Gareth Southgate does not believe in fairytales, but the England manager is a firm believer in dreams, so he said on the eve of the Euro 2024 final.

England take on Spain with history on the line in Berlin on Sunday.

Win, and the Three Lions will end a 58-year wait for a second piece of silverware. Spain, on the other hand, could become the first team to win the European Championships on four separate occasions.

England lost to Italy on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 three years ago, and while they have stuttered their way through in Germany, Southgate wants to create a special moment in time.

"I'm not a believer in fairytales, but I am a believer in dreams," he said.

"We've had big dreams and felt the importance of that, but you've got to make those things happen.

"Fate, the late goals we've had, the penalties, that doesn't equate to it being our moment. We've got to make it happen tomorrow.

"It's in our hands, and it's our performance which is the most important thing."

England have made it into the semi-finals of three of the four major tournaments under Southgate.

To get to their second final in three years, they finished top of Group C despite winning only one match, before coming from behind to beat Slovakia and the Netherlands either side of overcoming Switzerland in a penalty shootout.

"We've got good experience of big matches now and I think at these moments you don't need to say too much to the players, they don't need motivating for a game like this - it's about making sure the small details are right as fine margins decide these games and we've got to make sure we're on the right side of them," Southgate added.

"We're excited for the challenge. Clearly the team have improved over the last few weeks, showed tremendous character and resilience - I have to say they have been a pleasure to work with every day on the training pitch.

"It's been a great environment to work in and now we have a fabulous opportunity tomorrow to achieve what we set out really from the moment we left Qatar a bit earlier than we'd have liked.

"I don't have any fear about tomorrow as I've been through everything.

"I want the players to have that fearlessness. If we're not afraid to lose it gives us a better chance of winning."

Southgate will be the third manager to take charge of more than one European Championship final (excluding replays), after Helmut Schon with Germany (1972, 1976) and Berti Vogts with Germany (1992, 1996), with all three doing so in consecutive editions. No coach has ever lost two finals in the competition before.

The Opta supercomputer rates England's chances of success at 28.5%, with Spain the favourites at 40.7%.

Marc Cucurella is hoping that Chelsea teammate Cole Palmer remains on the bench as he laid out his plan to stop Bukayo Saka ahead of Spain's Euro 2024 final against England. 

Palmer is yet to start for Gareth Southgate at the tournament, despite netting 22 goals in 34 Premier League appearances in a turbulent season at Stamford Bridge. 

However, the 22-year-old proved his worth from the bench, teeing up Ollie Watkins' late strike against the Netherlands to secure their place in back-to-back European Championship finals. 

Asked whether he had been in contact with his Chelsea teammate, Cucurella told Mundo Deportivo: “I spoke with him, but it was over a week ago. We talked for a while in the previous rounds.

“For me, it’s much better if he doesn’t play and stays on the bench.”

Having endured a difficult season at club level, Cucurella has starred for La Roja in Germany, starting all but one of their fixtures at the finals. 

Injuries to Jose Gaya and Alejandro Balde resulted in his inclusion in Luis de la Fuente's final 26-man squad. 

Although many expected Bayer Leverkusen's Alex Grimaldo to start at left-back, Cucurella has made that position his own and has been one of the most consistent players at the tournament. 

But when asked by The Athletic if there was an English player he particularly struggled against, Cucurella said: "He has not played a lot at Euro 2024, but it has to be Cole Palmer. 

"His football brain works so quickly, he is always a step ahead of the rest. His decision-making is almost always excellent, and that sort of intelligence is the most difficult thing to defend against, you just can’t predict what he’ll do next. I’ve suffered a lot in training.

"He reminds me a lot of Lamine Yamal. Same style of player. He is a guy who does not care too much about anything. They don’t take life or themselves too seriously.

"If you ran into Palmer in the streets, you would never tell he is a footballer. But then he plays and… oof.

"He arrived at a tough time for Chelsea, when the team was struggling, and he made an impact from the start. That helped him a lot to keep growing and getting more confident. If you manage to get those kinds of players in a situation of confidence, they make the difference.

