Thankfully for England, they have a squad full of great players.

Jude Bellingham might be the La Liga player of the year, with a league title and Champions League winners' medal to his name already this season, but he is just one of 26...

This is what Jude Bellingham is hoping will be dangling around his neck on Sunday evening...

Image source, Getty Images

Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

Bellingham hasn't been England's best player at this tournament.

In the semi-final against the Netherlands, he was largely anonymous - his most memorable moment coming when he scampered down the line and drew a foul as he ran down the injury-time clock.

Given the depth in his position, he might not be England's most important player either.

Phil Foden and Cole Palmer both operate in similar areas.

But he is England's biggest player, a figurehead whose belief has forged the way.

Sunday's final against Spain is an occasion that demands a performance.

Bellingham, who, when denied his usual number 22 at Real Madrid, selected the number five shirt of serial final scorer Zinedine Zidane instead, has the chance to crystallise vibes into immortality.

Back in October, on the touchline at Wembley, after beating Italy, before his silverware in Spain, there was a final question.

The host suggested some targets for the coming campaign.

"Win La Liga, win the Champions League, then win the Euros with England?"

Bellingham chuckled politely. "That would be a great year," he said.

He and England are a game away from that greatness.

To read Mike's full feature - click here.

Wow, Francesca has painted a brilliant image there of England fans on the long drive to Berlin.

This is what awaits them at the Reichstag fan zone when they get there...

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Francesca Gillett
BBC News

At the service station we’re at near the border of Netherlands and Germany, I reckon about a third of people here are England fans on their way to Berlin. Some are quickly bolting service station sandwiches or filling up their cars with fuel.

On the road we’re regularly passing cars with UK stickers and England flags fluttering from the windows, all heading east to Berlin.

It’s a long journey - about 10 hours to drive - but one that many are gladly taking and the mood is one of excitement.

Image source, PA Media

Jude Bellingham is massive.

Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

If watching his father shaped a young Bellingham, it was under his mother's eye that he has grown into one of the world's best.

When Jude moved to Germany, amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Bellingham family had to divide.

Mark's work with West Midlands Police kept him in the UK with Jude's younger brother Jobe. Bellingham's mother Denise would accompany him as he adjusted to a new life in a different country.

The pressure was great. The spread of coronavirus had shut grounds and put Dortmund's finances under strain. Bellingham, just 17, was their only summer purchase. He was welcomed by a video , externalof Dortmund's squad serenading him with the Beatles hit Hey Jude.

At his unveiling, as he gazed around the Westfalenstadion, he looked like a fan who had drifted away from a stadium tour, rather than a signing.

But, that impression was quickly dispelled. He won over his team-mates with his commitment to duels in training. By the end of the season, he had won over the rest of the league and was named the Bundesliga newcomer of the year.

Click here to read the full feature.

Here is a final tale for now from the England fans who got in touch with BBC Sport on Thursday to tell us about their exodus to Berlin.

Dom Perry, who started his round-trip to Germany from Switzerland, told us about a "rescue" mission he was planning...

"We've got tickets to the final," he said. "But it will be an early start as I need to drive to France to rescue my friend Chris, who is on a romantic weekend away with his wife, before catching a train for seven hours to Berlin. Come on England!"

Image source, Getty Images

We are trying to track down Dom for an update on how his "rescue" mission is going - but is anyone else getting an 'Italian Job' vibe from his story?

Sure, there is a time for structure and normality Chris, but this is definitely not it.

Today we are talking planes, trains and automobiles - some of the journeys being taken by Three Lions fans are off the scale.

Tomorrow, England's men will be playing in just their second major tournament final since they last won a trophy, 58 years ago.

This is the time to sit back and enjoy the ride...

Francesca Gillett
Reporting from Folkestone

I met Chris Armstrong, 37, on the Eurotunnel this morning, two hours into his 10-hour journey to Berlin.

“This is the third time we’ve done it,” Chris, from Hemel Hempstead, says with a grin.

He travelled to Germany for the semi-finals as well as for some of the group stages - and has done a mix of coach, flights and now Eurotunnel.

There were delays of about 90 minutes at the tunnel this morning as fans set off - but it didn’t dampen the mood.

“It’s coming home,” one car-full of fans shouted in the queue. Many others were wearing football shirts and had decorated their vehicles with flags.

Chris is positive about the journey, but adds: “I’m looking forward to a bit of normality after this month, a bit of structure and routine’”

Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

The social media response was scathing.

"The most embarrassing thing a football club has ever done," said one user. "Tinpot," said another. "Pathetic," said a third.

They were reacting to Birmingham retiring Bellingham's number 22 shirt.

