'I think England will want it more' - Kia Joorabchian backs Three Lions for Euro 2024 glory

There is a "huge chance" England will emerge victorious from Sunday’s Euro 2024 final against Spain, according to football agent Kia Joorabchian, with the owner hoping he has a diverse enough group of staff at his Lambourn yard to ensure a win does not derail Monday’s training.

The England team is playing in a European Championship final for the second time in as many tournaments having defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in Dortmund on Wednesday to set up a clash with Spain in Berlin.

It is the first time the men’s team has reached a major final outside of England, with the 1966 World Cup final and the delayed 2020 European Championship final being held at Wembley.

Spain are favourites to win the Euros for a fourth time, but Joorabchian, who is attending the Copa America final between Argentina and Colombia in Miami, believes England will have an edge on the Spanish.

"I think England have a huge chance to win," Joorabchian said. "I think they've just matured as a team as the tournament’s gone on and they've seemed to gel. 

"Against the Netherlands it was not like the team that had played in the other games as they played better football. It helps a lot to have players like Jude Bellingham playing for [Real] Madrid, Declan [Rice] and [Bukayo] Saka at Arsenal and Phil Foden at Man City, as these guys are playing a level of football at their clubs that they are now being able to bring to the pitch. 

"I thought they thoroughly deserved to win the semi-final and they’re going to be playing a tough team, a good team, in Spain with a higher skill level. With England, they don’t just have the talent, they have a mentality that is so strong and that’s going to make a massive difference to how they deal with this game. I think England will want to win it more."

Kia Joorabchian: attending the Copa America finalCredit: Edward Whitaker

There have been calls for Monday to be declared a bank holiday if England win the final. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer stopped short of confirming that would be the case, saying he did not want to "jinx" the result, but he added "we should certainly mark the occasion" if successful.

Newton Abbot has already gone one step further by naming a race on Monday the 'Well Done England Euro Champions 2024 Handicap Chase', with the name unable to be altered in the event of a loss now that declarations have been made.

Should England prevail, Joorabchian is banking on his staff still being able to make it in on Monday morning to enable the smooth running of his Amo training centre.

"Luckily there is a mixture of staff at the yard and a few international staff working there," he said. "I’m hoping that at least some of the staff will be able to make it into the yard as if England win they’ll be a few sore heads for sure! I know I’ll be celebrating if they win."

Euro 2024 final:

Euro 2024 final: Spain vs England prediction, betting tips, odds and get 50-1 on England to win with Parimatch 

Spain vs England Bet Builder predictions, betting tips, odds and get 50-1 on England to win the match with Parimatch 

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