The Three Lions will take on Spain in an epic Euro 2024 showdown on Sunday night in a major tournament final played abroad for the first time in the history of the England senior men’s squad.
After thrilling comeback victories over France 2-1 in the semifinals, which gave them a chance to capture a record-tying fourth Euros trophy, the two Olympiastadion rivals arrive in Berlin.
In the meantime, the Euro 2020 runners-up made stunning progress to consecutive continental championships, thanks in large part to the heroics of Ollie Watkins, who inspired Gareth Southgate’s team to victory over the Netherlands by the same score.
Sports Mole examines the head-to-head record and prior games between the two teams in-depth here.
With 14 victories against La Roja’s 10 from their 27 prior head-to-head meetings, England has a slim historical advantage over Spain; three more meetings resulted in a sharing of the spoils.
In the four previous European Championship matches between England and Switzerland, four of those fourteen victories occurred. During the 1996 tournament quarterfinals, for example, the Three Lions converted every penalty they faced, a feat similar to their perfect record against Switzerland in the 2024 last eight.
Since the year 2000, Spain has generally had the upper hand against England, even if the English also defeated their red-clad rivals in two qualifying quarterfinal matches in 1968 and in the 1980 Europeans group stage.
Though all but two of those games were friendlies, the 2010 World Cup champions have only lost three of their nine encounters with the Three Lions since 2000, giving Southgate’s team the upper hand.
Not since the 2018–19 Nations League group stage had Spain and England faced off in a senior men’s match. La Roja won 2-1 at Wembley, but a month later, Southgate’s team exacted revenge in Seville with a 3-2 victory thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling.
The Three Lions had not won three straight games against Spain since defeating the three-time European champions seven times in a row from 1960 to 1980, but their three-game losing streak was ended by victory on Spanish territory almost six years ago.
Although this Sunday’s tantalizing match will be the first senior men’s major final between England and Spain, the two nations faced off twice in the Under-21 Euros final last year, with the Young Lions defeating Spain 1-0 in order to claim the title.
But in the Women’s World Cup Down Under, where Mary Earps’s thrilling penalty save proved to be in vain, La Roja’s anguish was avenged by their female counterparts, who defeated Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses by the same scoreline.
The previous 20 encounters
- Oct. 15, 2018: Nations League League Phase: Spain 2-3 England
- Sep. 08, 2018: Nations League League Phase: England 1-2 Spain
- England 2-2 Spain (International Friendly), November 15, 2016.
- Spain 2-0 England in an international friendly on November 13, 2015.
- November 12, 2011: Spain 1-0 England in an international friendly
- 11 February 2009: Spain 2-0 England (Friendly International Match)
- February 7, 2007: England 0–1 Spain (Friendly International Match)
- Spain 1-0 England in an international friendly on November 17, 2004.
- England 3-0 Spain in an international friendly on February 28, 2001
- June 22, 1996: Spain 0-0 England (4-2 Pens) Quarterfinals of the European Championships
- 9 September 1992: Spain 1-0 England (Friendly International)
- Spain 2-4 England (International Friendly) February 18, 1987
- July 5, 1982: Spain 0–0 England (Group Stage of the World Cup)
- 25 March 1981: England 1-2 Spain (Friendly International)
- 18 June 1980: England 2-1 Spain (Group Stage of the European Championship)
- 26 Mar 1980: Spain 0-2 England (Friendly International Match)
- England 1-2 Spain (European Championships Qualifying Quarter-Final), May 8, 1968
- Spain 1-0 England (European Championships Qualifying Quarter-Final, April 3, 1968)
- 24 May 1967: England 2-0 Spain (Friendly International Match)
- Dec. 8, 1965: Spain 0–2 England (Friendly International Match)
