After their heartbreaking loss to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final on home soil, Gareth Southgate's England will be hoping it is second time lucky when they face Luis de la Fuente's Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Sunday.

Both sides boast some of the world's best talents and the clash could be one to remember, but if history is any indicator, it is fair to say that La Roja could have a significant advantage over the Three Lions.

Indeed, Spain have won three of the four European Championship finals they have played in, and they have won their only World Cup final appearance, which was in 2010 against the Netherlands.

In addition to this, when factoring club teams into this record, Spain or Spanish teams have won 22 of the last 22 finals they have participated in where they faced off against non-Spanish opponents.

As for England, though they did reach the last European Championship final in 2021, their only other appearance in the final of a major tournament was their 1966 World Cup win.

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at all of the major tournament finals involving England and Spain in the past.

ENGLAND

1966 World Cup final: England 4-2 West Germany

England's World Cup win in 1966 at Wembley Stadium against West Germany remains the country's only major tournament win, and the match is still revered by English football fans.

The competition itself was only contested by 16 teams, with the likes of North Korea and Portugal making their debut entries into the competition.

As for the final itself, England emerged 4-2 victors after extra time thanks to an outstanding performance from striker Geoff Hurst.

His three goals meant he became the first ever player to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final, and prior to Kylian Mbappe doing the same at the 2022 World Cup, Hurst was the only man to do so.

West Germany initially took the lead thanks to a goal from Helmut Haller in the 11th minute, before Hurst equalised in the 18th minute.

In the second half, it looked as if England would win the game in regulation time after Martin Peters's 78th-minute goal, but Wolfgang Weber managed to level the scores and force extra time.

However, Hurst would go on to score twice, in the 101st and 120th minutes, although some believe that the ball did not fully cross the line for the first of Hurst's extra-time goals.

Regardless, England went on to win their first ever World Cup and the result is regarded by many as the greatest in English football history.

Euro 2020 final: England 1-1 Italy (Italy won 3-2 on penalties)

In the summer of 2021, Gareth Southgate's side faced Italy in the final of Euro 2020 after defeating Denmark 2-1 in the semi-final.

This was a remarkable moment in the history of English football considering the national team had never before made it to a European Championship final.

Optimism was rife amongst fans, especially as the final would be played at Wembley Stadium in front of a home crowd.

After suffering horribly through the coronavirus pandemic, the opportunity to win the Euros for the first time boosted the nation's morale, and the streets of England were filled with fervent support in the build up to the match itself.

However, despite taking an early lead thanks to Luke Shaw, England were eventually taken to extra time and penalties because of Leonardo Bonucci's equaliser.

Italy missed their first penalty, while England scored their first two, but three consecutive misses by Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka meant that any lingering optimism quickly dissipated.

To make matters worse, the three penalty takers received a torrent of racist abuse following the final, which ultimately overshadowed the football on the day itself.

As for the match, Southgate faced criticism for his decision to drop his side's defensive line so deep after initially taking the lead, as it allowed Italy to push their backline forward into England's half of the pitch.

This tactical decision proved to be a costly one, and the fact the Three Lions boss did not encourage his players to target the slow and ageing Italian defence remains baffling.

SPAIN

Euro '64 final: Spain 2-1 Soviet Union

Spain's first major international honour was won against then-champions Soviet Union in 1964, with La Roja winning 2-1.

The final itself was held in Spain at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, with nearly 80,000 spectators in attendance.

The 1964 final was only the second ever edition of the European Championship and was Spain's first ever, having withdrawn from the 1960 edition.

As for the match itself, La Roja took the lead thanks to Chus Pereda, who scored after just six minutes after Marcelino Martinez won possession from the Soviet Union and crossed the ball towards him.

Spain then conceded just two minutes later as Galimzyan Khusainov equalised, but Marcelino went on to score the winner with six minutes remaining.

Euro '84 final: France 2-0 Spain

Defeat in the Euro 1984 final is the only loss in the final of a major tournament in Spain's history.

