Our three England internationals are currently preparing to face Italy at Wembley Stadium at 20:00 BST and everybody associated with the Reds is desperate for them to lift the historic trophy.
Mata knows exactly how that feels after achieving success at Euro 2012 with his beloved Spain, when he stepped off the bench to score the final goal in a remarkable 4-0 win over Italy.
In our exclusive interview at Carrington earlier this week, to mark his new United contract, club reporter Stewart Gardner got Juan’s take on the European Championship so far, the Spaniard’s advice for our three lions and his standout memories from one of the happiest days in his life.
You know what it’s like to play and score in a European Championship final against Italy, so what would be your message to the England guys ahead of their own major final?
“Well, it’s going to be tough, to be honest, as Italy have been a very strong team over the course of the tournament. Having said so, I felt that Spain deserved more against Italy and I think they deserved to go through. So many young players in the Spain squad were playing very good and they probably deserved to go through. But Italy and England are in the final so it’s going to be a nice final. Of course, it’s very important for this country, and for many of my friends and many people I know, and hopefully for our players, so I’m wishing them a great game. The most important thing for me, personally, is they don’t get injured so they are ready and can rest, after winning, rest well for next season. Hopefully, it’s going to be a great game at Wembley at a [nearly] full stadium with hopefully good football. Let’s see, it’s going to be great for this country.”
