Spain will be ‘scared to death’ at the prospect of coming up against England star Jude Bellingham in the Euro 2024 final, according to Harry Redknapp.
Gareth Southgate’s England meet Luis de la Fuente’s Spain in Sunday’s Euros final after wins over the Netherlands and France respectively in the semi-finals.
Spain are favourites to become European champions for a fourth time and lift their first major trophy since 2012 after enjoying a flawless run to the final.
La Roja topped Group B with a maximum nine points before thumping Georgia in the last-16 stage and knocking out hosts Germany in the quarter-finals.
Spain went behind in their semi-final clash with World Cup finalists France but teenage sensation Lamine Yamal helped turn the tie around and sent his team into a third European Championship final since 2008.
England’s run to the final has not been so smooth, Southgate’s side winning just one of their group games before playing out three tense knockout matches.
The Three Lions needed some injury-time brilliance from Bellingham to avoid an embarrassing exit at the hands of Slovakia before beating Switzerland on penalties in a cagey quarter-final clash.
Their semi-final showdown with the Netherlands appeared to be heading in the same direction before Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score a last-minute winner and book England into back-to-back Euros finals.
Despite England’s stuttering Euro 2024 campaign, ex-Premier League manager Redknapp is ‘convinced’ football’s coming home and says Spain will be ‘worried ‘scared to death’ of Bellingham’s threat.
The 21-year-old came into the Euros having been named the La Liga Player of the Year after scoring 23 goals and helping Real Madrid win the Champions League and league title in his first season at the Bernabeu.
‘I’m convinced England will do it,’ Redknapp told The Sun. ‘I’ve said all along that this is our time, so there’s no way I’ll be going back on my prediction.
‘Not because it’s written in the stars, not because the draw has been kind, and not because we’ve ridden our luck on more than one occasion in these Euros.
‘All that’s helped, for sure, but not the reason I’m so confident. It’s because I look at the two teams and just think, man for man, we are stronger than Spain.
‘Yes, I know they’ve been the most impressive team at the tournament but let’s be honest, we’re not talking all-time greats like some of the sides of old.
‘The two young Spanish wingers are fantastic players, especially the kid Lamine Yamal. We certainly need to keep him quiet.
‘I tell you something, though – England have a hell of a lot more for them to be worried about, trust me. Like Jude Bellingham, for a start.
‘In Madrid they won’t be thinking of a man who’s only been at his best in flashes but the outstanding star of La Liga who took Spain by storm.
‘They’ll be scared to death of facing him, while Jude will be full of confidence at what he can do to them.’
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