"I’m so happy and hope he carries on like this… but after this weekend!"

Cucurella is likely to come up against Saka in Berlin should Gareth Southgate stick with the same side that edged past the Netherlands last time out.

The Spaniard knows all too well the threat that Saka possesses, having seen him notch an assist in each of their Premier League encounters last season. 

And Cucurella plans to make Sunday's final as uncomfortable as possible for the Arsenal man. 

"I know how Saka plays. I don’t really need to watch a lot of footage as I normally watch all the Arsenal games," Cucurella said.

"It is so tough to mark him, but those challenges are nice for me. Playing against rivals of such quality is nice, I’m sure we both can’t wait for it. 

"My main target is to make him feel uncomfortable. I also think that the game’s script will depend a lot on Spain and how we play, rather than what England do.

"If we dominate the ball as we’ve done and stay aware of the high pressure and everything we need to do to avoid counter-attacks, we’ll have plenty of chances to win."

Joe Root labelled James Anderson as England's greatest bowler but insisted the future is bright following Gus Atkinson's sensational debut against West Indies. 

Anderson called time on his international career at Lord's on Friday, taking four wickets on his final appearance as Ben Stokes' team embark on a new era without the legendary seamer.

While replacing Anderson, who took 704 wickets in total, is an unenviable task, Atkinson shone for England after becoming the 19th male player to take 10 wickets on his Test match debut against the West Indies. 

Atkinson's figures of 12-106 were the fourth best any player has managed in their first Test, having only made his white-ball debuts in both T20Is and ODIs over the past 12 months.

"I think the future does look very bright in the bowling department," Root said.

"We've lost our greatest ever bowler but for Gus to come in and do that shows a lot about where we are as a team. We are moving in the right direction."

With two more Tests against the Windies and a three-match series against Sri Lanka scheduled for later in the summer, Root is already looking ahead to the highly anticipated Ashes clash with Australia next year.

England will be aiming for their first series win over Australia since 2015, and Root believes Atkinson could emerge as a key figure in those conditions.

"I think as a player, the Ashes is the series that you're always looking forward to, they're the ones you're always building towards.

"When teams have gone out there, what they need for those conditions is someone like Gus that can bowl in the late 80mphs, early 90mphs, and still move the ball around and make things happen at high pace."

Root, who has played 110 matches alongside Anderson, only behind Stuart Broad (138) and Alastair Cook (130) in terms of shared matches, expressed deep admiration for Anderson's remarkable career.

England's former Test captain said: "It's been an incredible tribute, hasn't it?

"The fact we only had an hour's play [on Friday] and we got a full house at Lord's just shows the impact that Jimmy's career has had on so many people. 

"These days, they're few and far between. You don't get the opportunity to celebrate such a wonderful career and someone that's done things in the game that no one else has done before.

"I think it's something that we#ll look back at and treasure. For me, all I've ever known for England is playing alongside Jimmy and that's been for 12 years."

Harry Kane insists full focus remains on securing England's first international trophy since 1966 as he prepares to do battle with Spain's Dani Olmo for the Golden Boot in the Euro 2024 final. 

England face Spain in the tournament's showpiece game on Sunday in Berlin having beaten the Netherlands in the semi-finals thanks to Ollie Watkins' late strike. 

Kane levelled the scores in Dortmund from the penalty spot, netting his third goal of the competition and putting him out on his own as the all-time top scorer in knockout games at the European Championships (six). 

He now has more knockout stage goals in major tournaments than any other European player (nine), overtaking Gerd Muller, Miroslav Klose, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappe (all eight).

The Three Lions captain currently finds himself in a six-way tie for the Golden Boot, with Spain's Olmo posing the biggest threat. 

Olmo currently holds the edge over Kane, having recorded two assists along with his three goals in Germany for Luis de la Fuente's side. 

Cody Gakpo, Georges Mikautadze, Jamal Musiala and Ivan Schranz all have three goals to their name too. However, they have all exited the competition. 

