Cautious England, Spain scoreless at halftime

England and Spain struggled to find a rhythm as both teams played to a scoreless first half of the UEFA Euro 2024 final from Berlin.

La Roja are looking to become the first nation to win the tournament on four occasions, breaking a tie with 2024 hosts Germany. The Three Lions seek their first Euro title and first major honour since the 1966 World Cup.

Luis de la Fuente made two changes to his starting XI from the semis win over France with both Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand returning from suspension in place of Jesus Navas and Nacho.

There was one change to Gareth Southgate's starting XI with Manchester United's Luke Shaw making his first start of the tournament in place of Kieran Trippier.

With Lamine Yamal in for Spain and Kobbie Mainoo in the Three Lions XI, Sunday's match marked the first time that two teenagers had started a Euro final. Turning 17 on Saturday, Yamal became the youngest person to ever start a major final, surpassing Pele in the 1958 World Cup final.

While Spain controlled play for much of the early going, Jordan Pickford was untroubled in the England goal. In the 12th minute, Nico Williams danced into the area on the right, but he was marked well by John Stones, whose perfectly timed tackle sent his effort out for a corner. Williams gave Stones a pat on the side afterwards to acknowledge the fine play.

England looked dangerous for the first time in the 15th. Bukayo Saka sprung Kyle Walker down the left on the overlap and the Manchester City man sent in an inviting ball across the face of goal that Marc Cucurella turned away for a corner. Minutes later, Phil Foden tried to advance into the area by stepping around City teammate Rodri, but his touch was too heavy and the danger was cleared.

Harry Kane picked up the first booking of the match following a good spell of pressure from England. Attempting to keep possession, Kane overzealously lunged and caught Fabian Ruiz in the ankle in the 25th.

Dani Olmo joined Kane in the book in the 30th when he mistimed a hit and caught Declan Rice in the ribs.

The two teams played out the remainder of the half fairly conservatively with neither side willing to make a mistake to allow any kind of advantage.

This is a second straight Euro final for England, who lost in 2020 on penalties to Italy at Wembley Stadium.