Spain and England to meet in European Championship final in front of Prince William and King Felipe

BERLIN (AP) — Spain and England were close to kickoff at the European Championship final, with much of the focus on a teenage prodigy and whether one of the world’s most underachieving teams can end its decades-long wait for a title.

The match is scheduled to start Sunday at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) in Berlin and is expected to be attended by Prince William, Spain’s King Felipe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Keir Starmer, Britain’s new prime minister.

Spain is bidding to win the Euros for a record fourth time, breaking a tie with Germany/West Germany, and for the first time since 2012. The team’s new superstar is winger Lamine Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday.

Defenders Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand returned to the starting lineup after suspensions for Spain, with Yamal part of the front three.

The only change to England’s team saw Luke Shaw return at left back, in place of Kieran Trippier, for his first start for club or country since February.

England, which lays claim to be the birthplace of soccer, hasn’t won a major title since the 1966 World Cup and that was on home soil. This is the team’s second straight European Championship final, having lost in a penalty shootout in the final to Italy three years ago.

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The teams have taken different paths to the final, which will take place at Berlin’s Olympiastadion — the 71,000-seat venue built for the 1936 Olympic Games and which hosted the 2006 World Cup final that featured Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt.

Spain has won all six of its matches and is widely regarded as the best team at Euro 2024, having seen off Germany and France in the knockout stage. England was unimpressive in the group stage and has shown resilience in coming from behind in all three of its knockout-stage games.

In downtown Berlin, England fans vastly outnumbered those from Spain, gathering in large numbers in front of the Brandenburg Gate and other locations, singing and drinking beer.

Chants of “God save our King,” “Hey Jude” — after England midfielder Jude Bellingham — and “Football’s coming home” could be heard from England supporters beside the Spree River.

Spain already had an early win Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz capturing his second straight Wimbledon men’s singles title by beating Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz was asked about it on court, and the crowd started booing.

“I’ve already done my job,” he said, smiling, “so let’s see the football.”

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Teams:

Spain: Unai Simón, Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Fabián Ruiz, Rodri, Nico Williams, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Álvaro Morata.

England: Jordan Pickford, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Marc Guehi, Luke Shaw, Declan Rice, Kobbie Mainoo, Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Harry Kane.

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AP sports writer Ciaran Fahey in Berlin contributed to this report.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024