This is it: There's one game to go before the Champions League final. Who will advance to meet Liverpool on June 1 in Madrid -- Ajax or Tottenham? Here's everything you need to know, from the superheroes and the sidekicks who can decide the ties to the keys for victory. Ajax vs. Tottenham FIRST-LEG SCORE: Ajax 1, Tottenham 0 WHEN: Wednesday, May 8, 3 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. BST WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE FIRST LEG: Ajax battered Tottenham for 45 minutes in which they scored once but could have had more, before being pushed back after the break (yet still hitting the post). The Dutch side showed both confidence and maturity, counterattacking well in the second half. Injuries, fatigue and absences finally caught up with Tottenham, and they showed little creativity and incisiveness. - Miller: Spurs have hope heading to Ajax - Hamilton: Inside the Ajax "dream factory" WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE RETURN LEG: Injuries in midfield forced Mauricio Pochettino to play a back three, but the decision boomeranged badly against a "false nine" center/forward like Dusan Tadic. It also ceded control of the middle of the park to the opposition. Expect a more disruptive Spurs midfield, bolstered by the return from the start of Moussa Sissoko and focused on releasing the returning Son Heung-min into space. Ajax will try to impose their passing and movement on the game, knowing it's the best way to keep Spurs off balance. WHAT AJAX HAVE TO DO TO REACH THE FINAL: Because of the away goals rule, Tottenham have to score at least twice regardless of whether or not Ajax get on the score sheet. Were this a different team, you'd expect them to sit and look for the counter. Ajax tend not to do that, especially at home, and while you don't want them to ditch the approach that got them this far in the first place, you don't want to leave your central defenders isolated against Son, either. It's the "maturity" that manager Erik ten Hag spoke about. WHAT TOTTENHAM HAVE TO DO TO REACH THE FINAL: Forget about what came before. Yes, they've lost five of their past six games in all competitions, but none of that matters: They're 90 minutes away from a European Cup final. Banishing the "flaky Spurs" trope would be a huge psychological win for Pochettino. All they have to do is score a goal and it's like hitting the "reset" button. The fact that Sissoko and Son will be playing from the first minute is a big boost; make it count. BATTLE TO WATCH: Moussa Sissoko vs. Frenkie De Jong. Sissoko's physicality and workrate was missed in the first half of the first leg and his presence can relieve Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli of some defensive duties, freeing them up to create. But he also needs to stop de Jong, Ajax's metronome of a two-way midfielder. WILD CARD/STORYBOOK SCENARIO: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is 35. Fernando Llorente is 34. Neither striker is expected to start, but both could offer something entirely different off the bench and in dead-ball situations should the game warrant it. FINAL PREDICTION: 1-1, Ajax to advance 2-1 on aggregate. So much depends on Tottenham's state of mind here and right now they seem frazzled, as evidenced by the two red cards picked up over the weekend. (It could have been three if the referee had been stricter with Eric Dier.) Ajax, on the other hand, seem unfazed no matter who the opponent or what the situation.<doc-sep>An emotional Mauricio Pochettino hailed his Tottenham side who mounted a sensational second-half comeback to reach the Champions League final on Wednesday evening. Talking after the game the Argentine coach was lost for words after the herculean performance to come back from three goals down to progress on away goals thanks to a stoppage-time strike from Lucas Moura. "It's still difficult to talk, the emotion is amazing. Thank you football, my players are heroes in the last year I am telling everyone that I have a group of players that are heroes. They showed that today." "The second half was amazing, thank you football this type of emotion without football is impossible to live." Whilst Pochettino also thanked the Spurs fans and everyone who believed in his side, noting similarities between teh quarter-final win over Manchester City and the sensational victory tonight. "Thank you to our fans, thank you to the ones that believed in us from the beginning in the season to achieve this amazing moment is fantastic and it difficult to explain in words all that we are living now." "We were talking before the game at the meeting when you work, when you feel the love it's not a stress it's a passion, we showed a passion today the love of this sport that is football. I saw in the game against Manchester City and today, it's amazing the fans will show you a lot." "I am so grateful to be a coach, to be in