Gary Neville, Ian Wright & Roy Keane Name Spain v England combined 11

The Euro 2024 final is set and England will take on Spain for the chance to lift the iconic trophy. While the Three Lions haven’t had the most impressive or dominant tournaments, they have made it to the final for the second European Championship in a row. Standing in their way, though, is a tough Spanish side that have brushed past everyone they’ve faced so far this summer.

Both teams are blessed with some incredible players, and there will be multiple world class talents taking part in the final. While looking ahead to the match, the Overlap podcast team, Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott had a go at coming up with a combined XI of the best team featuring players from England and Spain’s Euro 2024 squads and there were some very interesting results.

Combined XI from England and Spain Euro 2024 squads

Position
Player
Nation

GK
Jordan Pickford
England

RB
Kyle Walker
England

CB
John Stones
England

CB
Aymeric Laporte
Spain

LB
Marc Cucurella
Spain

CM

Rodri
Spain

CM
Fabian Ruiz
Spain

RW
Bukayo Saka
England

AM
Jude Bellingham
England

LW
Phil Foden
England

ST
Harry Kane
England

Goalkeeper and Defence

Pickford, Walker, Stones, Laporte & Cucurella

Starting off with the goalkeeper, it was a tough decision, but the group ultimately went with Jordan Pickford. Unai Simon is a very good keeper, but the Englishman has been heroic for his country over the years and will go down as one of the best in Three Lions history, so they gave him the nod.

The backline was compiled of Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella. The former two have been some of the best defenders in England for years now, so it’s no surprise that they were selected here. Laporte, who is now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia has proven he still has plenty to offer at an elite level throughout Euro 2024, so he is fully deserving of his pick as well, despite Marc Guehi having a fantastic competition for the Three Lions.

The final defender selected on the left was Cucurella. The Chelsea man has made Neville eat his words after the pundit claimed he would be what held Spain back from going all the way. He’s instead had a sublime tournament, and has been a standout for the Spaniards so far. With Luke Shaw playing very limited minutes, and Kieran Trippier played out of position on the left for England throughout Euro 2024, this was an easy decision.

Midfield

Rodri, Ruiz & Bellingham

While Kobbie Mainoo and Declan Rice have both had good tournaments, and both are very, very good footballers, they miss out due to the impressive summers that both Rodri and Fabian Ruiz have had. The former is the best midfielder in the world, there’s no doubt about that, and he’s proven so numerous times over the years and continues to do so with his country.

Ruiz has been one of the surprise stars of the summer, and has been influential in Spain’s success so far in Euro 2024, so thoroughly deserves his place in the XI. Playing in front of them, Jude Bellingham was picked over Dani Olmo. This was harsh on the Spaniard, who is currently the joint top scorer of the tournament, and has chipped in with a number of goals too.

With that said, Bellingham has played the hero for England on multiple occasions so far in the European Championship and without his exploits, they wouldn’t be anywhere near the final right now and would have been sent packing several stages ago.

Forwards

Saka, Foden & Kane

The forwards are dominated by England here. Quite controversially too, as the Three Lions haven’t looked great offensively, while Spain have been lighting their opponents up at times throughout Euro 2024. Firstly, Bukayo Saka was picked on the right ahead of the impressive youngster Lamine Yamal. The Arsenal man has been one of Gareth Southgate’s best players so far this summer, so his inclusion feels fair, but it’s harsh on Yamal whose stock has risen exponentially throughout the tournament after a series of incredible performances.

Shockingly, Phil Foden was picked on the left side over Nico Williams. The Spaniard has had a superb tournament so far, whereas the Manchester City star struggled playing on the left and has been moved into a more central role as of recently, so the decision to select him on the left was a surprising one.

There were no questions on who was going to be selected to lead the front line, though, as Harry Kane was picked over Alvaro Morata. The England skipper hasn’t had the best of tournaments, but he’s still managed to be the joint top scorer, with three goals and has popped up when it matters most for his side. As England’s all-time leading goalscorer, he has a serious argument to be his nation’s best player ever, and there was no way that the Overlap crew weren’t picking him here.