Football: Spain and Germany battle for European supremacy

Spain and Germany, two of the most successful nations at the European Championships and among the most impressive teams at Euro 2024, will meet in the quarter-finals.

Although they have each won three European Championships, more than any other nation, and have played more games at the European Championship than any other team, this game – which takes place at 4am (NZT) on Saturday – is only their fourth meeting in a final.

The first was in France in 1984, when West Germany were the defending champions and were drawn in a group with Spain, Portugal and Romania.

They met in their last match, with Germany leading by three points (two points for a win), while Spain and Portugal have two points each.

Spain missed a great chance in the first half when Lobo Carrasco’s penalty shot was poorly saved by Harald Schumacher, but as time ran out, Antonio Maceda’s header in the 90th minute helped Spain score and sent Germany home.

However, four years later West Germany got their revenge on home soil when they were drawn in the same group as Italy and Denmark and met again in the final, which Germany came out on top.

Spain needed victory to advance but they were no match for the hosts in Munich as Franz Beckenbauer’s side cruised to a comfortable 2-0 win thanks to a brace from Rudi Völler.

However, Germany failed to win the title, losing to the Netherlands in the semi-finals, and Spain and Germany did not meet again until the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland.

Spain has won the World Cup once, hosting it in 1964, while Germany has won three titles, and this is the first time the two teams have met in the final.

Fernando Torres scored the only goal to give Spain their second title – their first major tournament win in more than 40 years, kicking off a period of Spanish dominance in football.

Four years later, they became the first team to retain their European Championship title, and in 2010 they won their first World Cup trophy, beating Germany in the semi-finals.

The match had the feel of an early final, with Spain arguably the most exciting team of the tournament and the only one to have won all four games, while hosts Germany were more impressive than the other pre-tournament favorites.

The winner will look to win the title for a record fourth time.

Spain vs. Germany: Saturday, 4am (NZT), Stuttgart

This will be the quarter-final between the two most successful nations in the history of the European Championship, both of which have won the title three times and this year will aim to become the absolute leaders in the European Championship.

Germany will have the support of their home fans at the Stuttgart Arena, but that won’t worry the attacking Spanish side.

Germany (10) and Spain (9), the top two scorers at Euro 2024, also have the highest passing accuracy, with Germany at 92.2% and Spain at 91%.

Spain is the only team to have won 100% of finals to date and has scored more goals (84) than any other team.

Spain beat Germany 6-0 in the 2020 Nations League, but their most recent meeting in the Qatar World Cup group stage ended in a 1-1 draw.

Portugal vs. France: Saturday, 7 a.m., Hamburg

The match will be a rematch of the 2016 European Championship final in Paris, when Portugal beat the hosts 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from striker Eder.

While both teams have plenty of talent, neither has been able to convincingly perform in this tournament so far, but both have potential winners who only need a split second to find the decisive moment.

France conceded just one goal in more than six hours of football in Germany, a penalty, while of the three goals they scored, one was a penalty by Mbappe and the other two were own goals.

Portugal continues to conduct most of its attacks through 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who has taken more shots (20) than any other player in the tournament but has yet to score.

The two teams last met in the group stage of the 2020 European Championship, with the score being a 2-2 draw.

France will be without suspended midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who has started every game in the tournament so far.

England vs Switzerland: Sunday, 4am, Düsseldorf

England were seconds away from elimination in the round of 16 but a 95th-minute Jude Bellingham overhead kick saved them against Slovakia, while Switzerland, by contrast, comfortably beat defending champions Italy 2-0.

Switzerland have won just three of their past 27 meetings with England, the most recent being a 2-1 victory in Basel in 1981.

Despite England’s poor performance in Germany, they are unbeaten in their last 11 European Championship games, winning seven, with their last defeat coming against Iceland in 2016.

But Switzerland, which had won 50% of its previous six quarter-finals, has lost two of its last three. Switzerland’s only previous quarter-final appearance was at Euro 2020, when they lost to Spain on penalties.

England are without suspended centre-back Marc Guehi.

Netherlands vs. Türkiye: Saturday, 7 a.m., Berlin

The Netherlands had their best performance of the tournament so far with a 3-0 win over Romania in the round of 16, while Turkey was one of the most entertaining teams to watch in Germany with a narrow 2-1 win over Austria.

The two teams ranked fifth and sixth in the final round in terms of chances created, with the Netherlands creating 63 chances and Turkey 56. Both teams scored seven goals, tied for third among all teams.

The two teams last met in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, with 13 goals scored in the two games. The Netherlands won 6-1 at home, while Turkey won 4-2 in Istanbul.

Turkey will be without two players due to suspension, midfielder Ismail Yuksek and Dutch-born Olkun Kokcu.

-Reuters