Birmingham explained their decision like this: Bellingham was an "iconic figure" noted for his "talent, hard work and dedication"; removing the number 22 from their roster would be a gesture to "remember one of our own and to inspire others".

But Bellingham was just 17. He had played only 44 games and a single first-team season for the Blues. To its critics, Birmingham's decision was hype-fuelled froth.

There was context however. Bellingham is truly one of their own.

Read more here.

Readers who followed Friday's live page might remember England fan Andy Rimmer, who decided at the last minute on Tuesday to head over from East Sussex to Germany - without a ticket - to soak in the atmosphere in Dortmund for Wednesday's semi-final.

He ended up in the Dutch end watching Ollie Watkins propel the Three Lions past the Netherlands into the final and has now made his way to Berlin.

"We got the 6.55am ferry on Wednesday morning, arrived at Dortmund at 4pm, with a sea of orange," said Andy, pictured below, right.

"I've been to several tournaments, but I've never seen England fans outnumbered before. It was at least 10-1, some of the Dutch fans cycled over! But it was a great atmosphere, good banter.

"The first bar we went to a Dutchman bought me a beer, straight away. The football community is very friendly.

"The fan zones were both full two hours before kick-off so we headed to the ground and managed to get tickets 30 minutes before kick-off. What a match, what an atmosphere.

"We have got accommodation for Saturday and Sunday in Berlin (two different places). We will try for tickets again, hopefully fortune favours the brave, but we won't be spending some of the prices being quoted.

"As ever, the England fans are great value and so, whatever happens, we are glad we made the decision to come."

Image source, Andy Rimmer

Francesca Gillett
BBC News, reporting from Folkestone

The queue for the Eurotunnel this morning was packed with cars of England fans - all prepared for a long journey the other side.

Callum Clarke, 31, and his friends had set off from Birmingham at 04:00 BST. After the tunnel at Folkestone, they had a four-hour drive to Duisburg in Germany, and then finally a four-hour train to Berlin.

“Excitement,” says Tarren Gill, 31, when I ask how they’re feeling.

“Going there is great. We don’t want to think about the way back yet.”

They’ve been planning the trip since before the semi-final, and opted for Eurotunnel because of the soaring price of flights.

They’d all been fortunate to get some last-minute time off work - except for one of the group whose boss doesn’t know. “Don’t put my name down,” he laughs.

Mike Henson
BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

If you listen hard enough, Jude Bellingham has been telling us for a while.

In October, he strode back out into an emptying Wembley.

He had destroyed Italy that night, dropping deep, dancing through tackles, popping off passes and setting up two goals in a 3-1 win that booked England's place at Euro 2024.

He was player of the match on the pitch. He was about to become performer of the night on the post-match press duties.

"I'm getting a little bit better every time I play," he said with a bashful smile in response to praise from a presenter at the start of a live television interview., external

Eight minutes later, when Bellingham shook the hands of the television team - firm grasp, solid eye contact, first-name terms – and headed back down the tunnel, the pundits were swooning.

Click here to read the full feature.

Spain are undoubtedly favourites in many people's eyes, BBC Sport's predictions expert Chris Sutton included.

But that does not stop England fans from dreaming. And why should it?

After all, Spain might have teen sensation Lamine Yamal, but Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate has La Liga player of the season Jude Bellingham in his ranks...

Guy Hedgecoe
Freelance journalist working for BBC in Madrid

Image source, Reuters

Surprise - of the pleasant kind - is perhaps the best word to describe what many Spanish fans have been feeling throughout this tournament.

Expectation was low on Spain's sun-kissed streets as the Euros got under way, but that has quickly become national jubilation, helping to bring this much-divided country together.

Quite a difference to the trials and tribulations of Three Lions supporters.

While an estimated 11,500 Spanish fans have travelled to Berlin for the final, back home giant screens are being installed in parks, sports centres and squares on which to watch it.

Here in Madrid, local authorities have said that, if Spain wins, victory celebrations will take place around the Plaza de Cibeles in the capital’s centre.

Click here to read more about rising expectations in Spain.

Spain’s Lamine Yamal 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.

Image source, Opta

Chris Sutton
Makes his prediction

England have done well to get to this final, but this is a test on a totally different scale.

I have covered Spain numerous times at these Euros and they have been the outstanding side at this tournament.

Nothing would please me more than seeing England get over the line and for Southgate to fly home as a European champion, but I have not been backing them blindly throughout and I am not going to start now.

I am going with Spain to win, because they are in sync, they have been so superior so far… and I don’t see England stopping them.

Sutton’s prediction: Spain 2-1 England

Read Chris Sutton's full column here.