DORTMUND, Germany — Jude Bellingham called it "attitude." Gareth Southgate says it is "character." Kobbie Mainoo touted it as "indescribable," but then tried describing it anyway.
Whatever it is, England has found something at Euro 2024, a secret sauce perhaps, that has done little for the attractiveness of its soccer but absolutely everything for its ability to grind out wins.
And here it is now, headed for Berlin and a Sunday date where Spain, and destiny, and history, must all be battled. What about national anguish, too, and the rule for so long that if there isn't an obvious way to mess it up, England will find one regardless?
Those things, at least, may have been conquered already, which is just as well, for Spain is a formidable enough foe without a bunch of extra burdens.