Watch Tyson Fury’s motivational message to England heroes as he sings to Gareth Southgate’s men before Euro 2024 final

THEY’VE been booed by their own fans, the manager has been pelted with pints and were so dull even Gary “Mr Nice” Lineker branded one of their group games as s**t.

Yet if England upset the odds in Berlin this evening, there’s a good case to argue the Euros will never have had a more fitting winner.

Let’s face it, for all the nation has suddenly gone football-daft and started belting out Sweet Caroline again — thanks for that — this has been a tournament of trash.

The big guns didn’t turn up, the big names may as well not have and, barring the first round of group fixtures, big thrills were harder to find than a sober Scotland fan.

It has been a month of yawning, not fawning. Of exasperation, not animation. Four weeks of booze and boos.

History will look back on it as the sub-standard Euros . . . and when it comes to sub-standard, we are in a league of our own.

Initially thanks to the dross Harry Kane and Co served up in stuttering from the group of bored-to-death.

Yet the three knockout ties weren’t so much about sub standards as the standard of subs. The reason England reached the final — and why they can now win it!

Yes, Spain have been head and shoulders the best team in Germany, and young wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal the stand-out stars.

But for everyone from Yamal, 17 yesterday, to old head Dani Carvajal, 32, the Euros is a gruelling four weeks after a demanding season. Which obviously applies to England as well.

That is why the strength of the bench has been and will be so vital, maybe even more than the strength of the starting XI.

An area where Spain don’t come close to matching the Three Lions. See what I mean about sub standards . . . about where England have a clear and crucial edge?

About why Southgate may well be Sir Gareth before long?

If they stick it up the Senors tonight, the cries for an honour will be even louder than they were for his head. After all, it was Southgate who made the key calls against Slovakia, Switzerland and then Holland. All subs who raised the standard.

Ivan Toney’s dramatic role in the last-16 great escape. Eberechi Eze and Luke Shaw saving the day against the Swiss. Cole Palmer and matchwinner Ollie Watkins’ semi-final heroics.

Southgate has had the golden touch with his replacements and it’s hard to give him a dig in the ribs over that . . . in fact it’s hard to say he didn’t get them spot on.

But I’m going to anyway.

For although England would be on their way home now without their subs — or finishers as they are now, apparently — don’t hail it as the work of a tactical genius.

There has been as much luck as judgment. There has been too much dithering. They have been made too late in the day. They have been reactive, not proactive.

Toney was chucked on in the final minute against Slovakia. What was he supposed to do in that time? Even the player himself asked as much in the post-match conference.

Eze, Shaw and Palmer changed the tone and the tempo in fighting back against the Swiss. But again, only after England had gone behind late in the day.

And although Watkins hit the last-gasp winner to beat the Dutch, from Palmer’s pass, once more Southgate waited too long in turning to his bench.

Time and again he leaves Kane on when he is out on his feet. Time and again he has left Palmer kicking his heels, despite impacting things whenever he appears.

Southgate has got away with it so far but it won’t always be the case. As manager, he has to have the bottle to make changes earlier.

Playing to your strengths isn’t rocket science and for England that is the bench — but only if you know how to exploit it.

So come on Gareth, show us that you do!

Who knows, we might even get to relax for the final few minutes . . . although I won’t be holding my breath.

Read more articles by Phil Thomas

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• May 1929, Spain 4-3 England – International Friendly (L)
• December 1931, England 7-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• July 1950, Spain 1-0 England – World Cup (L)
• May 1955, Spain 1-1 England – International Friendly (D)
• November 1955, England 4-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• May 1960, Spain 3-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• October 1960, England 4-2 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• December 1965, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
• May 1967, England 2-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• April 1968, England 1-0 Spain – European Championship (W)
• May 1968, Spain 1-2 England – European Championship (W)
• March 1980, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
• June 1980, England 2-1 Spain – European Championship (W)
• March 1981, England 1-2 Spain – International Friendly (L)
• July 1982, Spain 0-0 England – World Cup (D)
• February 1987, Spain 2-4 England – International Friendly (W)
• September 1992, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• June 1996, England 0(4)-(2)0 Spain – European Championship (W)
• February 2001, England 3-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• November 2004, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• February 2007, England 0-1 Spain – International Friendly (L)
• February 2009, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• November 2011, England 1-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
• November 2015, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
• November 2016, England 2-2 Spain – International Friendly (D)
• September 2018, England 1-2 Spain – Nations League (L)
• October 2018, Spain 2-3 England – Nations League (W)

Overall, England have won 14, drawn three and lost 10 matches against Spain.

