In-form Spain take on hosts Germany in the first UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final with another colossal encounter to follow between Portugal and France.
The top scoring sides in the competition meet when Spain take on Germany in the opening UEFA EURO 2024 quarter-final, while Portugal take on France after weathering exhausting round of 16 ties.
We preview the action in Stuttgart and Hamburg.
Spain vs Germany (Stuttgart)
As heavyweight EURO clashes go, this is about as heavy as it gets. Luis de la Fuente’s immensely gifted Spain team take on the confident hosts, the only side to have outscored them at the finals so far (ten goals to Germany, nine to Spain). The form of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams has been impressive, team-mate Mikel Oyarzabal telling EURO2024.com: “One of them’s only 16 [Yamal], the other’s 21 and yet they perform with pure joy, treating every match the same whether it’s a final or a friendly. That’s important in matches like this – no trace of intimidation.”
Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany would certainly count as intimidating opponents. Three mostly comfortable wins at these finals have been a measure of their quality, while the way they scrapped for a point against Switzerland on Matchday 3 was a sign that they are not afraid of a battle. “I don’t know if Spain are all that happy having to face Germany; likewise, there could have been easier opponents for us,” said midfielder Joshua Kimmich with a shrug. “If you want to win this tournament, you have to go through Spain.” Something has got to give.
Key stat: Three of the countries’ last four meetings ended level, the exception being a 6-0 Nations League victory for Spain in Sevilla in 2020. Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick in Germany’s heaviest ever competitive defeat.
Portugal vs France (Hamburg)
Exactly 18 years ago today, France beat Portugal 1-0 in the 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finals; then 21, Cristiano Ronaldo featured for Portugal while the Player of the Match was Lilian Thuram – father of current France forward Marcus. Both sides (the winning and losing EURO 2016 finalists respectively) had exhausting last-16 ties at this EURO, Les Bleus beating Belgium thanks to a late goal while it took penalties for Roberto Martínez’s men to get the better of dogged Slovenia.
The challenge now is to refuel and go again. Didier Deschamps hopes another 90 minutes wearing the mask prescribed to protect his broken nose will make Kylian Mbappé that little bit sharper: “He’s getting used to it, but it can affect his vision.” Portugal visionary Ronaldo’s radar was slightly off when he had a penalty saved in extra time against Slovenia, yet if that round of 16 game was more of a slog than expected, Martínez called it a “victory for unity”. Captain Ronaldo added: “We showed the enthusiasm that we still have to play, to have fun, to give joy to the fans and that’s it: this is our life.”
Key stat: Three penalties were converted when these teams drew 2-2 at EURO 2020: a EURO finals record.