But Kane insists scooping the Golden Boot will be an added bonus, with full focus on ensuring England lift the Henri Delaunay Cup in Berlin. 

"Ultimately, when you come this far in a tournament, you're not thinking about the golden boot," Kane said.

"You're thinking about winning the championship and that's all that matters.

"So, of course, as a striker I'd love to score on Sunday but if someone else scores and we win, I'm not going to be disappointed."

Kane's wait for a first trophy in his professional career could come to an end in Berlin, having come close in both his domestic and international outings. 

During his time with Tottenham, the striker received three runners-up medals, including one in the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019. 

His switch to Bayern Munich promised to end that wait, but defeat on his debut in the DFL-Supercup and a third-placed finish in the Bundesliga saw the German club endure their first season without a trophy in 11 years. 

Kane also captained England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, as well as their Euro 2020 final run which ended in defeat to Italy on penalties at Wembley. 

The Three Lions striker admitted the pain of their defeat to the Azzurri brings extra motivation, but confirmed that if England are to end their 58-year wait for an international trophy, it will be down to the team. 

"Everyone wants to achieve the same goal," he concluded.

"And whether you play one minute or you play every minute, if we win it, we're all going to celebrate together and we’re all going to be extremely happy, so that's the most important thing."

Harry Kane insists full focus remains on securing England's first international trophy since 1966 as he prepares to do battle with Spain's Dani Olmo for the Golden Boot in the Euro 2024 final. 

England face Spain in the tournament's showpiece game on Sunday in Berlin having beaten the Netherlands in the semi-finals thanks to Ollie Watkins' late strike. 

Kane levelled the scores in Dortmund from the penalty spot, netting his third goal of the competition and putting him out on his own as the all-time top scorer in knockout games at the European Championships (six). 

He now has more knockout stage goals in major tournaments than any other European player (nine), overtaking Gerd Muller, Miroslav Klose, Antoine Griezmann, and Kylian Mbappe (all eight).

The Three Lions captain currently finds himself in a six-way tie for the Golden Boot, with Spain's Olmo posing the biggest threat. 

Olmo currently holds the edge over Kane, having recorded two assists along with his three goals in Germany for Luis de la Fuente's side. 

Cody Gakpo, Georges Mikautadze, Jamal Musiala and Ivan Schranz all have three goals to their name too. However, they have all exited the competition. 

However, Kane insists scooping the Golden Boot will be an added bonus, with full focus on ensuring England lift the Henri Delaunay Cup in Berlin. 

"Ultimately, when you come this far in a tournament, you're not thinking about the golden boot," Kane said.

"You're thinking about winning the championship and that's all that matters.

"So, of course, as a striker I'd love to score on Sunday but if someone else scores and we win, I'm not going to be disappointed."

Kane's wait for a first trophy in his professional career could come to an end in Berlin, having come close in both his domestic and international outings. 

During his time with Tottenham, the striker received three runners-up medals, including one in the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019. 

His switch to Bayern Munich promised to end that wait, but defeat on his debut in the DFL-Supercup and a third-placed finish in the league saw the German club endure their first season without a trophy in 11 years. 

Kane also captained England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, as well as their European Championship final run which ended in defeat to Italy on penalties. 

The Three Lions striker admitted the pain of their defeat to the Azzurri brings extra motivation, but confirmed that if England are to end their 58-year wait for an international trophy, it will be down to the team. 

"Everyone wants to achieve the same goal," he concluded.

"And whether you play one minute or you play every minute, if we win it, we're all going to celebrate together and we’re all going to be extremely happy, so that's the most important thing."

England captain Jamie George says his side have "no ceiling" to their potential after another narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday.

Steve Borthwick's men were undone by a late fightback as the All Blacks triumphed 24-17 at Eden Park, following up a close 16-15 victory for the hosts in the first Test.

It could have been a different story, however, as England crossed for a third try that would have set up a conversion to draw 24-24 before a lengthy TMO review saw them penalised for obstruction in a maul.

George insists England must take all of the positives from their 2-0 series defeat, having threatened a first win in New Zealand since 2003.

