Euro 2024: What to know about the European Championship final in Germany

After a month of group stage and knockout matches, the European Championship, also known as Euro 2024, has arrived at the title match. Here's what to know about the final and the finalists:

The finalists are Spain and England. England also reached the final of the previous edition of the tournament, in 2021, but lost to Italy in a penalty shootout. Spain hasn't gotten this far in the European Championship since it won the tournament in 2012.

Spain has won the tournament three times, including back-to-back trophies in 2008 and 2012. Many regard the Spanish as the favorites to win this year after they defeated host nation Germany in the quarterfinals and 2022 World Cup finalist France in the semifinals.

England has never won the European Championship. Its only major title is the 1966 World Cup.

U.S. viewers can watch Euro 2024 on Fox.

The Euro 2024 final will be played in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin at 9 p.m. local time (3 p.m. ET) on Sunday.

Lamine Yamal — the youngest player ever to appear at the European Championship — has been instrumental to Spain's success. Yamal, who turns 17 on Saturday, scored a brilliant goal in the semifinal against France, which Spain went on to win 2-1. He also has three assists. Yamal and 21-year-old winger Nico Williams have given Spain more direct offensive qualities the team lacked in previous tournaments.

With three goals, England striker Harry Kane is among the top scorers of the tournament. He converted a penalty to level the semifinal against Netherlands before Ollie Watkins, who replaced Kane in the second half, scored the winner in stoppage time. England's other big star, Jude Bellingham, has scored two goals so far, including a spectacular overhead kick that saved the team from being eliminated by Slovakia in the round of 16.

Spain was the only team to win all games in the group stage, with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Croatia followed by 1-0 wins over defending champion Italy and Albania. It recovered from a goal down to defeat Georgia 4-1 in the round of 16 before a hard-fought 2-1 win over Germany in the quarterfinals, where substitute Mikel Merino scored the decisive goal deep into extra time. It again came back from a one-goal deficit to win the semifinal against France 2-1 on Tuesday.

England finished first in Group C after a 1-0 win against Serbia and draws against Denmark (1-1) and Slovenia (0-0). In the round of 16, England beat Slovakia 2-1 with Kane scoring the winner in extra time. The team played a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in the quarterfinals, but went on to win the penalty shootout without missing a single penalty kick. England beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semifinals on Wednesday.

AP Euro 2024: https://apnews.com/hub/euro-2024

FILE - In this Sunday, July 10, 2016 file photo, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo kisses the trophy at the end of the Euro 2016 final soccer match between Portugal and France at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

FILE - Inside view of the 'Allianz Arena' stadium prior to the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt in Munich, Germany, April 27, 2024. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

FILE - Aerial view of the Munich Euro 2024 stadium in Munich, Germany, Friday, June 7, 2024. Munich will host six matches at the European soccer Championships. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

FILE - The trophy is on display during the presentation of the European soccer championship 'EURO 2024' trophy at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - Tournament mascot 'Albaert' poses for the media during the presentation of the European soccer championship 'EURO 2024' trophy at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

FILE - Italy's coach Roberto Mancini, front second left, celebrates with players in Rome, Monday, July 12, 2021, their victory at the Euro 2020 soccer championships in a final played at Wembley stadium in London on Sunday. The Euros kick off in Munich, Friday June 14, when host country Germany plays Scotland at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena. The tournament begins with six groups of four teams. (Roberto Monaldo/ Lapresse via AP, File)

HONG KONG (AP) — The U.S. Defense Department has added dozens of Chinese companies, including games and technology company Tencent, artificial intelligence firm SenseTime and the world’s biggest battery maker CATL, to a list of companies it says have ties to China’s military, prompting some to protest and say they will seek to have the decision reversed.

In recent years, Washington has sought to restrict sharing of advanced technology, including semiconductors and AI, deeming it to be a threat to national security.

The U.S. Defense Department updates its list of “Chinese Military Companies,” or CMC list, annually. With the latest revision, it includes 134 companies. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2024 bans the Defense Department from dealing with the designated companies beginning in June 2026.

Tencent's Hong Kong-traded shares fell 7.3% on Tuesday and the company said it would “initiate a reconsideration process to correct this mistake,” seek talks with the U.S. Defense Department and if need be take legal measures to get it removed from the list. Tencent is the world's largest video gaming company and operates Chinese messaging platform WeChat.

“As the company is neither a Chinese military company nor a military-civil fusion contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base, it believes that its inclusion in the CMC List is a mistake,” Tencent said in an announcement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

“Unlike other lists maintained by the U.S. Government for sanctions or export control measures, inclusion in the CMC List relates only to U.S. defense procurement, which does not affect the business of the Group,” it said.

Battery maker CATL said in a statement posted on its website that the company “has never engaged in any military-related business or activities," and said that the designation wouldn't have adverse impact on its operations.

Like Tencent, CATL maintains that its inclusion to the list was a “mistake” and that it would proactively engage with the Pentagon to “address the false designation” and take legal action if necessary to protect company and stakeholder interest. CATL's stock fell 2.84% in Shenzhen.

AI company SenseTime said in a statement that the decision to include it on the list had “no factual basis.”

“We firmly disagree with it,” SenseTime’s statement said, adding that the decision has “no material impact on our global operations.”

“SenseTime remains firmly committed to working collaboratively with the relevant stakeholders to address this matter, and to safeguarding the interests of the company and our shareholders,” the company said.

During a daily news briefing, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun urged the U.S. to “immediately correct its wrong practices, and lift the illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction on Chinese companies.”

“China consistently and firmly opposes the U.S. overstretching the concept of national security, creating discriminatory lists under various pretexts, and unwarrantedly suppressing Chinese companies, hindering China’s high-quality development,” Guo said.

The Chinese and United States flags are flown outside the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

FILE -FILE - Members of the media take photos of the latest Freevoy Super Hybrid Battery from Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) during a launch event in Beijing, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - The booth for Chinese artificial intelligence company Sensetime demonstrates its AI generated images during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, July 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - A man rides past the Tencent headquarters in Beijing, China on Aug. 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

FILE - The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 2, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)