At 3:00 AM on July 15th, the much-anticipated UEFA European Championship final will kick off between Spain and England. Here, we provide a brief summary of the historical encounters between these two teams.
Throughout history, Spain and England have faced each other 27 times in various competitions (including friendlies), with England leading the overall record at 14 wins, 2 draws, and 10 losses.
From 1955 to 1980, Spain suffered nine consecutive defeats against England across different tournaments. At that time, they were not yet capable of competing with England, known as the “birthplace of football.” However, as Spanish football developed over the years, they emerged as one of the world’s top teams.
Since the quarter-finals of Euro 1996, Spain has won 5 out of 10 matches played against England across various competitions, with 2 draws and 3 losses, thus surpassing their opponents in win rate.
However, since entering the 21st century, the two teams have never met in major tournaments such as the Euros or World Cup. Their most recent clash was in the 2018 Nations League, where England triumphed 3-2 over Spain.
Historically, Spain and England have only met twice in the European Championship arena. The first encounter occurred during the group stage of Euro 1980, with England winning 2-1. The second meeting was in the quarter-finals of Euro 1996, where both teams drew 0-0 in regular time, and England eventually prevailed 4-2 on penalties.
It is noteworthy that England has not defeated Spain in back-to-back games since 1980. As they head into their first-ever Euro final showdown, who do you think will emerge victorious?