AND we all thought England had just the one generational talent.

Kobbie Mainoo was effectively brought to Germany as a work experience kid but has emerged as the key kid behind this country’s attempt to rewrite history.

After just five senior starts, England’s new boy wonder will now have a teenage tear-up against Spain’s Lamine Yamal in the Euro 2024 final.

Last night, he did not merely become England’s youngest ever player to feature in a semi-final of a major tournament, aged 19 years and 82 days.

Here, he took this semi-final by the scruff of the neck, delivered a performance which was a joy to watch, particularly in the first half, and now England are in their first final on foreign soil.

If Jude Bellingham thought he was certain to be England’s main posterboy over the next decade, he has someone else who has now emerged in his rear-view mirror within just a few weeks.

To bag an FA Cup winners’ medal at the age of 19 was impressive. To then win Euro 2024 a couple of months later would be extraordinary.

As we saw with Manchester United, Mainoo has now fitted seamlessly into the team and provided a perfect mix of both style and substance.

Give it a couple of years, and you can only imagine how good this lad is going to be.

For much of this tournament, the focus has been on the disappointing form of Harry Kane, Bellingham and Phil Foden.

So Mainoo, to a degree, had almost been off the radar. But against the Dutch, in tight, congested spaces, he is a class apart.

When he was put under pressure, remained cool, navigated his way out of difficult situations and drove forward.

Despite what was at stake, Mainoo once again looked extraordinarily composed and was England’s best player in the first half. He won possession, he rode tackles and he drove forward like an old master.

He nearly delivered an assist at 1-1 with some brilliant play. He received the ball from Foden, turned and drove forward before returning the ball to his team-mate but the shot was hacked off the line by Denzel Dumfries.

Mainoo delivered a terrific block to snuff out some serious danger in a lightning-quick Dutch counter attack.

In the second half, he had less space in midfield but nevertheless still had bags of energy and kept his discipline positionally – and then he let subs Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins deliver the business.

It is still mind-boggling that Mainoo is now heading to Berlin on Sunday, when you consider Mainoo only made his United debut against Charlton in the Carabao Cup in January 2023. His first Premier League start was just eight months ago.

Yet it was his dazzling midfield form in an otherwise dysfunctional United team which earned him his first cap as a substitute against Brazil in March. He was then Man of the Match in a ridiculously-good performance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium.

Mainoo’s form dipped in the last few weeks of the season. It was probably because he was knackered carrying some of his team-mates.

But he then saved them again in the FA Cup final against Manchester City with a Man of the Match performance in a 2-1 win.

A bit like Adam Wharton, he was part of England’s 26-man squad to soak up the experience, to learn what it is like to feature in a major tournament and maybe, if needed, to have a few cameo roles off the bench.

And the fact he was effectively Southgate’s third-choice to partner Declan Rice here in Germany tells you exactly where he stood in a squad of 26.

The Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield failed in the two opening games against Serbia and Denmark. Conor Gallagher – despite some bright performances as a sub in those games – really struggled in his start against Slovenia.

Apart from a strong appearance as a substitute by Palmer, Mainoo’s performance against Slovakia was the only bright spot in a dismal and extremely fortunate win over Slovakia in the last 16.

There was always a worry about Mainoo’s movement when England do not have possession but that will come with experience, like it would for any other central midfielder.

Yet Mainoo has solved the problem for Southgate and now England can continue to dream big. And it is totally unthinkable from where you consider how they played in the group stages when they stunk out Germany.

In Sunday’s final, England’s experienced players will be able to draw on the pain of both the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.

For Mainoo, this will be a completely new experience but do not expect him to wilt. He’ll absolutely love it.