Euro 2024 is about to usher in the final showdown between Spain vs England, will the Matadors win the Delaunay Cup for the fourth time, or will the Three Lions unlock the first title in team history? The mystery is about to be revealed.
In addition to the championship competition, the competition for other awards such as the top scorer and the top assist is also quite interesting.
This European Championship is certainly not a wonderful tournament, and the performance of superstar players is generally average, and even collapsed; The overall goal of the game is dull, there are few goals, no player has scored twice in the group stage, and the scorer data is quite mediocre -
So far, the top scorer has scored only three goals, and six players are tied for the top scorer: Gakpo (Netherlands), Kane (England), Olmo (Spain), Musiala (Germany), Mikautadze (Georgia), Schlandz (Slovenia).
In the last European Cup, Ronaldo and Czech center Schick both scored 5 goals, but Ronaldo assisted 1 more, and finally beat Schick to win the European Cup Golden Boot.
However, the selection rules have changed, and before the final, UEFA officials made it clear that there is only one evaluation criterion for the Golden Boot of this European Cup: only based on the number of goals, not counting assists and appearances.
Kane and Olmo, who have already scored three goals, are expected to further expand their goal tally in tonight's final and hit the Golden Boot; Bellingham and Fabian Ruiz, who scored two goals, also have a chance to compete for the Golden Boot.
If England win, the FA will win £14 million
If England beat Spain to win the title, the player will receive £10 million in prize money from the FA and £4 million from Southgate's coaching staff. However, the FA has yet to make a statement on the prize money.
The £14 million total prize money would set a new record, surpassing the £13 million promised by England at the 2022 World Cup.
England are also expected to receive a huge prize money from their sponsors if they win the European Championships, and if Kane wins the Golden Boot, the shoe supplier Skechers will also give him a personal bonus.
The England squad remains unchanged with Kieran Trippier continuing to start
The Telegraph, Sky Sports and other British media reported that Southgate will not make changes to England's starting line-up for the final, with Kieran Trippier still starting at left-back.
Although the only regular left-back Luke Shaw has returned to fitness and came off the bench in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, Southgate will still field the same squad for the semi-final against Netherlands, with Shaw remaining on the bench.
Goalkeepers: 1 - Pickford
Defenders: 6-Guehi, 5-Stones, 2-Walker
Midfielders: 12-Kieran Trippier, 4-Rice, 26-Mainou, 7-Saka
Forwards: 10-Bellingham, 9-Kane, 11-Foden
The only suspense in Spain's start: Nacho or Lenormand
According to World Sport, Spain coach de la Fuente has already thought about most of the starting candidates, and the only entanglement is that the central defender is still considering Nacho or Lenormand.
Lenormand was suspended for the semi-finals due to accumulating yellow cards, and former Real Madrid captain Nacho, 34, came on in place to perform well. In the quarter-finals against hosts Germany, Nacho also played a key role in replacing Lenormand at half-time, especially in extra time to kill high school striker Phil Kruger.
The official UEFA website predicts Spain's starters: Simon; Carvajal, Lenormand, Laporte, Cucurella; Fabian Ruiz, Rodri, Olmo; Yamal, Morata, Nico Williams.
Statistics agency Opta made the final prediction of the probability of winning the European Cup, Spain is more optimistic, with a probability of winning more than 60%, reaching 60.38%, and England is not favored, with a probability of only 39.62%.
Who do you favor or favor to win? The Scots certainly don't want England to win the title, and yesterday Scottish media outlet The National made headlines in support of Spain to win the title.
The front page of the newspaper was headlined "A moment of revenge", with a clear hope that Spain would beat England to win the title. To put it in perspective, the newspaper also put Spain midfielder Rodri on the front page cover, where he kicked away a fat England fan.