For Germany, the European Championship is over early, but the tournament continues. And people who are into exciting sport no longer have to deal with the DFB team. Two spectacular quarter-finals are on the agenda today.
Switzerland – Spain
Where does the game take place?
Switzerland continues its wild air miles collecting: From Baku it went to Rome and back again to Baku. The round of 16 was played in Bucharest – now it continues in St. Petersburg.
Where can it track?
On ZDF, MagentaTV and of course in the live ticker on ntv.de (from 6 p.m.)
This is how the ntv.de editors see it:
If you look at the preliminary performances, neutral football Europe can look forward to the most spectacular game of this European Championship: Spain, this eternal co-favorite who got so hard to kick, who in the round of 16 after a clear but playful lead in a goal festival in Croatia in the last sixteen Extension still under-spectacle. And Switzerland, this new darling of the European fans, who despite a really devastating dramaturgy with missed penalties and lightning goals conceded flood by means of a lesson in the matter of “never giving up” threw world champions France out of the tournament on penalties. The Spaniards scored ten goals in their last two games in the statistics books of this tournament, and Switzerland scored a similarly impressive six.
So now they are favorites again: After two draws at the start of the European Championship, there had been a lot of discussions about the level of performance of the “Furia Roja”, and the considerations were often somewhat hysterical. Now numerous nations are already back home, the Spaniards meanwhile at operating temperature. That could also have been due to the negative headlines and the great anger around striker Alvaro Morata: The long hapless attacker from Juventus Turin was attacked at home, threatened in an underground way – and then finally overthrew the country by his 4: 3 in the Extension against Croatia in a frenzy of joy. “Yes,” said offensive colleague Ferran Torres, who also scored in the round of 16, “that connected us even more.”
The last sixteen of the Spaniards was curious: The clearly superior Spaniards already looked like the sure winner against Croatia, after the 3-1 the Iberians still had a chance to improve the result. But because of the sheer joy of playing, coach Luis Enrique’s team lost control of the game, which they only found again in extra time. You will want to avoid this mistake this time. In any case, Enrique is convinced of his team and makes no secret of it: No, he has not seen a better team than his at this tournament, he told “Marca”. “The numbers from the GPS system during training are impressive. If we are mentally good, we are also physically good. We are impressive!”
From the “low point” to the stars
Switzerland is floating on a wave of euphoria, and that is not surprising. At least not after the penalty-kick drama against France, in which goalkeeper Yann Sommer rose to be a popular hero. On the other hand, the good mood around the “Nati” has something surprising, because there had been a lot of trouble before the tournament: About the hairstyles of Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji, about fresh tattoos, expensive cars and about the coach Vladimir Petkovic, who was constantly under fire at home despite solid work. After the 3-0 win against Italy at the start of the tournament, the local press believed the team was “at the bottom of the Petkovic era”. The wind has turned, they celebrated the wild, inspiring entry into the quarter-finals in Switzerland like winning the title. “We showed it to our critics,” said Xhaka militantly after the coup. “We showed an achievement that will be remembered for a very long time.”
The big problem on the pitch could be that with Xhaka the player who is yellow-banned will be missing, who can steer the energy in constructive ways and refine it with his own brilliant moments. The former Gladbach player is the most important player in Switzerland. He should be replaced by a current Bundesliga player: First choice would be Denis Zakaria (Gladbach), but Edimilson Fernandes (Mainz 05) or Djibril Sow (Eintracht Frankfurt) would also be considered. With Steven Zuber, Switzerland has the assisting king of this European championship on the team: The Frankfurt player has already scored four goals.
Curious: With the win against France, Switzerland, which won a knockout game at a major tournament for the first time since the home World Cup in 1954, became the favorites. At least if you believe that history is repeating itself in football: France has lost five tournaments to eventual winners since the 2004 European Championships. A look at the recent history of this duel slows down the euphoria: In autumn 2020 they met twice, in October Spain won 1-0, in November there was a 1-1. After all, there was a small sensation in the second leg: Yann Sommer saved two penalties from Sergio Ramos.
