England Under-21s are in Saturday’s Euro 2023 final against Spain as they look to win the tournament for the first time in 39 years.
The Young Lions beat Israel in Wednesday’s semi-final to reach their first final since 2009.
Here the PA news agency looks at some of the focal points ahead of the final.
History makers
It has been 39 years since the Under-21s last won the European Championship.
Then, it was back-to-back victories in 1982 and 1984 but the drought has not ended since. A 4-0 final thumping by Germany in 2009 is the closest they have got.
Lee Carsley’s side can make history in Batumi on Saturday.
Unbeatable England
England go into the final having scored 10 and conceded none. They have not been troubled at the back with James Trafford, close to a £15million switch to Burnley from Manchester City, unbeaten.
The final is a different matter and Spain will provide a sterner test on Saturday. They have scored 50 goals across qualifying and the tournament after thumping Ukraine 5-1 in their semi-final, but there will be a confidence and belief among the squad they can remain unbroken.
A long season
For most, including semi-final scorers Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, their season started over 330 days ago.
The new Premier League campaign is just five weeks away and while the squad did manage to get a break before linking up they will be tired, both mentally and physically.
It all adds to the debate about player welfare and how much football players can manage.
A balanced squad
For a long time now the squad has seemed more than the sum of its parts.
Previous Under-21 campaigns have ended with disappointment with teams containing Phil Foden, James Maddison, Jordan Pickford, Tammy Abraham and Harry Kane.
This class have gelled and, while they are all talented players, they have arguably gone under the radar compared to their predecessors.
Spain’s dangerman
England will have to stop Braga’s Abel Ruiz, who will be out for revenge having lost the Under-17 World Cup final to the Young Lions in 2017.
The striker has three goals and two assists for Spain in the tournament and scored the Euros’ fastest-ever strike when he netted after 20 seconds against Croatia.
The 23-year-old also has two senior caps and came through the ranks at Barcelona before a 2020 move to Braga.
Denmark sharpen up for Euro 2024 in style with convincing win over Norway
Erling Haaland got on the scoresheet but Norway lost 3-1 to Denmark as the latter concluded their Euro 2024 preparations in style.
Pierre-Emile Hojberg opened the scoring for the hosts in Brondby on Saturday, drilling home with a powerful right-footed effort in the 12th minute.
Defender Jannik Vestergaard added a second nine minutes later as he headed home Andreas Skov Olsen's teasing corner kick.
Manchester City star Haaland thought he had halved the deficit in the 65th minute only to see his effort ruled out after a VAR review, but he did score seven minutes later, finishing from Martin Odegaard's intricate pick out.
Yet the Danes would give their supporters the perfect send-off as they head to Germany, with Youseff Poulsen restoring their two-goal advantage in stoppage time.
Elsewhere, Denmark's Group C opponents Serbia also managed an impressive victory ahead of their meeting on June 25, securing a comfortable 3-0 win over Sweden in Stockholm.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic gave the Eagles an early advantage at the Friends Arena, with captain Aleksandr Mitrovic scoring his 58th international goal on the hour-mark. Dusan Tadic rounded off the scoring 10 minutes later with a fine finish beyond Robin Olsen.
Serbia will face England, who lost to Iceland on Friday, in their opening match at Euro 2024.
Hungary also won by the same scoreline in Debrecen as a rampant 11-minute flurry was enough to secure a comfortable victory.
Barnabas Varga teed up Roland Sallai for the opening goal of the game, and then scored twice in quick succession, first finishing from close range before Sallai turned provider for his team-mate to conclude the contest.
Switzerland and Austria played out a 1-1 draw at the Kybunpark as Christoph Baumgartner saw his fifth-minute strike cancelled out by defender Silvan Widmer.
Belgium 3-0 Luxembourg: Lukaku at the double as Red Devils warm up for Euro 2024
Belgium made light work of minnows Luxembourg as Domenico Tedesco's side rounded off their Euro 2024 preparations with a 3-0 victory.
Romelu Lukaku was at the double at Stade Roi Baudouin, with Leandro Trossard also getting in on the act for the Red Devils.
Belgium dominated from the off, though Luxembourg held out until Lukaku converted from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute.
Lukaku made it 2-0 shortly after the restart, with the 31-year-old on hand to finish after fine work from Jeremy Doku.
Trossard added further gloss nine minutes from time, and Belgium will now turn their attention to Euro 2024.
They face Slovakia in their opening group match on June 17, with fixtures against Romania and Ukraine to follow.
Data Debrief: Total control
It really could have been much worse for Luxembourg, given Belgium accumulated 4.81 expected goals from 27 attempts.
In return, Luxembourg mustered just 0.01 xG (essentially, having just one per cent of scoring all match), managing only one shot.
Reggae Rovers through to quarterfinals at The Soccer Tournament in North Carolina
The Reggae Rovers soccer team is riding high on a win over the English Professional side, Wrexham Red Dragons, 5-1 and will face off against the defending champions Newton Pride FC, in the quarterfinal round of The Soccer Tournament this evening in Cary North Carolina USA.
The TST kicked off on June 3 and is a World Cup Style seven-a-side tournament consisting of group play and single elimination knockout rounds in a quest for $1Million.
48 men's teams and 8 women's teams are competing in this annual event which will run until June 11.
The Reggae Rovers are the rhythm of football with a team of players from all over the Caribbean including Demario Philips of the Jamaica National Team and Owayne Gordon Montego Bay FC.
Supreme Ventures, Fintech and Ria are major sponsors of the Reggae Rovers.
Gary Peart, Chairman of Supreme Ventures who is on hand for the match, says the Reggae Rovers have made Jamaica very proud.
"We are extremely proud of the achievements of the Reggae Rovers they certainly embody the spirit of the Caribbean and represent us well in unity, skill and resilience. The team are true ambassadors," Peart said.
Pat McAfee's CONCAFA SC lost 4-1 in the opening round of The Soccer Tournament to Reggae Rovers on 5 June 2024. The match was a part of the TST, Group B.
Currently, Reggae Rovers rank 1st.
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