New Delhi: This Sunday will witness UEFA Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024’s final match of the tournament in Germany and the United States of America, respectively. Both the tournaments have given fans some memorable moments after 24 teams in the Euros and 16 teams in the Copa competed fiercely to reach elimination. The knockout stages did have surprise appearances from teams who weren’t the strongest contenders to make it past the group stages.
Euro 2024
Ten stadiums acted as venues for the Euros: Olympiastadion (Berlin), RheinEnergieStadion (Cologne), Signal Iduna Park (Dortmund), Merkur Spiel-Arena (Dusseldorf), Waldstadion (Frankfurt), Arena Auf Schalke (Gelsenkirchen), Volksparkstadion (Hamburg), Red Bull Arena (Leipzig), Allianz Arena (Munich) and MHPArena (Stuttgart).
The historic Olympiastadion will be the venue of the finals where the invincible Spain will face England in the Euro 2024 final. Designed in 1936, Olympiastadion has hosted five games in this tournament, with three group stage games, Spain vs. Croatia (Group B), Poland vs. Austria (Group D), Netherlands vs. Austria (Group D), and two knockout games with Switzerland vs Italy’s Round of 16 games and Netherland Turkey’s quarter-final game.
Spain have scored 13 goals, the most in the tournament. They won all three of their group games and conceded no goals in the group stage, collecting nine points to win Group D in the process. They qualified with wins over defending champions Italy, Albania and Croatia. In the round of 16, they were one goal behind before registering a 4-1 win over debutants Georgia. In the quarter-finals, they beat hosts Germany 2-1 in extra time after Mikel Merino’s header. During their semi-final clash against France, they were stunned in the ninth minute, only for Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo to put their side back in the driver’s seat.
England’s group stage includes a win over Serbia in their opening game, followed by two draws to win Group C. They recorded two clean sheets and conceded only once in the group stage. They had almost been written off against Slovakia in the round of 16 but made a comeback to win the game 2-1 after goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane in the extra time. The quarter-final game against Switzerland ended 1-1 and was decided in a penalty shootout (5-3). The semi-final saw another comeback from England against the Netherlands to win 2-1. Harry Kane scored the equalizer, and substitute Ollie Watkins scored at the last minute to put England in the finals.
Copa America final
Copa America saw 14 stadiums being used in the tournament across the vast landscape of the USA. The stadiums used were namely Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas, Nevada), AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas), Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina), Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kansas), Exploria Stadium (Orlando, Florida), GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida), Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, California), Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, Georgia), MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, New Jersey), NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas), Q2 Stadium (Austin, Texas), SoFi Stadium (Inglewood, California) and State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Arizona).
Hard Rock Stadium in Florida will be the venue for this year’s Copa America final. Two matches have already been played in this stadium during the tournament’s group stages, with Argentina taking on Peru in Group A and Uruguay facing Panama in Group C.
During group stages, Argentina were the Group A toppers in the points table with nine points, winning all three games. They beat Canada, Chile, and Peru with three clean sheets and scored five times. In the quarter-finals, Argentina finished the game against Ecuador 1-1 in regulation time. The penalty shoot saw them win 4-2. The semi-final against Canada saw them win 2-0 as Julian Alvarez and Lionel Messi scored one each as they entered their 30th final appearance of Copa America.
Colombia finished Group D, topping the table after beating Paraguay and Costa Rica and drawing against Brazil. They had conceded twice and scored six goals. Colombia played a ruthless game against Panama in the quarter-finals, winning 5-0. In the semi-final, they were reduced to a ten-man squad in the second half when Daniel Munoz received a red card. Jefferson Lerma ensured they went into half-time 1-0, which was the score they ended the game.
The Sunday is assumed to be a treat for football fans as two continents witness the champion of their sides.
Here are the venues that will host the Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 finals. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
