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Another rest day? Yes, it’s a disgrace. But fear not – two absolutely huge games are coming up on Friday, as the tournament’s two most in-form sides, Germany and Spain, collide in a quarter-final that could, maybe should, have been the final.
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Neither France nor Portugal have looked quite so fluent, but both will feel like a semi-final place is well within their grasp. Then there’s the other half of the draw, where England face Switzerland and the Netherlands face Turkey on Saturday. One of those four teams is going to be in the final.
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Stay tuned for press conferences, team news and analysis – and, as it’s the 20th anniversary of Greece winning the Euros today, let me know where that ranks for you in terms of football’s greatest-ever upsets.
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Important Events
Statistician Ben McAleer of WhoScored offers his quarter-final predictions:
Italy had the most managers, with five starting the tournament. Marco Rossi (Albania) was eliminated after the group stage, while Domenico Tedesco (Belgium), Francesco Calzona (Slovakia) and Luciano Spalletti (Italy) were all eliminated in the round of 16.
There is only one Italian left. Türkiye’s Vincenzo Montellaled his team to the quarter-finals and became a hero for the fans. “Montella is now one of us. He hugs and kisses everyone. He hugged me tight and said, ‘I dedicate this victory to the Turkish people, especially to you,'” Turkish Football Federation president Mehmet Buyukekci said.
“At the beginning of the tournament, I told the players:[World Cup] In 2002, [Euro] “2008 has been talked about for years. There will be stories to tell the kids at this tournament,” Buyukeksi added. “These kids are making history and will continue to do so. We will do everything we can in this tournament.”
Spain vs Germany The quarter-finals will see the two best teams face off. The winner will be the favourite to win the tournament. Both countries have won the Euros three times, so records will also be at stake.
Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Fabian Ruiz missed Spain’s training session on Tuesday and Aymeric Laporte only took one lap on the field. All are expected to be fit for Friday’s game and Germany have no new injury concerns. Centre back Jonathan Tah is expected to return from suspension to replace Nico Schlotterbeck.
“I don’t know if Spain is happy to play Germany. Similarly, there could have been easier opponents for us. If we want to win this tournament we have to beat Spain,” said Joshua Kimmich. Teammate Toni Kroos, who will retire after the Euros, stressed that “I don’t think it will be the last game.”
“We are aiming for trophies. It’s fun playing with Toni Kroos because he is a teammate and a friend. But I still want to ‘retire’ him on Friday!” said Spain striker Joselu, Kroos’s teammate at Real Madrid last season.
Ivan Toney Having been substituted two minutes from time against Slovakia, he admitted he was not happy about his late introduction, joking yesterday that “I think my face says it all.” Nevertheless, the forward made a huge impact, drawing defenders to create space to set up Jude Bellingham’s equaliser and then providing the assist for Harry Kane’s winner in extra time.
Many observers (myself included, to be honest) believe Toney should start against Switzerland, but he may have to come off the bench again to make an impact. Let’s hope he plays a bit more minutes this time.
Speaking of Greece, here’s Louise Taylor’s first guide on how to win major tournaments: you basically need to be ruthless in defence like them, or control the ball like Spain were from 2008 to 2012, or be good at penalty shootouts like Italy and Argentina were.
Also, King Otto, a documentary about Greece’s 2004 triumph, is available on iPlayer and is well worth a watch in these football-starved hours, as the whole thing was very close to being a total disaster.
Ten Hag signs contract extension with Manchester United
Some breaking news from Euro 2024: Erik ten Hag has extended his contract with Manchester United until June 2026.
Any match could be Toni Kroos’ last. He plans to retire from football for good after this tournament and Spain will be rushing him into a recliner tomorrow night. As Nick Ames explains, it will be no easy task.
preamble
Another rest day? Yes, that would be embarrassing. But fear not. There are two very important matches on Friday, when the two best-performing teams in the tournament, Germany and Spain, meet in a quarterfinal that could have been, and maybe should have been, the final.
Neither France nor Portugal look to be playing particularly well, but both will feel a place in the semi-finals is well within reach, and on Saturday England face Switzerland and the Netherlands face Turkey, meaning one of those four teams will progress to the final.
Stay tuned for press conferences, team news and analysis. And, as today marks the 20th anniversary of Greece winning the Euros, let us know where this ranks for you as the biggest upset in football history.
