PREVIEW | Road to Glory

The RAE (Royal Spanish Academy) defines history as follows: a narration and exposition of past events worthy of remembrance. And so, the National Team is writing its own legacy, achieving milestones worthy of the history books, such as reaching the final of a European Championships. Now, they have another chance to make yet more history in a match to enjoy in the present and remember forevermore.

Spain and England are set to face each other once again in a final. A clash that is becoming one of the defining rivalries between the two current powerhouses in global women’s football. The same finalists as in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 now meet again, this time to see who will lift the trophy as champions of Europe. On that 20th of August 2023, Olga Carmona’s goal sealed the Spanish victory over the English and earned the star above our badge. Today, 27th of July, almost two years later, they face off once again. At 18:00 in St. Jakob-Park, Basel, the two teams are set to play their twentieth match against each other. Spain have triumphed five times, the last of which was on the 3rd of June (2-1) in Cornellà in the sixth and final group-stage match of the UEFA Women’s Nations League.

The national side arrive to this final with outstanding tournament numbers: they are the only unbeaten team, the top scorers, the team with the most possession, the highest pass accuracy and the most shots on goal. They have scored 17 goals and boast in their ranks Esther González, the tournament’s top scorer with four goals, and Alexia Putellas, second in the scoring charts, who also leads the assist table in this Euros with four.

But the most important thing is not the numbers. The most important thing is the unity, the team spirit, the work, the effort, the focus and the excitement to achieve, together, their dream, one that is a shared dream. That is undoubtedly one of the strengths that has brought Montse Tomé’s side to this historic moment. The head coach commented in the pre-match press conference that she has "the team she wants and has been working towards for a long time", and that this group "deserves everything, for their fight, their hard work and their effort". The captain, Irene Paredes, highlighted that England "are a team that has made us suffer, and we’ve made them suffer", and that ahead of such a hard-fought match, Spain "are a mature team, with players of great quality and resources".

England, the current holders of the tournament, qualified as runners-up in Group D. Their journey in Switzerland began with a 2-1 defeat to France, before advancing to the next round with wins over the Netherlands (0-4) and Wales (6-1). In the quarter-finals against Sweden, a nailbiting penalty shootout sent the Lionesses through to the semi-finals. In the final-four clash with Italy, another penalty in the dying minutes of extra time earned them a place today in the final in Basel. Their coach, Sarina Wiegman, has now led two different national teams to five consecutive finals: 2017, Euros with the Netherlands; 2019, World Cup with the Netherlands; 2022, Euros with England; 2023, World Cup with England; and now, once again with England, to this continental final.

Glory is just 90 minutes away. It’s time to write a new chapter in our history.