"We're a significantly better team than when we started and there are hugely exciting times ahead for this England team," George told Sky Sports.

"We'll welcome New Zealand back to Twickenham in November and we look forward to that, but I don't think there is a ceiling in this team.

"You look at the age demographic, hugely talented guys who are desperate to learn, and it's an absolute pleasure to be a part of."

England scored through Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Tommy Freeman tries, both via Marcus Smith kick passes.

Fly-half Smith, aged just 25, represents one of the more experience heads in the side as England attempt to build for the future.

"If you look at guys like Fin Baxter and Ollie Sleightholme winning their first caps against the All Blacks, they'll never forget it and I thought they built on it nicely," Smith said.

"We've got a lot of young lads – I'm feeling old at the minute! But I think we are building to something.

"The belief we have as a group is growing, and on another day we get a result here or last week."

England next face Australia at home in November when head coach Borthwick hopes to continue the improvements.

"I think they'll be rightly proud of their efforts. The team is progressing," Borthwick said after the defeat.

"Clearly we've got work to do to get to where we want to be, but we're making steps forward."

Declan Rice lauded praise on England midfield partner Kobbie Mainoo for his leadership qualities during his run in the side at Euro 2024. 

Mainoo has started alongside Rice in the Three Lions' three knockout games against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands. 

The Manchester United midfielder, who enjoyed a breakthrough season under Erik ten Hag, made history in England's semi-final win over Ronald Koeman's side. 

At 19 years and 82 days, Mainoo became the youngest player to play for England in the semi-final of a major tournament.

Mainoo received the man of the match award, starring in midfield as he made more tackles (two) and interceptions (two) than any other Three Lions player in Dortmund. 

"You can just see. You speak to him and just feel his calm presence that he has and what I like about him is that he is not scared to say it how it is," said Rice.

"There was something towards the end [against the Netherlands] when he gave me a pass between the lines and I got sold short for it.

"We had to sprint back and we had bit at each other - but that is good because you need that relationship. At 19, I can't imagine many saying that to older players and that's what I love about him.

"That is what the lads love about him as well. He gets that respect, he has that leadership and the way he takes the ball and is comfortable.

"The conversations we've been having daily with each other and on the training pitch have brought us together, and we have become a nice partnership."

Rice has had another influential tournament with England, having played a major role in Gareth Southgate's side in their run to the delayed Euro 2020 final against Italy.

In Germany, the Arsenal midfielder has had more touches (300) and completed more passes (236) while under high pressure than any other player at the tournament.

He’s also made seven line breaking passes that have led to a shot within 10 seconds, more than any other England player, showcasing his ability in the forward areas. 

Rice was previously partnered with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher during the group games at the tournament but insists he has found a nice balance with Mainoo ahead of their meeting with Spain on Sunday.

"I think when you're playing with a midfield partner, you need to understand each other's game. You need to play close to each other.

"That's why you see us playing a couple of little passes to each other in games. You know, those little first pass connections are so important. And we've been working really well together on the training pitch.

"So this boy is going to go on to be massive. He's destined for great things. And what I love about him as well is that he isn't big-headed. He's got a great family around him. You see his family in the stands after the game. They're so happy, smiley, speak to people. 

"Man United have got a top player on their hands for the next decade, I'm sure."

Mark Wood has been added to England's squad for the second Test against the West Indies, replacing James Anderson after his retirement.

England's all-time leading wicket-taker Anderson signed off from his glittering red-ball career on Friday, taking a wicket on the final day at Lord's in his farewell Test.

Ben Stokes' side hammered the touring Windies by an innings and 114 runs, and England have made just one expected change to their playing squad.

Anderson's retirement has paved the way for Durham quick Wood to return, having missed the first Test after featuring in the T20 World Cup with Jos Buttler's white-ball team.

Stokes will likely stick with Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson, the latter who impressed significantly in his first international with remarkable match figures of 12-106, leaving one fast-bowling slot available.

Wood will battle it out with the uncapped Dillon Pennington and Durham team-mate Matthew Potts for a place in the second Test, which begins on Thursday at Trent Bridge.

