As fate would have it, the knockout stage path of Euro 2024 was such that the two teams that showed the most through the tournament met in the quarterfinals, and it was indeed a thrilling contest as Spain eventually eliminated hosts Germany.
Dani Olmo struck first for Spain in the 51st minute, and Florian Wirtz leveled the score with just over a minute of the 90 left to take the game into extra time. The excitement peaked at the very end, when Mikel Merino restored Spain’s lead in the 119th minute, and deep in stoppage time, Dani Carvajal earned a second yellow card.
The teams
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente used his preferred 4-3-3 formation again. Unai Simon was in goal, with Carvajal, Robin le Normand, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella forming the back line. Rodri anchored the midfield containing Pedri and Fabian Ruiz, while Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams supported striker Alvaro Morata from the flanks.
Olmo, who scored the opening goal, came on a substitute after only eight minutes, with Pedri forced off through injury after a hard tackle from Germany veteran Toni Kroos.
For Germany, boss Julian Nagelsmann expectedly named Manuel Neuer in goal, with the back four of David Raum, Jonathan Tah, Antonio Rudiger and Joshua Kimmich. Emre Can was preferred to Robert Andrich next to Kroos in the middle of the park, while the trio of Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan and Jamal Musiala supported Kai Havertz up front.
The game
It was a relatively balanced contest, with Spain enjoying slightly more possession (52%) and the teams taking a total of 15 shots each. The first real opportunity came for Spain in the 15th minute, when Yamal’s clever free-kick trickled just wide of the post as Neuer merely looked on, though they did threaten before through Williams whose open-play shot from outside the box went considerably wide of the target. Ruiz had a go as well two minutes later, firing over the bar.
Germany responded in the 21st minute when Havertz headed…
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Author : Veselin Trajkovic
Publish date : 2024-07-06 08:34:08
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