Gareth Southgate is expected to make a late change from his trusted England starting XI for the Euro 2024 final.
It was reported that Kieran Trippier was due to get the nod over Luke Shaw, however, talkSPORT understands that the decision has now been made to start Shaw.
Shaw returned from injury seemingly just at the right time for the latter stages of the Euros, having played 87 minutes of action in two appearances off the bench.
Trippier has not let Southgate down, but the England boss has decided to pick the more natural left-back option in Shaw for the biggest game of the lot.
Manchester United star Shaw has appeared in two matches at the tournament, coming on for Trippier in England’s wins over Switzerland and the Netherlands.
It remains to be seen whether England field a back three once again in Berlin, with Shaw playing left wing-back and Bukayo Saka on the opposite flank.
If it is a back three then Marc Guehi, John Stones and Kyle Walker are expected to be the three central defenders.
The other talking point ahead of the final has been Harry Kane, with dedate over whether the captain should be benched for the final.
But, despite Ollie Watkins’ late winner against Holland sparking calls for the Aston Villa ace to start and boost England’s mobility in attack, Kane will lead the line against Spain from the start.
Southgate confirmed in his press conference on Saturday that all 26 players are available for their toughest battle of Euro 2024.
He knows England will have to be ‘perfect’ if they are to beat the team of the tournament on Sunday, when the resilience shown throughout the summer will be needed in abundance.
“Sometimes you have to go through difficult nights as a team,” Southgate said ahead of his 102nd and potentially last match in charge.
“We tried to change the mindset from the start. We’ve tried to be more honest about where we were as a football nation.
“I’ve travelled to World Cups, European Championships watching as an observer and watched highlights reels before the matches that were on the big screen before the game and we weren’t in any of them. Because they only show the finals and the big games.
“We needed to change that. We had high expectations but they didn’t match where we were performance-wise.
“Now, the high expectations are still there but we have had consistent performances over certainly three of the last four tournaments and a quarter-final as well in the fourth.
“In the end, you always have to be in the latter stages of the tournaments to be able to learn how to win those big games.
“We’re learning that, we’ve come through a lot of big nights now. A lot of records that we’ve broken.
“But we know in the end, we have to do this one, we have to get this trophy to really feel the respect of the rest of the football world I guess.”
Shaw’s first start at Euro 2024 could be a baptism of fire as he prepares to come up against one of the tournaments’ stand-out players, Lamine Yamal.
Meanwhile, there have been major questions asked about Kane and his lack of sharpness so far at Euro 2024.
England record goalscorer has still managed to score three goals and could well win the Golden Boot if he scores again in the final, but there have been suggestions he is not 100 per cent fit after a long first season in Germany with Bayern Munich.
Still, Pearce argues there’s no way Southgate would consider benching his skipper for a big game like this.
“Prior to the tournament and prior to Watkins coming off the bench and scoring that winning goal [against Netherlands], a lot of people would have said it would be Ivan Toney [to replace Kane] – I certainly did.
“He became the go-to substitute for a couple of games, but it wasn’t against the Netherlands, Gareth picked Watkins instead and look what he did.
“But if Gareth’s got loyalty for Trips for this final, he’ll have a massive loyalty to the captain, and it might just be a game for Harry Kane to start and someone else to finish.”
talkSPORT will bring you live commentary of the Euro 2024 final on Sunday as England bid to make history against Spain. Tune in via the website or the app, and follow our live Euro 2024 blog for all the build-up.