Euro 2024: FA wants Southgate to stay regardless of final result in Berlin – live

Spain love the centre stage. The national men’s side have won their last three major tournament finals.

Euro 2008: Germany 0-1 Spain – Torres 33’

In the 33rd minute Xavi eased a through-ball which Philipp Lahm was well placed to deal with, but the swift Torres first moved outside the left-back and then inside him to flip a finish meticulously over the advancing Jens Lehmann and into the far corner of the net. “Lahm was in a better position but for a moment he relaxed and I took advantage,” said the scorer, who had hit the post with a header 10 minutes earlier.

World Cup 2010: Netherlands 0-1 Spain (aet) – Iniesta 116’

The mayhem and nastiness of the occasion were encumbrances for Spain, who would have envisaged a wholly different type of game. It was potentially unsettling that this victory in the World Cup could be seen as their destiny considering that they had never even reached the final before. Vicente del Bosque’s side, for that matter, have developed a highly individual style founded on exceptional technique that exhausts and demoralises opponents as a midfield of supreme artistry confiscates the ball.

Euro 2012: Spain 4-0 Italy – Silva 14’, Alba 41’, Torres 84’, Mata 88’

La Roja played with style and panache. They had the night’s outstanding performer in Andrés Iniesta and another, Xavi, occupying the same tier of uncommon brilliance. Then consider the contribution of Xabi Alonso, Silva and Cesc Fàbregas. Del Bosque’s lineup, with no recognised striker, might not appeal to the Eurosauruses out there but the simple truth is the Spanish are too refined, too devoted to the art of possession, to change for anyone. Del Bosque had listened to the criticism, all that stuff about it being a negative tactic, and decided not to budge an inch, and who can blame him?

Our Editorial board’s view is that Gareth Southgate has led the charge for change. England have move on from nostalgic pretensions of greatness to a patriotism rooted in equality and self-expression.

Without immigration, only three of the England team’s current players would remain in the starting XI. The journey to the summit this year cannot be anything other than a celebration of difference. Yet when diversity is related to something successful, it is a sign of the nation’s genius in permitting and managing it; when it is attached to a national disaster, diversity is the reason for the failure.

The allyship found within the England team is a rebuttal of such thinking. Camaraderie has been encouraged by the manager, Gareth Southgate, who has prized the power of empathy and loyalty.

The Three Lions exist as a symbol that welds together a people. This tournament has produced something different, something great from Southgate’s England. Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick in the dying seconds of added time against Slovakia united rival homegrown India and Pakistan cricket team fans in joy. James Graham, who is updating his hit play about Southgate’s reign for TV and stage, may get the fairytale ending he has longed for. Interpretations can be overdone of what an English victory – or loss – this weekend could mean. But after a near decade of hardening social divides, Southgate’s team present an opportunity to come together around a hopeful vision of a new England.

I posed some questions earlier on the most you have ever spent attending a sporting event and the longest you’ve spent celebrated and whether both were worth it. Here are your responses:

Lucky Krishna writes:

I was in Madrid in February 2011 on a business trip. The hotel receptionist offered me a ticket to a Spain v Colombia friendly for £13. This was less than what I would have paid for a stadium tour of the Bernabéu. For £13 I got to see the World Cup winners.

Aussie complaints from Julia:

I spent around A$500 on a ticket to last year’s Aussie Rules Grand Final in Melbourne but the trip via plane from Brisbane which is normally about A$120 each way, was A$400 each way. Accommodation in Melbourne was A$1000 a night.

Tony’s trip of a lifetime:

Japan 2002 – a ridiculous amount of money on travel, accommodation, booze, food and of course tickets, especially the England v Brazil quarter-final tickets from a tout, which perhaps not hitting the dizzy heights of today were still £650 – more than 20 years ago.

Was it worth it? A trip of a lifetime, more than just the footie. Seeing Michael Owen pounce on a defensive error against Brazil gave me a fleeting moment where I dared to dream, before David Beckham bunny hopped over a ball he thought was going out, and Brazil went up the other end and scored.

The trip inspired me so much I went to work in Japan and have made many trips since then. Inspiration from England … not so much …

Aussie complaints (pt 2) from Michelle:

Living in Australia, one shudders at the cost of going to live sport here, until one finds out the cost overseas, after which a chorus of “Advance Australia Square” should be performed, if anybody can remember the words.

The last time I saw the truly United Manchester team live was in 1984 at the MCG. The only thing I remember about it (other than the result), was the weird location of the pitch, and the fact it was far cheaper than going to the Aussie Rules at the same ground two weeks earlier.

I did think of going a couple of years ago when we played Crystal Palace at the MCG, but I was forced to concede that was a fantasy when I worked out the cost. As United then played Leeds in Perth, I could have gone there, but that would have cost more than the total GDP of most members of the IMF.

And Simon’s analysis from a Berlin launderette:

I am a member of England Away Supporters club and have seen all England games, my ticket for final cost €95. There have been so many highlights of my time in Germany, obviously the game against Dutch, but after game a Leeds mate agreed to drive a group of us from Düsseldorf to Berlin. Seven hours, two stops, one beer later we arrived on Thursday evening.

With regards to Southgate, I am a supporter and believe he has done amazing job, consistently getting us to places we could only dream of. I was in Cape Town in 2010 and that was the lowest for me. Tournament football is about progressing. Southgate does it so well.

Everyone has an origin story and Ollie Watkins’ is quite memorable. One of his former managers believes the nation’s latest hero would not be the player he is had he not started at Exeter.