Belgium – Italy
Where does the game take place?
With this delicacy, the Munich stadium, which is called the Allianz Arena in everyday life, says goodbye to the tournament.
Where is it to be tracked?
On ZDF, MagentaTV and of course in the live ticker on ntv.de (from 9 p.m.)
This is how the ntv.de editors see it:
Three wins in the preliminary round, defending champion Portugal in the round of 16: The EM mission has been going well for Belgium so far. But before the quarter-finals, there is worry instead of anticipation in the camp the eternal secret favorite: “We’ll have to wait until the last minute,” said Roberto Martinez the day before the match against Italy. The Belgian coach trembles over the use of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, “the best playmaker in world football” for Martinez. Both injured themselves against Portugal. Should both fail, it would be a huge weakening for Belgium. Against Italy, “we need Eden in top form,” pleaded his brother Thorgan Hazard, who brought his country to Munich with “the most important goal of my career”. “He brings calm into the game and can always cause sudden danger.”
De Bruyne, on the other hand, stands for the dynamic moment in the Belgian game. The world-class man from Manchester City is predestined to fill the gaps that storm tank Romelu Lukaku is supposed to tear in the Italian defensive bulwark with Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. “We want to get the players fit, we are in tournament mode,” Martinez hopes until the end. Neither of them could complete the final training with their colleagues. The second suit with Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco is not yet in place, neither of them could do much with their playing time.
The golden generation of Belgium, which took third place at the World Cup in 2018, wants to land the big coup this year. The hope for it, it also depends on the self-healing powers of two of their greatest stars, who were unfinished with the national team. In any case, Thomas Meunier, the defender, sent a strong declaration of war regardless of his colleagues: “I expect a victory and nothing else. We are competitive animals!”
A healing damper
They were once the big favorites, then came the round of 16: After a furious group stage with three wins and a lot of euphoria, Italy had to struggle against passionate Austrians so much that despite progressing after 120 minutes, the great enthusiasm cooled down a bit. This is not a problem for coach Roberto Mancini, on the contrary: “This ailment will be very useful to us as the tournament progresses. Such victories are good,” he said. They would help keep our feet on the ground. With Belgium, “perhaps the best team in Europe,” warned Mancini, “it will be a difficult game, but we will try to win it.”
Friday, 6 p.m .: Switzerland versus Spain
Friday, 9 p.m .: Belgium versus Italy
Saturday, 6 p.m .: Czech Republic versus Denmark
Saturday, 9 p.m .: Ukraine versus England
As always: You can follow all games with us in the live ticker!
The world record series of the “Squadra Azzurra” ended against Austria shortly before the final whistle of the extra time: 1169 minutes were conceded without a goal before Sasa Kalajdzic scored. Now with Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku a new big challenge awaits Italy’s very old central defense from Giorgio Chiellini, who had to pass against Austria but is now fit again, and Leonardo Bonucci. “Sleep well,” said the 36-year-old Chiellini when asked about the big task. “We will all be ready without giving up our game.”
Above all, Italy now wants to set offensive accents again, the traditional Italian defensive pragmatism is supplemented by high speed and dribbling strength on the offensive, especially on the flanks. At least that’s how it was in the group stage and in extra time against Austria. We will have to build on that, otherwise the European Championship will end early and disappointingly. “We know we can’t afford to make mistakes,” said midfielder Jorginho, whom great coach Fabio Capello recently ennobled as “one of the world’s best midfielders”. “The biggest mistake would be to think that we have already achieved something.”
Ciro Immobile, the star striker of the Italians, promised a big game: “It will be a nice battle.” Martinez, the Belgian coach who was hoping for a world class until the very last second, is expecting “a nice challenge that we are looking forward to.” The favorite who wants to become one again, against the eternal secret favorite who really wants to break something: Yes, it will be a special game.
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