"They are playing very well” - Jude Bellingham names the team he wants England to face in Euro 2024 final
England midfielder Jude Bellingham has opened up on who he wants to potentially face in the UEFA Euro 2024 final. He named Spain as the side he'd want to face, praising their performance at the tournament so far.
The Three Lions have reached the semi-finals of the Euro 2024 despite putting in disappointing performances. The trend continued on Saturday (July 6) as they beat Switzerland in the penalty shootout. Swiss forward Breel Embolo gave his side the lead in the 75th minute before Bukayo Saka restored parity five minutes later.
It remained 1-1 after extra time and the game went to penalties. Jordan Pickford saved a tame effort from Manuel Akanji while all the other penalty-takers converted their shots. England won 5-3 and secured a semi-final clash against the Netherlands on July 10.
After the game, Jude Bellingham, who also scored in the shootout, was asked which team he'd like to face in the final at Euro 2024. He answered (via Football Espana):
“Spain have played very well in the last three weeks, anything is possible. [Hopefully] we could face a final against Spain. They are playing very well.”
Spain will face France in the other Euro 2024 semi-final on July 9.
England, Spain, France and the Netherlands reach Euro 2024 semi-finals
France and England were two of the favorites to win Euro 2024 coming into the tournament. However, Spain and the Netherlands have arguably performed much better than the two sides so far.
Les Bleus are yet to score from open play at the tournament in Germany. Their three goals have come from a penalty and two own goals. They reached the semi-finals by beating Portugal on penalties. Following a drab 0-0 draw after 120 minutes, Joao Felix missed his penalty while France converted all of theirs to progress.
England, meanwhile, have managed just one win within 90 minutes in the tournament so far, which came in their opener against Serbia. They drew against Denmark and Slovenia before beating Slovakia in extra time in the Round of 16. They then narrowly got past Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Spain won all of their three group games before beating Georgia 4-1 in the Round of 16. They then beat hosts Germany 2-1 after extra time in an intense quarter-final clash.
The Netherlands, on the other hand, won one, drew one, and lost one of their three group games. They, however, comfortably beat Romania 3-0 in the Round of 16 before getting past Turkiye in the quarter-finals.