Preview: Spain and Germany to fight for top honor

(BEIJING, June 28) -- With only a few more hours until the final of the UEFA Championship, Spain is thirsty for the Henri Delaunay trophy, for which they have been waiting to claim again since their home win in 1964.

A calf injury suffered during training of Germany's core midfielder Michael Ballack is a piece of compensating news for the Spanish coping with the absence of tournament top scorer (four goals) David Villa, who also hurt his calf, sustained while directing a free kick in the semifinal against Russia.

In the two teams' last 19 encounters, Germany won eight and tied six. However, Spain crushed Germany 3-1 in the most recent meet, a friendly in 2003. Seven players from that game are still on the squads: Xavi Hernandez, Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol for Spain, and Arne Friedrich, Christoph Metzelder, Miroslav Klose and Oliver Neuville for Germany.

Germany won three (1972, 1980, 1996) and lost two (1976, 1992) of their five previous UEFA European Championship finals. The last time Spain made it to the final was in 1984, where they were defeated by Frence led by Michel Platini.

Cesc Fabregas, who substituted for Villa on Thursday, will be starting tonight, while on the German side, either Tim Borowski or Bastian Schweinsteiger will assume Ballack's place if the midfielder fails to recover.

The final showdown will kick off at Ernst-Happel Stadium in Vienna at 20:45 local time.