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11 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 JULY 2024 KARL AZZOPARDI kazzopardi@mediatoday.com.mt English redemption or Spanish triumph: who will conquer Europe? IT all boils down to this – will Spain become the record hold- ers, or will England redeem themselves three years on from the Euro final it lost against It- aly on penalties? Just two teams remain at Euro 2024 and for the second suc- cessive European champion- ship, one of them is the English national team. But with Spain outclassing France on Tuesday to set up a blockbuster final in Berlin, the jury is still out on who will come out on top. Silky Spain The Spanish were the first nation to book a spot in the fi- nal. In their semi-final against France, they conceded after just nine minutes when French forward Kolo Muani connected with a Kylian Mbappé cross to put the French in the lead. But Spain was not going to make it easy for their oppo- nents, as wonderkid Lamine Yamal's shot from outside the box drew them level after just seven minutes. It was an all-Spanish assault from then on, with Dani Ol- mo's delicate footwork putting arguably the best side of the tournament in the lead. Nothing over the past three and a half weeks has been easi- er on the eye than Spain in full flow, and there is no doubt they deserve their place in the tour- nament's 51st match. On Tuesday night, they be- came the first team in history to win six games at a single Eu- ropean Nations championship. France did find ways past the Spanish back line and more than once got the better of their press, but their finishing was poor. Mbappé and Her- nandez were among those who had good opportunities but both failed to hit the target. Emboldened England Despite their underwhelming performances throughout the tournament, England played their best game against the Netherlands in the semi-final. Manager Gareth Southgate has been on a bit of a bumpy ride to Berlin while the Span- ish, now favourites to lift the trophy, have dazzled their way through the tournament. The Three Lions conceded early on against the Dutch, but thanks to a controversial pen- alty, and a last-minute Ollie Watkins winner, secured their second final appearance in as much as many tournaments. England trailed in all three knockout games and won only two of its six matches inside 90 minutes. Southgate has been under pressure for the English being defensive and mostly un- interesting to watch, but the results have been good enough. England has made semi-finals at three of the past four major tournaments and has a talent- ed squad on paper, but has also been downright dull to watch for much of this tournament. England probably played its best game of the tournament against the Dutch, but Spain is a step up in level of compe- tition. All to play for Of the six players tied on three goals, only Kane and Dani Ol- mo are still in the tournament, while Jude Bellingham and Fabian Ruiz have both scored twice. Ruiz was on target in Spain's opening game against Croatia, also in Berlin, and they have never looked back since that 3-0 win. Can Kane and The Three Lions go one better than Eu- ro 2020? If they play like they did in the first half against the Netherlands, they have a chance. And they might only need one or two goals to lift the trophy. Euros finals tend to be tight, and in the seven going back to 1996, four have ended all square after 90 minutes, and two have finished 1-0. The odd one out was in 2012 when the Spanish thumped It- aly 4-0 in their last EURO finals appearance. Can Kane and The Three Lions go one better than Euro 2020? If they play like they did in the first half against the Netherlands, they have a chance.