La Roja's match against France in the final was held at Parc des Princes, and more than 47,000 spectators attended.

As for the match itself, both sides had chances to take the lead in the first half, but neither could capitalise.

In the second half, it was France that struck first thanks to a goal from Michel Platini, who scored from a free kick.

Les Bleus were reduced to 10 men with just 10 minutes remaining after Yvon Le Roux was sent off for a second yellow-card offence, but this made little difference as Bruno Bellone scored a second goal for France to seal victory in stoppage time.

Euro 2008 final: Germany 0-1 Spain

Euro 2008 was the beginning of the most dominant period of any team in the history of international football.

Spain's European Championship final win against Germany at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Austria saw La Roja emerge as 1-0 winners, and this would be their first of three consecutive major tournament wins.

As for the final itself, manager Luis Aragones fielded five natural midfielders, with David Silva, Marcos Senna, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta and Xavi all starting.

The likes of Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol also started in defence, while Fernando Torres was Spain's striker in the forward line.

Spain performed well in the opening 30 minutes, creating good opportunities before Aragones's side took the lead in the 33rd minute thanks to a goal from Torres.

The striker's pace, power and skill allowed him to beat Philipp Lahm near the penalty area before he chipped the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Torres's goal would prove decisive, and the striker's performance earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Euro 2012 final: Spain 4-0 Italy

Euro 2012 saw Spain win a second consecutive European Championship and was their third overall title in the competition.

The final was held at the Olympic Stadium in Ukraine, where La Roja managed to comfortably beat Italy 4-0.

The emphatic scoreline was perhaps a fitting end to a remarkable era of success, with no nation having ever won two continental championships and a World Cup consecutively prior to Spain's reign.

Argentina have the opportunity to do so should they beat Colombia in the Copa America final on Monday, but for now Spain are the only team to have ever achieved this.

As for the match against Italy, La Roja manager Vicente del Bosque must have been impressed by his predecessor's use of five midfielders, as he decided to use six in the 2012 final.

Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Fabregas, Silva, Iniesta and Xavi all started against Italy, with Del Bosque looking to control proceedings, and based on the result it is hard to argue against his selection choices.

Goals from Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata secured victory for Spain, and the level of success achieved by La Roja in this period has led many to call them the best national team ever.

2010 World Cup final: Netherlands 0-1 Spain (a.e.t)

In between their European Championship wins in 2008 and 2012, Spain also managed to win their first ever World Cup title after a 1-0 victory against Netherlands in the final.

The competition was hosted by South Africa and the final itself was held at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg.

As for the match against the Netherlands, Del Bosque only started four natural midfielders, with David Villa and Pedro taking positions in the forward line.

The game was taken to extra time after both sides failed to score, despite each team having good chances in the first 90 minutes.

Centre-back John Heitinga was sent off for the Netherlands after receiving a second yellow card in the 109th minute.

Spain managed to make the most of their numerical advantage thanks to a goal from Iniesta in the 116th minute.
However, while the images of Iniesta wildly celebrating have become iconic, many also remember the final for an infamous incident between Alonso and Nigel de Jong, where the latter somehow avoided a red card after kicking the Spaniard in the chest.

That will have mattered little to La Roja in the end, though, and their World Cup win was their second major tournament victory of the 21st century.

It also marked their second consecutive clean sheet in tournament finals after they beat Germany 1-0 in the Euro 2008 final.

Spain and England's overall records in major finals

SPAIN

Played: 5
Won: 4
Win rate: 80%
Last win: 2012

ENGLAND

Played: 2
Won: 1
Win rate: 50%
Last win: 1966

Euro 2024 final

England and Spain have had vastly different experiences of finals at major international tournaments in the 21st century, and it is fair to say that La Roja have historically been better in these encounters.

However, given England's much more recent history of reaching the Euro 2020 final, and the fact that this is Spain's first final appearance since 2012, the outcome of Sunday's clash is far from certain.

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