Should Pennington feature and make his debut, the Nottinghamshire bowler would do so on his home ground.

England men's squad for second Test v West Indies: 
Ben Stokes (Durham), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Surrey), Dillon Pennington (Nottinghamshire), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Mark Wood (Durham).

Gareth Southgate says he would find it "impossible to make a logical decision" on his England future before the Euro 2024 final.

The Three Lions are playing in the showpiece for the second consecutive Euros on Sunday, with Spain standing in the way of them winning their first major tournament in 58 years.

Under Southgate, England have reached at least the semi-finals in three of their four major tournaments, only failing to do so at the 2022 World Cup, when they were beaten by eventual finalists France in the last eight.

The manager's current contract runs out in December, with his uncertain future causing a lot of speculation.

"Emotionally, it would be impossible for me to make a logical decision at the moment on any of that because my sole focus for two years has been winning this tournament," Southgate told a group of reporters.

"The last five or six weeks have been an absolute rollercoaster, so I don't actually know where I am with anything other than being very focused on preparing the team for this game.

"I'm determined to keep leading them in the way I have over the last month.

"I definitely took the job to try and help English football improve. I know what it would mean, not only to the general public in England but particularly people involved in English football, from those that develop young players to those that run clubs, every level of the game, really.

"We've improved the credibility of English football in how it's perceived around the world but, ultimately, until you win that trophy then there will always be those questions both abroad and at home about what we've done."

James Anderson says he never felt "great" during his career following his retirement from international cricket.

The fast bowler played his final Test match for England against the West Indies with an innings win on the third day, taking four wickets to see him finish with a total of 704 for his career.

Anderson is England's all-time leading wicket-taker, with only Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne ahead of him in the all-time list of Test bowlers.

Over a 21-year career, he won 188 Test caps for England, the most of any player, but despite his many records, he does not believe he reached the level of the "greats".

"You go so up and down," he told Sky Sports. "Some series you feel amazing and some not quite on it and a batter gets the better of you.

"Playing against Virat Kohli in the early days, you felt you could get him out every ball and then recently like you can't get him out at all. You feel so inferior.

"I have never felt great at any stage. I know that sounds strange. I have always thought 'How can I get better for the next series?'. That has helped me play for such a long time."

Anderson was given a guard of honour by both teams at Lord's on Friday before going out onto the balcony following the match to more celebratory scenes from the spectators.

Asked about the legacy he wanted to leave behind, the 41-year-old admitted he would be pleased to find out he had inspired others to take up the sport.

"The way I have loved the sport so much, I would love for there to be people out there that have taken up the game because they have watched me bowl," said Anderson.

"That people have been entertained by watching me bowl and there are kids or grown-ups who have taken up the art of swing bowling because they have seen me bowl. That would make me so happy."

Anderson will immediately move onto England's backroom staff, becoming a bowling mentor for the second Test at Trent Bridge next week.

England narrowly missed out on inflicting New Zealand's first defeat at Eden Park in 30 years as the All Blacks came from behind to win 24-17 on Saturday.

The victory was secured by Damian McKenzie's penalty five minutes from the end, with New Zealand also sealing the 2-0 Test series win.

Mark Tele'a was the star for the All Blacks as he scored a try in both halves, pouncing on an England mistake for his first.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso responded just moments later, after latching onto Marcus Smith's cross-field kick, with the latter then setting Tommy Freeman up in the same way to see England take a one-point lead into half-time.

They then opened up a four-point gap with a penalty, but New Zealand found their fight, with Beaumont Barrett wonderfully bursting in behind to set Tele'a up for his second.

England were denied the chance to cross for a late try, which could have set up a 24-24 draw with the conversion, but a television match official referral saw them penalised inches from the line.

"In the second half we were not as accurate as we wanted to be, we gave away a few too many penalties and gave them easy points and territory," Maro Itoje told Sky Sports after the game. 

"When you are playing a good team, you cannot really do that. We gave their backfield opportunities to run it back at us. Beauden Barrett and the rest are good players, so we don't want to give them opportunities, but we live and we learn.

