The round of the 2024 UEFA European Championship has come to an end and we are now into the quarter-finals of the tournament. Here is a quick guide to the four matches that gets underway on Friday night IST.
SPAIN vs GERMANY
July 5 – Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart; 9:30 PM IST
Spain have arguably been the form side of this tournament. They have won all four games they have played thus far and scored nine goals in them. They conceded for the first time in this tournament during the round of 16 match against Georgia, which they won 4-1 and so that hardly mattered. Winger Lamine Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player in EURO history against Croatia, while forward Álvaro Morata is now the joint-third top scorer overall in the tournament after registering his seventh goal in the same game. Germany have looked good as well but not like their quarter-final opponents. They started off looking as strong as ever ina 5-1 win over Scotland but then came a scruffy 2-0 win against Hungary and a last gasp equaliser from Niclas Füllkrug helped them salvage a 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their final group game. They looked quite unperturbed in their 2-0 win over Denmark in the round of 16 though. These are two very good teams and this fixture is arguably the most anticipated one of the quarters.
PORTUGAL VS FRANCE
July 6 – Volksparkstadion, Hamburg; 12:30 AM IST
While Spain vs Germany pits two in-form teams against each other, France vs Portugal is the meeting point of the stories of two superstars at different ends of their careers. Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that this will be his last Euros after Portugal’s heartstopping win over Slovenia via penalties with goalkeeper Diogo Costa miraculously saving all three penalties he faced in the shootout and leading his side to the quarter-finals. France haven’t had the best of tournaments. They failed to win their group for the first time since Euro 2012. Despite the presence of the likes Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Marcus Thurram, alongwith record goalscorer Olivier Giroud on the bench, France have scored just three times in this tournament. Two of those were own goals and one was a penalty converted by Mbappe which means that France don’t have a single goal from regular play. But they are also unbeaten, which means Portugal won’t be able to break them down too easily. This is game is a repeat of the Euro 2016 final which France, who were the heavy favourites, quite famously lost.
ENGLAND vs SWITZERLAND
July 6 – Düsseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf; 9:30 PM IST
England have been roundly criticised for the style of football they are playing despite some of the best attacking talent in the world. They were far from convincing in any of their group stage matches and yet, somehow, they are in the quarter-finals and could even reach the semi-finals if they can live uo their tag of being the rank favourites against Switzerland. Jude Bellingham’s stunning overhead kick saved England from being knocked out by Slovakia off practically the last meaningful kick of regular time after which captain Harry Kane finally found the back of the net to provide the winner. But they will be up against a team of giant-killers in Switzerland. The Swiss almost beat Germany in their final group game and then backed that performance up by dumping defending champions Italy out in the round of 16. England’s often bumbling midfield will be up against the might of Granit Xhaka, who has converted the form he showed in Bayer Leverkusen’s extraordinary season to the Euros for Switzerland.
NETHERLANDS vs TURKIYE
July 7 – Olympiastadion, Berlin; 12:30 AM IST
The Netherlands needed to go through to the round of 16 as the best third-placed team after a dramatic 3-2 loss to Austria in their final group game. They had a smooth road in their last 16 game though, beating Romania 3-0 and showing just how potent their attack can be. Cody Gakpo in particular has been impressive, scoring three goals in four appearances thus far. They could be in for some drama in the quarter-finals as that is what seems to be following Turkey everywhere they go in this tournament. They started by beating Georgia 3-1 in what was arguably the most entertaining game of the tournament thus far. This was followed by a 3-0 loss to Portugal and they then beat Czechia 2-1 in their final group match to go through to the round of 16. There came yet another contender for match of the tournament with two Merih Demiral goals and an astonishing last-gasp Mert Gunok save helped Turkey beat Austria 2-1.
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