Spanish harmony to battle English resilience in Women's Euro final

By Philip O'Connor

BASEL, Switzerland, July 26 (Reuters) - Sunday's final of the Women's Euros in Basel pitches the two best European teams of the current generation against each other, as a unified Spain side bristling with technique and intelligence takes on an equally talented England side that never gives up.

Both sides have overcome adversity on their way to the final, with Spain almost losing playmaker Aitana Bonmati to a pre-tournament meningitis scare, and Sarina Wiegman's England coming close to elimination twice in the knockout round, only for late heroics to see them through.

"We need to be at our best to beat Spain. I think they need to be at their best to beat us, too," England captain Leah Williamson told a media conference on Saturday. "I think there's a lot of respect between the two teams, and I'd be hesitant to rule an underdog in this scenario."

Both sides said that all 23 squad members were fit and available for selection on Sunday, setting the stage for what is expected to be an intriguing battle of skill, wit and nerves.

Defending champions England may not have played particularly well in their five games so far, but they have displayed an uncanny ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the knockout stage, first with a shootout win over Sweden and then with a come-from-behind extra-time victory over Italy.

"I know that we've left it late," Williamson admitted. "(That was) definitely not the plan, we'd really like to wrap things up a little earlier and a little easier if we could."

Spain have also gotten off to several slow starts, but they have still run out convincing winners in their five games to date, eventually finding a way to break down their opponents.

"We have a particular way of playing, of training, we are very confident. Even if we won the games, there are things always that we can correct, things we see on video that we practice, and that's our line of work," Spain captain Irene Paredes said.

The Spain team for Sunday's final is a much more harmonious one than the one that took beat England 1-0 in the World Cup final in 2023, when several of the best Spanish players boycotted the tournament in a dispute with coaching staff and their federation.

Though Spain won that game 1-0 to claim their first major title, Montse Tome's squad has given a much more unified impression in Switzerland, with none of the negativity that surrounded them at that World Cup.

"(This tournament) shows the change we are making, and right now I believe that, for all their efforts, the squad deserves to win," Tome said. "When you are in the elite football world that's not always the case, but we will do everything to win the final tomorrow."

Spain's only defeat in their last 14 games came at the hands of Sarina Wiegman's side in the Nations League in February, and they will be slight favourites for Sunday's decider, but Paredes said such labels make little difference when the game kicks off.

"I think both teams deserve to be in the final. We wanted to be there, at the beginning of the tournament that was our objective, to play six games. We're on our way. Tomorrow is number six," she told reporters.

"We don't like this idea of being favourites. We know what it takes to be here, what we have to suffer, and we have to be focused."

Sunday's final takes place at St. Jakob-Park stadium in Basel, with kick-off at 1800 CET (1600 GMT). (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Jan Harvey)