"It is tough, but I think we showed some improvements in the way we play the game, but at the end of the day it just wasn't good enough today.

"We are at the start of the journey, we are a young team, and we can only get better for these experiences."

Data Debrief: All Blacks hot streak stays alive

New Zealand are now unbeaten across their last 49 Test matches at Eden Park (W47 D2), with their last loss in the city of Auckland coming against France in 1994.

Meanwhile, England have won just two of their last nine Test matches away from home (L7, excluding neutral venues) after winning three in a row previously. However, each of their last four losses outside of England have come by margins of fewer than 10 points.

Declan Rice wants to take inspiration from the Lionesses' European Championships success when England face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday.

England's women won their first major trophy at Euro 2022, dramatically beating Germany 2-1 in extra time to earn the country's first title since the men won the 1966 World Cup.

The Three Lions had come close to ending the trophy drought themselves the year before but lost on penalties to Italy in the delayed Euro 2020 final.

Having reached the final for the second consecutive Euros, Rice is aiming to build on the legacy created by the Lionesses.

"Yeah, it would mean everything I think to win something for your country,” Rice said.

"We saw when the women's team won it, what it meant to them and what it meant to the nation. I'm lucky enough now to see a lot of the girls who are in the Arsenal squad and to this day they still speak about it.

"You know that's what we want now as a men's team, you know we want it. We want to win; we want to make the nation proud. We want to make the fans proud.

"And it's a chance to create our own little bit of history. So yeah, look, we're ready. But like I said, it's another game of football and may the best team win."

As well as reaching the final in both European Championships under Gareth Southgate, England also reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

However, the manager had come under criticism at the tournament in the early stages after lacklustre performances from the side, especially in the group stages.

"I can't speak highly enough of Gareth," Rice added. "I think he deserves it more than anyone.

"I think the England manager's job is probably one of the most scrutinised jobs in the world, but you look at what he's done for us in tournaments.

"Obviously, after the group games it was tough, the boos, people chucking stuff on the pitch, you have to see that, and you have to be calm in those moments.

"For him as the manager, he has to be calm and the way he still reacted with us after that, how calm he was, even though if he would have been feeling a different way, it still made us feel really calm. And we always still had a vision and a belief that we could go and do special things.

"Now we're feeling that love, that confidence, and we can't thank everyone enough for that and, yeah, just keep with us one more game. And, hopefully, we can do something special and give memories to you all for forever."

Ollie Watkins labelled Spain's Lamine Yamal as a "generational talent" ahead of England's clash with La Roja in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday. 

Yamal played a key role in Spain reaching their first major tournament final since 2012, scoring a stunner to cancel out Randal Kolo Muani's opener before Dani Olmo's winner four minutes later. 

The teenager has had 13 shot involvements following a ball carry at Euro 2024 (six shots, seven chances created), at least three more than any other player.

Having beaten Pele's record in becoming the youngest player to score at a major tournament, more history beckons for Yamal in Berlin. 

A day after his 17th birthday, the Barcelona forward could be the youngest player to feature in a World Cup or European Championship final, again, beating Pele's record from the 1958 World Cup (17y 249d).

“Everyone's seen what he can do. It's not often that you are scoring a goal against France in the top corner in the semi-final of the Euros when you're 16," Watkins said.

"He’s got the world at his feet and is miles ahead of me when I was 16 or 17.”

England left it late to secure their place in their first major tournament final on foreign soil, with Watkins striking the deciding blow against the Netherlands. 

The Three Lions' hopes of reaching back-to-back European Championship finals were dented early on when Xavi Simons fired beyond Jordan Pickford from distance. 

However, Harry Kane levelled from the spot, before Watkins emerged from the bench to fire Gareth Southgate's side into the tournament's showpiece game. 

Watkins was under no illusions about the difficulty awaiting his side in Berlin, acknowledging Spain's run to the final where they have beaten Italy, Germany and France.

