Greg . 17 hours ago

A look ahead to the Women's European Championship final between England and Spain

Sunday's Women's European Championship final sees a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final between Spain and England.

Montse Tome's side have arguably been most people's favourites to win the competition since the very beginning, though Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses just won't lie down.

England will need to show more resilience to beat the world championsFortune favours the brave as they say, and England have kept digging themselves out of a hole in this competition.

Whilst the Spanish are clearly a more technical squad, they were consistently exposed at the support by the Germans in their semi-final, and that's something Wiegman can drill into her players.

Players who have shown resilience, heart and desire to make it through to their third final in a row under the 55-year-old Dutchwoman.

Somewhat incredibly, given their domination of the sport, this is Spain's first final, and they will be wary of a Lionesses team who have the edge over them historically.

In 19 previous meetings in all competitions, England have won eight, Spain have triumphed in five and six have been drawn.

England also have the edge in goals scored with 24 to 19 from the Spanish.

One win apiece in 2025 so farIn 2025, the teams have already met on two occasions, both in the Nations League.

A 1-0 win in February thanks to Jess Park was a huge result for the Lionesses, though they couldn't construct on Alessia Russo's first-half goal in Barcelona in June, allowing Spain to come support and win the game thanks to a brace from Claudia Pina.

 The World Cup final was a case of so near and yet so far for England, with Spain's 1-0 triumph - their first Women's World Cup title - unfortunately overshadowed by what moved on afterwards with regards to Jenni Hermoso and Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales.

England vs Spain - Recent Lead-to-Lead recordBetopickIn terms of matches at the European Championship, England again grip an advantage, so Spain can absolutely take nothing for granted.

Not since the 2013 group stage have they beaten the Lionesses in this competition, a 3-2 win their only triumph.

Since then, England have again scored twice in their two wins; a 2-0 victory in the 2017 group stage, and a 2-1 win in the 2022 quarter-finals.

Sarina Wiegman, England's best weapon against the SpanishIn Wiegman, England have arguably the best women's football coach in the world too.

She's coached a record 16 European Championship finals matches, firstly with the Netherlands and latterly with England, winning the last two tournaments.

On both occasions, with the Netherlands in 2017 and England in 2022, she possessed a 100% record, and if that weren't impressive enough, her squads have made the final at either the World Cup or Euros on all five occasions at which she's competed.

England do confront the toughest of tests of course.

Esther Gonzalez will be hunting for goalsIn Esther Gonzalez, Spain have the tournament's top scorer (four goals), and also in their ranks is current Ballon d'Or holder Aitana Bonmati.

If that weren't enough for the Lionesses backline to contend with, previous double Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas continues to pull the strings for her country, and along with a number of her Barcelona club colleagues, Spain present a formidable - though not impossible - test to overcome.

From an English point of view, in order to make the final competitive, they need to take a leaf out of Germany's reserve.

Either keep a rigid shape and try to struck Spain on the counter, using the pace of their forward line to obtain in behind, or alternatively try and submit the same sort of pressure they did against Italy, albeit they were behind for long periods of that match.

Extra day's rest could assist the LionessesBoth teams were taken to extra-time in their semi-finals, England winning thanks to a Chloe Kelly penalty with a few minutes left of the match and Bonmati also bagging Spain's winner late in the extra 30 minutes against Germany.

If tiredness is still a thing, then the extra day that the Lionesses have possessed to recover could well tip the balance in their favour come Sunday.

Only one Women's Euro final has ever gone to penalties and England were engaged in that one, way support in 1984.

Sweden won the first-ever and only two-legged final in Luton 4-3 on penalties, after the two games possessed produced a 1-1 aggregate score.

The winners will also obtain the chance to play in the UEFA-CONMEBOL Women's Finalissima against the victors of the Women's Copa America tournament, adding an extra edge to Sunday's battle.

​Spain's chance for a unique spot of historyEngland want support-to-support trophies in their cabinet; however, were Spain to triumph, then they will have completed a quite unique feat.

 They will have become the first nation in football history to have won all of UEFA's current national team competitions, men or women, senior or youth, football or futsal; Men's Euros, Women's Euros, Futsal Euros, Women's Futsal Euros, Nations League, Women's Nations League, U21 Euros, U19 Euros, Women's U19 Euros, U19 Futsal Euros, U17 Euros and Women's U17 Euros.

May the best team win!Jason PettigroveBetopick