What: European Championship, final, England–Spain.
When: Sunday at 18.00.
Where: St Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland.
TV/radio: Viaplay and Radiosporten.
Referee: Stephanié Frappart, France.
+ England reigning champions
"The Lionesses" enter the final as reigning European champions. In the 2022 European Championship final (the championship was postponed for a year due to the pandemic) England won 2–1 after extra time against Germany. The deciding goal came through Chloe Kelly in the 110th minute. Also in this summer's championship, Kelly has played a crucial role for England on the road to the final.
Spain is the reigning world champion after the 2023 World Championship gold, when they beat England 1–0 in the final.
+ Chasing first European Championship title
To many people's surprise, Spain's women's national team, which has impressed greatly in recent years, has never won a European Championship gold. Before this summer's championship, the Spanish women had never even reached a European Championship final. At most, they had reached the semi-finals, in 1997. Now the question is whether this gives the players a desire for revenge – or pressure and nervousness.
+ Bonmatí has woken up
Spain's midfield star Aitana Bonmatí, who has been named the world's best football player, started the summer in a hospital bed. She was hospitalized with meningitis just before the championship began. Despite the drama, the 27-year-old Barcelona midfielder jumped into Spain's two initial group stage matches, and has started the subsequent matches.
However, it was not until the quarterfinal against Switzerland that she proved why she is the world's best player. In that match, she made a delicious heel assist to Athenea del Castillo's 1–0 goal. In the semi-final against Germany, Bonmatí became the match hero with her 1–0 goal in the 113th minute.
+ Racism against Carter
After the quarterfinal against Sweden, England's central defender Jess Carter testified that she had been subjected to racist abuse on social media. The police were involved, and England protested in the semi-final against Italy by not kneeling. The president of the International Football Association (Fifa), Gianni Infantino, gave his support to Carter.
The match against Italy saw Carter on the bench until the 121st minute. National team coach Sarina Wiegman has said it was a tactical decision.
