Euro 2024 final preview: Spain vs. England - ESPN

BERLIN — After a long month of continental competition stretching from one end of Germany to the other, Euro 2024 is set to conclude Sunday in Berlin, where Spain will take on England at the Olympiastadion.

The paths these two teams have taken to the German capital are starkly different. Spain have been the darlings of the tournament, the only heavyweights to consistently turn in eye-catching performances that convey a coherence and clearly defined identity. England, meanwhile, have largely looked like less than the sum of their parts, but their collection of stars have managed to dig deep and grind out the results required to reach a second consecutive European Championship final.

Who will emerge victorious Sunday? How will the match unfold? ESPN asked the two writers who've followed these teams most closely throughout Euro 2024: James Olley and Sam Marsden.

England produced their best performance of the tournament by some distance in the semifinals. There is a sense of momentum behind them right now and a surging belief that comes from pulling out results late on. Jude Bellingham's 95th-minute equaliser against Slovakia, the penalty shootout win over Switzerland and Ollie Watkins' 90th-minute winner against Netherlands have created a feeling England could somehow be destined to lift their first major trophy in 58 years.

There were signs against the Dutch that England's individual attacking talents were starting to develop an understanding and some of the combinations between Kobbie Mainoo, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka in particular were exciting. Jordan Pickford is having another tournament in which he takes his game to another level, while Marc Guéhi has been a major find at centre-back. Luke Shaw's likely return in