England are one game away from celebrating a rare achievement.
The Three Lions take on Spain in the Euro 2024 final where they can follow the Lionesses and become champions of Europe.
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Could football be coming home again?Credit: Getty
While they would not be the first nation to hold both the men’s and women’s European Championship, there is huge incentive for them to match the achievement especially given who the only country ever to have done it is.
Of course, it was none other than their old football foe: Germany.
As if England need further encouragement, the prospect of making sure their longtime rivals are not the only nation to hold this achievement is be a tasty one – and they can do it in the nation’s capital.
While England might not be able to become the first nation to hold this honour, there is every chance that they could – depending on future success – break the record for the length of time that both titles have been held for.
Germany held both Euros for four years between 1996 and 2000.
The women’s national team won their Euros in 1995 and the men’s side then claimed victory in their edition a year later.
While Germany Women held onto their title until 2017, for a whopping 22 years, France’s win in the men’s final in 2000, broke the stranglehold.
Should Gareth Southgate’s side win on Sunday, they will ensure that both Euros are home for at least a year – but there is huge potential for them to hold the achievement for even longer than that.
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Southgate’S team could complete Euro domination for England’s senior teamsCredit: Getty
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Germany’s 1996 Euro victory ensured they held the ‘Euro double’ for four yearsCredit: getty
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Germany have dominated European women’s football for long periods – so England did especially well to beat them in the final in 2022Credit: Getty
The Lionesses have already embarked on their Euro 2022 title defence, as they face the Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Euro 2025 qualifiers on Friday 12 July and Tuesday 16 July, live on talkSPORT 2.
Meanwhile, without getting very far ahead of ourselves, the men’s Euros in 2028 will be returning to home soil, arguably giving the Three Lions a huge advantage if they put themselves in a position where the title is theirs to defend.
Gareth Southgate fights back tears when talking about critics in emotional interview as England achievement sinks in
‘What this country’s all about’
Chloe Kelly, who scored England’s winning goal in the Euro 2022 final, told talkSPORT that regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the last few years have shown that English football is in an incredible place all around.
” I think already there’s a big statement of intent,” she said. “We’ve got such a great Lionesses squad, but also the men.
“We’ve got unbelievable talent in both squads, and I think we’re really seeing what this country’s all about.
“And in tournaments, we’re showing ourselves against all nations.”
Kelly is right to point out just how remarkable the landscape is at the moment.
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Man City star Kelly pointed out what a good place the whole country is inCredit: Getty
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The Lionesses were so close to world success last yearCredit: AFP
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While the Three Lions did well at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar tooCredit: AFP
England have a men’s side ranked fifth in the world and a women’s side ranked third in the world, with both sides not at all far off their highest ever FIFA rankings.
Only France have teams ranked higher on both the men and the women’s side.
Together, over the last ten years, England’s senior teams have won one Euros title, reached three Euros finals in total, made it to a World Cup final, won a World Cup bronze medal, reached an additional World Cup semi-final and another quarter-final.
It is not a bad record indeed.
Regularly competing for trophies is becoming an expectation for both sides.
And just as the Three Lions were cheering on the Lionesses back on that fateful day in 2022, so too will the women’s team be cheering on Southgate’s side, as England forward Lauren Hemp told talkSPORT.
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Hemp has been instrumental to the Lionesses’ success in recent yearsCredit: Getty
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The Lionesses gathered to watch England’s victory over the Netherlands – although Dutch Wiegman admitted she was torn!Credit: Getty
“They know what it takes to win,” she said. “They’ve all been in situations like that before. And yeah, they’ve experienced very important, high-pressured wins.
“So I think they know what job they need to do. And it’s about putting that pen to paper and doing the job. Hopefully they can do that on Sunday.”
‘Don’t ever take that for granted’
If the nation was heartbroken in 2021 when Southgate’s side lost the Euros final to Italy, and distraught in 2023 when the Lionesses lost the World Cup final to Spain, it is because the standard of football is high enough that people now truly believe these trophies are within reach.
At the heart of this belief are two England managers who have transformed their teams in their own special ways.
And they have both had to overcome great obstacles indeed to do it.
One hardly needs reminding of the criticism Southgate has faced up until this point, with selection decisions and substitutions coming under fire every step of the way.
Naturally, success has a way of making people forget things – but women’s coach Sarina Wiegman knows exactly what it is like to have managerial decisions questioned, scrutinised and criticised by the nation.
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Wiegman has urged the country to get behind her male counterpartCredit: Getty
England fans pack Trafalgar Square to greet England lionesses
“I think everyone should be really, really proud of Gareth and his team,” she told talkSPORT. “I think making a final two times in a row in the Euros, don’t ever take that for granted.
“That’s just really incredible. And also very inspirational.
“I would be very grateful to have a coach in a team like that.”
A new opportunity for Southgate perhaps? Especially as talkSPORT understands will be taking his time on deciding his future.
The thought of he and Wiegman working together with a team is an intriguing prospect indeed…
The routes to the final: Euro 2022 and Euro 2024
The men’s route to the Euro 2024 final has been completely different to the route taken by the Lionesses in 2022 – but there are parallels to be drown.
Both sides did open with a uneventful 1-0 win in their first group game, with the Lionesses putting one past Austria and the Three Lions beating Serbia.
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The Lionesses came from behind to win 2-1 in extra time against Spain in their quarter-finalCredit: Getty
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The Three Lions did exactly the same in their semi-final against the Netherlands!Credit: AFP
Moreover, both teams had to battle through a nervy knockout game which they eventually prevailed in to win 2-1.
For the Lionesses, it was their quarter-final against Spain while Southgate’s side picked up the same result against the Netherlands.
The similarities largely end there, but it bodes well for the Three Lions that they – like the Lionesses – have fought back from what was not the strongest of starts and that they have proved extremely resilient in games which could have gone either way.
If the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 final is anything to go by – it took an extra time winner to seal the deal, after all – then Southgate’s side will be up against it when they face Spain.
But they also possibly have one great advantage over Spain: the knowledge that with a Men and a Women’s Euro title, football could find itself more home than it has ever been before.
Euro 2022 – the Lionesses’ route to the final
Group: England 1-0 Austria
Group: England 8-0 Norway
Group: England 5-0 Northern Ireland
QF: England 2-1 Spain (AET)
SF: England 4-0 Sweden
Euro 2024 – the Three Lions’ route to the final
Group: England 1-0 Serbia
Group: England 1-1 Denmark
Group: England 0-0 Slovenia
R16: England 2-1 Slovakia
QF: England 1-1 Switzerland (Eng win 5-3 on penalties)
SF: England 2-1 Netherlands (AET)
talkSPORT will bring you live commentary of the Euro 2024 final on Sunday as England bid to make history against Spain. Tune in via the website or the app, and follow our live Euro 2024 blog for all the build-up.
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