“They’ve had to come through a harder journey than us playing against Italy, Germany and France - the so-called bigger teams - and I feel like they have been probably the best team of the competition so far," he said.

“The wingers for Spain are very dynamic, young, full of confidence and direct but also across our team, we have goals from everywhere and world class talent, so it's going to be a very exciting match.

"I can't wait to watch it and be a part of it. And hopefully we can get the get the job done."

Like many England fans, Watkins has had his fourth international goal from their semi-final win over the Netherlands on repeat. 

"I watched it quite a few times, when I got back to camp," said Watkins. "I was manifesting it, a lot has led up to it.

"A good friend said he felt like I would score in the Euros final, I did it a match before, but you never know, I might be saving another one for the final."

Carlos Alcaraz is confident that Sunday will be a good day for the people of Spain as he prepares to defend his Wimbledon crown. 

Alcaraz became just the second Spaniard after Rafael Nadal to reach multiple singles finals at Wimbledon following his 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4 win on Centre Court. 

The 21-year-old's match against either Novak Djokovic will take place hours before Spain face England in the Euro 2024 final in Berlin. 

"I feel like I am not new anymore. I know how I feel before the final I have been in this position before - I will try to do the things that I didn't do last year and be better," Alcaraz told Annabel Croft in his post-match interview. 

"I will also try the things that went well - it will be a good day for Spanish people as well!"

The world number three went on to jokingly reference the European Championship final, saying: "I didn't say Spain was going to win."

But Alcaraz's quest for a fourth grand slam title was anything but straightforward, coming from a set down to edge a classic against Medvedev.

In a game that saw nine break points converted (Alcaraz six, Medvedev three), Alcaraz acknowledged the difficulties he faced in SW19. 

"I tried to play long rallies and tried to play to the net as much as I can. I tried to not play his game," Alcaraz said. 

"There were a few points that were really long rallies, but I tried to put my own game [on the match]. It was difficult to break the wall!

"Different conditions, but happy with my performance today. He was dominating the match and playing great tennis with his serves. It was difficult for me and he tried to pull out all the shots."

While having no issues with investing more money in West Indies Test cricket, iconic batsman Brian Lara believes the region’s problems goes much deeper when it comes to the game’s longest format.

In fact, Lara who has never been shy about expressing his views, pointed out that the onus is on Cricket West Indies (CWI) to take the necessary steps to resolve the slippage, as the Caribbean side –ranked eighth in the ICC Test rankings –suffered a crushing innings and 114-run defeat to England inside three days in the first of their three-match series, at Lord’s.  

“If you put 100 million, 200 million dollars into the West Indies’ bank account, is it going to change the way we play the game? I’m not sure. We are not harnessing the talent that we have,” Lara told BBC World Service’s Stumped podcast.

Though the likes of Nicholas Pooran and Shai Hope possess enough ability to play crucial roles in Test, both have opted to play just white-ball cricket internationally, which enables them to play in franchise leagues across the world.

That along with the fact that other sports, such as athletics, are vying for the sponsorship dollars across the Caribbean, Lara believes has pushed cricket on the outside.

“Obviously, cricket has been diluted by the number of different sports and different opportunities for kids, but I still believe that corporate West Indies have got to get involved,” Lara said.

“The West Indies Cricket Board hasn’t done the right job in attracting these sponsors to ensure that at least grassroots, but also the academy, all the different things, the facilities, are up to standard. I think these things are very, very important,” he added.

On that note, Lara also stressed the need for more to be done to revive public interest in the longer format.

“We don’t have anybody coming through the gate. I walked in Lord’s about 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday and outside there were people waiting. That was something I was accustomed to as a kid, getting to the Queens Park Oval at 5:30 and waiting for the gate to be open.

“That’s not happening. You get there at 11 o’clock and there is an empty stadium. You could pick a seat wherever you want. We have to try to get the crowd back,” Lara shared.

“That will breathe the life back into the people of the Caribbean and let them understand what Test cricket is all about and you can get the world of money. You still need to sort of get the crowd more passionate about it and we haven’t been able to do that,” he noted.