Berlin: After 50 games and the exit of 22 teams, England take on three-time winners Spain in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday. The tournament has been a showcase of a talented next generation of footballers, including teenagers Lamine Yamal, Arda Guler and Kobbie Mainoo, but several under-the-radar established players have have shown their class on the European stage. Spanish starlets Yamal and Nico Williams have lit up Euro 2024 from the flanks but Dani Olmo's contributions from the middle of the park have proved crucial for the finalists.
The 26-year-old is well-known in Germany after four years at RB Leipzig but has made everyone else stand up and take notice of his ability with a string of excellent performances in his adopted country. Having sealed Spain's 4-1 last-16 win over Georgia with a late goal, Olmo came off the bench after just eight minutes to replace the injured Pedri against Germany in the quarter finals, scoring the opener and laying on Mikel Merino's extra-time winner. In Spain's semi-final with France, Olmo's 25th-minute strike would prove the winner, sending his team to their fifth Euros final.
Olmo now has three goals, the equal most in the tournament, alongside two assists despite only starting two of Spain's six games. Playing in his first major international tournament, England's Marc Guehi quickly established himself in the middle of Gareth Southgate's miserly defensive set-up. Just 23, he has been calm and assured alongside John Stones in cen.