In development terms, Watkins is tortoise rather than hare, growing up on the very fringes of football in Newton Abbot, Devon. Without Exeter City’s rebirth, he might have ended up a local hero playing for Barnstaple Town in the Toolstation Western League. Once saved from closure, Exeter launched summer football camps to scout the wider vicinity. The best players were invited to Exeter for a trial. Watkins, 10 at the time, got sent back home but came back the next year, which meant single mum Delsi-May, lead singer of the wedding band The Superstitions, had to juggle her bookings with ferrying Watkins the 20 miles and back to training.

Read more from Rob Draper here.

FA wants Southgate to stay regardless of final result

So back to the striker conundrum then. Can we call it a conundrum? Harry Kane has not lit up Germany (though he has joint top of the goalscoring charts) but Jonathan Liew believes the England captain can still thrive on Sunday.

Euro 2024 appears to have rewarded a different kind of attacking profile, one prioritising variety over reliability. By and large the teams that have tried to build their attack around a single dominant source of goals (France, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Belgium) have struggled. Meanwhile those with more varied points of attack (Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, Austria) have impressed. Spain’s 13 goals have been shared out among nine different players. Across the tournament as a whole, Euro 2024 will fall significantly short of Euro 2020 in terms of total goals (114 v 142) while boasting more separate scorers (83 v 80, with one game to play).

Strikers who do not offer an extra dimension, whether through selfless running or assiduous defensive work or link play, have been more visibly exposed than ever before.

And perhaps Southgate has learned from the cautionary tale of Bayern Munich this season, who essentially remoulded their entire system around Kane, and were rewarded with sensational individual returns and no trophies. Of course Kane still has a role to play, whether as scorer or creator, starter or finisher. Those three goals, scored from a total distance of about 20 yards, have been crucial. But the story of this tournament suggests that England as a whole benefit when Kane swallows his pride and takes on a more restricted, delimited role.

How will England fans mark the occasion on Sunday? Well, fans in Germany (or those still looking to make the trip) are looking at heavily marked up ticket prices. Tickets for the final are now at about £2,500 each and cost of travel to and from Berlin has spiked.

What about those staying at home? Well, Major supermarkets and business owners are giving staff a lie-in on Monday to recover from the final. Some companies are also offering workers early finishes if they are due to be on shift on the evening of the game. A primary school in Hertfordshire said that because a number of students will be going to bed late because of the match, it would leave registrations open until a later time on the Monday.

And so I pose these questions to you:

Get in touch via email, which you can find at the top of this blog.

Declan rice is still “haunted” by losing last editions final. The midfielder is ready to put the demons of Roberto Mancini’s tactical adjustments, Marco Verratti and Jorginho outpassing England and the eventual defeat on penalties to bed.

Seeing Italy lift that trophy will haunt me for ever. We know what we have to do compared to last time, in terms of how to control the game, not to sit back like we did in previous tournaments and when Italy came on to us. We know how we can win this final.

With Rice holding, and in a system that puts more players in the middle, it is easier for his midfield partner Kobbie Mainoo to express himself. The defensive weaknesses that were more evident when England were in a 4-2-3-1 system are less obvious.

You speak to him and just feel his calm presence. He is not scared to say it how it is. There was something towards the end [against the Netherlands] when he gave me a pass between the lines and I got sold short for it. We had to sprint back and we had a bit at each other, but that is good because you need that relationship. At 19, I can’t imagine many saying that to older players and that’s what I love about him.

That is what the lads love about him as well. He gets that respect, he has that leadership. The way he takes the ball, and the conversations we’ve been having daily with each other, has brought us together.

In terms of team news, both managers will have some decisions to make. After coming into the tournament injured, Luke Shaw managed some healthy minutes in the quarter-final against Switzerland and semi-final against the Netherlands. Is he fit enough to start ahead of Kieran Trippier.

Ollie Watkins was the star of the show when his late goal sent England through to the final, but it would be a massive call for Gareth Southgate to drop Harry Kane, despite the captain not having the impact he would have wanted. Highly unlikely.

Luis de la Fuente was without Robin Le Normand and Dani Carvajal in Spain’s semi-final win against France due to suspension, but both should return against England. Álvaro Morata, who picked up an injury during the semi-final celebrations after a security guard slid into him, should be fit to play. De la Fuente confirmed that the Spain captain was in a bit pain but there were no signs of deeper issue. Pedri will be unavailable through injury after coming off in the quarter-final against Germany.

What are Southgate’s thoughts on all this? Well, he’s likely more focused on Sunday. The England manager says his side must be “tactically perfect” against the “favourites” Spain.

They have won a few trophies. They are a bloody good side. Let’s pitch it right. We have got to be perfect to win this game and we will have to find everything that we have got from within us.

They would rightly be favourites for what they have done this tournament. They have been the best team. They have got a day longer and in the last three finals it has been quite significant, so we have got to get our recovery spot on. Tactically, we will have to be ­perfect as they are such a good side.

In the last three European Championships, the side that have played their semi-final first, have gone on to won the tournament (Italy, Portugal and Spain).

The Football Association will attempt to convince Gareth Southgate to remain as England manager regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s final against Spain, the Telegraph reports.

It was expected Southgate would leave after the Euros in Germany, his fourth major international tournament as England manager. But the FA have been impressed with the way Southgate has changed perceptions of the England team since he took charge in 2016.

The manager’s current contract ends in December. Before the Euros, the FA’s chief executive officer, Mark Bullingham, confirmed that no one had been approached to take over from Southgate.

Preamble