UEFA Women's U17 EURO final preview: England vs Spain

England face Spain in Saturday's UEFA European Women's Under-17 Championship final at Malmö Idrottsplats in Sweden.

The lowdown

Spain, who almost completed a dramatic late comeback from 3-0 behind against France in last year's final, have reached the showpiece again in scintillating style. They scored 30 times in a perfect qualifying campaign and have 15 in four matches at the finals, gaining revenge over Les Bleues in the semi-finals, when they scored six times in the opening 31 minutes of a 6-1 saunter.

Celia Segura – joined by Barcelona team-mate Ainoa Gómez and Victoria's Lua Calo on three goals at the finals – came on at the interval in the 2023 decider and threatened to equalise with seconds of normal time remaining, while Martina González started. This year's tournament top scorer, six-goal Alba Cerrato of Sevilla, was an unused substitute alongside Gómez, Laia, Lorena Cubo and Amaya García.

Spain had beaten England in the semi-finals on that occasion, Gómez putting them ahead for a second time in the 88th minute of a 3-1 win in which La Roja had 22 of the teams' combined 24 attempts on goal.

First-time finalists England, too, qualified flawlessly, conceding only once. Their serene progress has continued in Sweden, where the only blemish on their defensive record came when the host nation briefly drew level against them during their second group stage match.

In front of an impressive home support, England had already restored their lead by the time Arsenal's Isabella Fisher scored a ten-minute first-half hat-trick, and they have since seen off holders France and Poland, the latter result ensuring that nine of their 11 goals have come within the first 36 minutes of matches.

Lola Brown, who produced England's winner against France, started their last European Women's Under-17 encounter with Spain alongside Laila Harbert, the captain responsible for the pick of their goals in their 3-0 opening win over Norway. Fisher and Erica Parkinson came on in that semi-final, while Vera Jones – scorer of eight goals in eight appearances across 2023/24 qualifying and the finals – was an unused substitute.

Views from the camps

Natalie Henderson, England coach: "We've almost been dreaming of this stage all season. We're very excited. We've talked about living in the moment and we're going to do that. We know it's going to be really challenging but this team likes challenges and we're ready to step up. We know Spain's record, which speaks for itself. We will concentrate on our style and being the best England team we can be."

Laila Harbert, England midfielder: "History doesn't count on the pitch. We'll just take the challenge as it comes and, hopefully, get the result with the right performance. We know we've made history already, which is quite special. In our minds, that's not enough: we want to better that again. Game on game in this tournament, we've been building momentum ready for the final. We're absolutely ready."

Kenio Gonzalo, Spain coach: "England and Spain are not so different in the way they play. We work very hard to study our opponents, which is very important. It's a really big game. I've a generation of players who are great on all fronts, both on and off the pitch. For the Royal Spanish Football Federation, we are proud of this moment because it helps the next generation."

Amaya, Spain defender: "We are very happy to be here. We took revenge for last year's defeat in the final against France and now we are focused on this match. When you play in a final, it's something you’ve dreamed about. You want to win and lift the trophy. We are a little nervous, which is normal because it's a big match. We are confident in our coach and in our team – all we want to do is fight for the win."

Key stats

• Spain are in a record 11th final from 15 editions, aiming for a fifth title, although they lost the 2021/22 and 2022/23 deciders.
• England, in their first final, aim to be the fifth different champions after Germany, Spain, Poland and France.
• Both teams hope to be the first to win all five games in a WU17 EURO final tournament in regulation time since the group stage was introduced in 2013/14.
• They also can complete the first perfect 11-game winning campaign including qualifying (Germany won all eight matches in their inaugural campaigns of 2007/08 and 2008/09 under the old format). Before losing last year's final, Spain had won their previous ten matches in the campaign.