football and to be living this moment." Lucas Moura hit a second-half hat-trick to seal the comeback for the ages for Spurs and understandably Pochettino singled out the Brazilian attacker for special praise. "Yes, Superhero, all heroes but him (Lucas) superhero. An unbelievable hat-trick he deserves he's a great guy everyone deserves from the first to the last one in the club with all the tough moments we have had in the five years we are here. To have the chance to play in the final it's amazing." Visibly choked up the Spurs boss took a moment to remember his family, and stressed that he has a final Premier League game of the season to think about ahead of the final against Liverpool on the 1st of June. "I want to remember my family it's for them to and the people who supported us in that moment. Thank you. We need to remember that we need to prepare for the game on Sunday and then prepare for the final in Madrid." You can hear more from Pochettino in the video above.<doc-sep>While Liverpool and Tottenham fans have been rejoicing at their teams' remarkable progress to the Champions League final, spare a thought for England manager Gareth Southgate. Hoping to lead England to their first major tournament win since 1966, Southgate will have to adjust his preparation plans for next month's Nations League finals, with up to 10 players now set for a delayed arrival to the squad. The Three Lions play their semi-final against Holland on Thursday June 6, just five days after Liverpool and Tottenham go head-to-head in Madrid for the Champions League final on Saturday June 1. On Tuesday Liverpool's emotional Anfield victory over Barcelona ensured Southgate could expect delayed arrivals from the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. That was the compounded 24 hours later as Tottenham, a squad packed full of English players, pulled off another remarkable comeback against Ajax. Danny Rose, Kieran Tripper, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Winks will all be hoping to feature in the Spanish capital as Spurs bid for Champions League glory.<doc-sep>
Last updated on .From the section European Football Mauricio Pochettino has guided Tottenham to a first Champions League final Mauricio Pochettino is anticipating an "amazing" all-English Champions League final after his Tottenham side took inspiration from Liverpool to stage an incredible comeback to beat Ajax. Lucas Moura scored a second-half hat-trick, and 96th-minute winner, as Spurs progressed on away goals on Wednesday. It came 24 hours after Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0, having lost the first leg 3-0, to book their place in Madrid. "I think it's one of the most important nights in my life," said Pochettino. Tottenham trailed 1-0 after the home leg and found themselves 2-0 down at half-time in Amsterdam, before Brazilian forward Moura's dramatic hat-trick made it 3-3 on aggregate and sent Spurs into a first Champions League final. "To get the club to the final of the Champions League... I think is very close to a miracle," added Pochettino. "No one believed in us from the beginning of the season. We are so close to the top four and have the opportunity in Madrid to play the final against Liverpool." Tottenham players are superheroes - Pochettino on 'miracle' comeback Tottenham defender Danny Rose said Pochettino had mentioned Liverpool's fightback at Anfield in the other semi-final before the game. "We saw Liverpool last night, and it goes to show it's not over until it's over," said Rose. "The gaffer mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match. The gaffer doesn't mind us losing but we have to lose the right way. "We're lucky we've gone through and we look forward to the Champions League final." The final, the competition's first all-English affair since Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties in Moscow in 2008, will take place on 1 June at at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium. "Allow me to relax a little bit, there is going to be time to talk about Liverpool," said Pochettino, who marks his fifth anniversary in charge of Spurs later this month. "I want to congratulate Jurgen Klopp and all the players and Liverpool, because I think they were amazing. "We enjoyed a lot watching the tie against Barcelona. They are heroes too and, of course, it is going to be an amazing final between two English teams that for sure we are going to enjoy." Tottenham scraped through the group stages and knocked out Borussia Dortmund and Premier League leaders Manchester City before the victory against Ajax. Defender Toby Alderweireld says the side will carry that belief into the final against Liverpool. "Why not? We have to believe," he said. "We had a difficult group. We went to Dortmund, who were first in the league, and beat them. City, first in the league, we beat them. Ajax, first in the league, beat them. So why not?"