Germany and Spain will be busy drawing up battle plans on Friday as they prepare for this weekend's meeting in the European Championship final. Germany were the pundits' favorites before the tournament and coach Joachim Loew will be looking to vindicate that with a better performance than in Wednesday's tortuous 3-2 semifinal win over Turkey. Loew needs to make the most of the time left at their Swiss training camp at Tenero after his team was kept on the back foot by the Turks and needed Philipp Lahm's 90th minute strike to reach Sunday's final in Vienna. But its coach was heartened by his team's determination not to be swayed from its target of a fourth European crown after Semih Senturk nipped in for an 86th minute equalizer. “After coming so far we obviously want to win and we're going to bring our winning mentality into the final,” said Loew, who has three key players on top attacking form in Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Now the homework will start on Sunday's opponents after Spain gave Russia yet another drubbing in Thursday's semifinal at the Austrian capital's Ernst Happel stadium. Having trounced it 4-1 in their opening group game in Innsbruck back on June 10, Luis Aragones's side gave the Russians a 3-0 pasting to reach the final. Xavi, Daniel Guiza and David Silva got the goals but midfielder Cesc Fabregas was the architect of the victory, replacing the injured David Villa after 35 minutes and laying on Spain's second and third goals. The only disappointment on the night for Spain was the discovery that, having scored four goals at Euro 2008, Villa's injury is set to rule the tournament's top scorer out of the final. Celebs kicking it together Alexander McQueen could be kicking it with Henry Kissinger or King Juan Carlos on Sunday at the European Championship final, a match that promises plenty of star power. McQueen, the British fashion designer, and Spain's Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia top the list of celebrities, royals and leaders expected to pack the stands at Ernst Happel Stadium to watch Germany and Spain play for the Euro 2008 title. Other prominent Spaniards include Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia, who cheered Spain on to victory in Thursday's 3-0 semifinal victory over Russia. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who watched Germany defeat Turkey on Wednesday in their semifinal match in Basel, Switzerland, will also be there. Not to be outdone, so will Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. German soul and R&B singer Joy Denalane is scheduled to perform for VIPs after the match. Other musical guests include DJs Joe T. Vannelli and Rodney Hunter. And Elton John – a die-hard football fan – is rumored to be planning to stay on after a Saturday evening concert at Vienna's Stadthalle to watch the action. Austrian media reported that Kissinger, the former US secretary of state who lives in New York, said he won't miss it. – Agencies __
