to serve a suspension against Albania – which he responded to in perfect fashion by chipping in with a goal against Georgia in the last 16. Fail to nullify the 28-year-old, and England might just have to kiss their chances of Euros glory goodbye.
Nevertheless, two white-clad midfielders join Rodri in our fearsome three-man engine room, including Jude Bellingham, whom England would not be in the final without. While the exhausted Real Madrid man may not have hit his same domestic heights, his goal-of-the-tournament contender against Slovakia ventured into heroic territory, and no player has won more fouls at the Euros than the 21-year-old, who is also only behind Kylian Mbappe for successful take-ons. Honourable mentions go to Kobbie Mainoo, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Olmo – and of course the injured Pedri – but Arsenal’s £105m man Declan Rice was our man of the match in England’s last-16 victory and has won more tackles than any player at the tournament. Of course, we must not forget he was at fault for the Netherlands’ opener in the semi-final, but that was one minor blot on the notebook, and he helped to spare his own blushes later on.
Amid frequent calls for Southgate to take the boldest decision possible and expel Harry Kane from the XI, the England captain is now one of the leading contenders for the Golden Boot, sitting on three tournament goals alongside five other players, including Spain star Olmo. Granted, the Bayern Munich man should have been in the box to receive a cutback once or twice, and his famed link-up play has not quite been there, but there was no chance of Alvaro Morata pipping him to the number nine spot.
However, one of Kane’s fellow attacking stalwarts – Phil Foden – has been controversially overlooked for a spot in the attacking trident, having well and truly divided opinion with his performances on the left and in an inverted role this summer. Instead, the versatile Bukayo Saka – who scored a scorcher against Switzerland before exorcising his penalty demons in the same game – is shifted over to his less favoured side to make room for the hottest new kid on the Spanish block.
While Nico Williams‘s performances in Germany could earn him a big-money transfer sooner rather than later, even the Athletic Bilbao wing wizard must bow to the brilliance of Lamine Yamal, who has been on a record-breaking spree this summer. The youngest man to play at the Euros, the youngest man to score at the Euros – achieving that feat with a wonder strike against France in the semis – and the first teenager to set up three goals at a single European Championships, the 2007-born phenom has been carrying the weight of expectation on his embryonic shoulders exceptionally well for both club and country and certainly warrants a winners’ medal around his neck.
Read more on Spain vs England
No Data Analysis info