Shades of six decades ago

While England has sleepwalked its way through the Euro 2024 tournament so far, they find themselves back in the final. Spain is the form team in the competition and are the favorites to lift the trophy on Sunday night, but of course there are no guarantees.

a landslide win for the Labour Party in the general election

England fans could be buoyed by similarities between Euro 2024 and the only tournament victory in the country’s history, the 1966 World Cup. In both these years, there was a landslide win for the Labour Party in the general election, which has not happened in any other tournament year. Fans will be hoping that this is a good omen for the team.

The two elections

The 1966 general election took place on March 31 and saw Harold Wilson cement his place as Prime Minister and his party secure 364 seats for a strong majority following the snap election. Wilson famously said that England only wins major tournaments under a Labour government.

A similarly significant victory was secured this year on the July 3 election day. Labour won 411 seats for a strong majority. Keir Starmer is now the 58th UK Prime Minister, taking over on July 5 from Rishi Sunak. He noted that England hasn’t missed a penalty since the Labour Party took power and even hinted at a national holiday if the team comes out on top in Euro 2024.

Other interesting commonalities

The similarities between the 1966 and 2024 don’t stop at which party won the general election.

Both were led by Londoners, with Alf Ramsey hailing from Dagenham and Gareth Southgate from Watford. The two managers share a lot of traits, having reputations for staying calm and composed at all times during games.

They both placed a big emphasis on team unity, with Southgate’s team recognized as having a better bond than the team had for decades. Ramsey and Southgate even played in defense for England during their own playing careers and weren’t afraid to give youth a chance when selecting their teams.

England was the pre-tournament favorite

In both 1966 and 2024, England was the pre-tournament favorite, something that was not the case in other years. Many sportsbooks had them as +250 favorites to win Euro 2024.

With these interesting coincidences, all eyes will be on England on Sunday evening when they take on Spain at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.