Spain’s dazzling displays have united a nation and England hold no fear

Dani Vivian appeared in the room wearing the shirt from the last time Spain played England at the Euros, but when he was asked how the country lived it then and what it might mean for the final now, he shot back “I can’t say, I hadn’t even been born”, leaving everyone falling about. The summer of 1996 is retro chic down here in Donaueschingen, the moment when football was supposed to come home, providing the off-field clobber for the selección. Now 28 – yes, 28 – years later, they meet again. This time in Berlin, the trophy within reach.

“I’m sure it was lived with passion then, like football always is in Spain,” Vivian added, and it certainly is this time. The Athletic Club centre-back revealed that the families of the players have been trying to charter a flight to the final. Meanwhile he welcomed “normal” viewing figures showing that the selección has found support in the Basque country, where it has not always been embraced, and claimed that the Manchester City midfielder Rodri should have already won the Ballon d’Or.

He also said that while Spain’s journey to Berlin has taken in Croatia, Italy, Germany and France, compared to Denmark, Switzerland, Slovakia and the Netherlands, England remain dangerous. One potential advantage has been denied to the Spanish too, with Ollie Watkins’ late goal saving England from having to play 30 minutes more football.

“Extra time would have been good for us? Yes,” Vivian said. “Well, you never know. That’s the way it was, and that’s that. We play them on Sunday and what we have to do now is focus on ourselves. We’re in great shape and have all the enthusiasm in the world, looking forward to it, to the chance to win.”

“We don’t look at it in those terms [of being the best in the competition]. At the end of the group phase, when you go on to this side of the draw, it motivates you more. You analyse it, visualise it, think about what you have to do. We believe in ourselves and we believed from the first day. We have earned that feeling we now have of being loved and supported. Hopefully now we can complete what we have been working towards for a long time, finish what we were visualising.”

England have slowly become better throughout the tournament after a slow start. Gareth Southgate’s attack has been heavily criticised, including Harry Kane, but the Bayern Munich forward is now the joint top scorer of the tournament on three goals.

“Harry Kane is one of the best forwards there is, if not the best,” Vivian said. “The England team have very decisive players up front, players that can do a lot of damage even if they’re not playing very fluidly; they have that level, the ability to have those moments, those sparks. And we will have to be very vigilant, very on top of them.”

TV figures show audiences in the Basque Country of over 800,000 for Spain’s semi-final victory over France, a 62.8% share. “I think that’s normal,” Vivian said. “There are nine Basque players in the national team. And beyond any ideology that anyone can have, what there is there is a passion for football. In the Basque Country people value good football very highly and that is what we are playing.

“We tend to rate those who come from outside, but for me Rodri is without doubt the best player there is,” he said. “He doesn’t have the campaign behind him that other players have but he should have already won [the Ballon d’Or] last year when he won the Champions League and he scored in the final. We should value what we have at home a bit more highly and give all the credit they deserve, to players who are doing great things, among them Rodri, Dani [Olmo], all of them.”