Spain beat Germany 2-1 in Stuttgart on Friday as the hosts were eliminated from Euro 2024 in a heartbreaking quarter-final.
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Substitute Dani Olmo gave Spain the lead with a good goal early in the second half, but Germany fought back and Florian Wirtz equalized in the 89th minute to take the game to extra time.
Just when it looked like the game was going to go to penalties, Mikel Merino gave the impression with a beautiful header to win the game for Spain. Germany still had a chance to equalise in the 123rd minute, but Niclas Fullkrug headed in and despite Dani Carvajal’s sending off, Spain held on and managed to reach the back-to-back semi-finals.
Dani Olmo came off the bench and scored a beauty, he was a constant threat and delivered an excellent cross for the winner. Talk about making an impact. Olmo may also start easily for this Spanish team, but he recovered the injured Pedri just 8 minutes later and showed why he deserves to be Los Angeles’ best player. His composure, speed and creativity have great compatibility with this Spanish forward. Luis de los Ángeles Fuente will be very happy that Spain qualified, but not all of his replos angelescements worked as well as Olmo (Merino was wonderful and of course they came out on top), such as the withdrawal of the fair Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams. gave Germany the impetus. He will now have to make some serious changes for the semi-final, with Pedri possibly struggling to recover from his injury in time, while Carvajal and Robin Le Normand are suspended. This means that Nacho, Jesús Navas and Olmo will most likely start and the Spanish team will be solid, which represents a lot of replacement for a fairly solid team. However, Spain had a little more quality when it counted against Germany and the way they bounced back in extra time after conceding a goal so late in the overall time showed incredible character. Against France or Portugal they will seem to have more control than against Germany, but if you talk about going deep, drawing fouls and doing whatever it takes to win a game, Spain did it, and then some opposed the hosts. It was a scorching displos angelesss with a hint of clos angelesss at key moments.
Through our friends at FotMob. com, you can see that two substitutes had a huge impact on the game: Olmo scored one and set up another. Wirtz scored and it was perfect for Germany. Neither team was able to take control of the game in midfield, while Lamal was very good for Spain and the game turned in Germany’s favour when he and Williams came off.
Spain is heading to the semi-finals and will face France in Munich on Tuesday, July 9 at 3:00 p. m. Eastern Time.
Kick-off: 12 p. m. ET, Friday, July 5) Stadium: Stuttgart Arena How to watch on TV, in the U. S. U. S. : Fox Sports
Olmo 51′, Merino 119′; Wirtz 89′
Second yellow for Carvajal who kills Musiala. One last one for Germany. . .
Germany came close to equalizing in the 123rd minute. A cross from the right reveals Fullkrug and with the ball slightly on top, he shoots wide.
A great replacement play by Carvajal finds Cucurella playing it to Simón and his best cross is brilliantly headed by Merino. Spain surprises Germany one minute from the end of extra time.
Fullkrug goes over Nacho and sends a diving header towards the goal. Simon does very well to save at the back to his right.
Germany has turned off a bit and now it is Spain who sees the ball to the maximum. Just over five minutes before the penalty shootout. . .
Musiala’s shot hits Cucurella’s arm. The VAR takes a look but there is no penalty. Cucurella’s arms were at his sides. The ball hit him but there was no movement towards the ball.
In Stuttgart there is not much more than this opportunity for Wirtz. Both groups seem a little scared at the idea of taking the plunge.
Muller gets on the ball and does really well to play in Wirtz he curls his shot away from Simon but it just rolls inches wide.
There’s not much to report so far. Two tense and nervous teams. Considering what is at stake, you can sense that. Carvajal has been cautioned for handball, so he is excluded from the semi-final, if Spain wins.
Germany fully deserved this overdue draw and we headed for extra time. The hosts have all the momentum and Spain is everywhere.
Florian Wirtz did it! Minute 89 and it is 1-1. Kimmich heads a cross and Wirtz crashes it against the post. German enthusiasts are raving. It is possible that Spain simply cannot stand.
They went in abundance and Carvajal had just headed a corner to the post. Spain is camped in its own camp.
Unai Simón’s bad shot on goal and it goes straight to Havertz. Simon steps off his line and then backs up. Havertz passes the ball to Simon but just over the crossbar. He was unlucky, but Havertz had to hit the target.
What a bold skill. Ruiz with a dummy and a shot that sent 3 Germans in the opposite direction. The attack leads to a blocked but sublime shot on goal by Ruiz.
Germany came closest to scoring as Fullkrug was on the ground, but he put his foot on the ball and his shot hit the post and went wide. The hosts did everything imaginable to make sure the draw would take the game to extra time.
A cross discovers Havertz and signals to Fullkrug, who throws Andrich and his low shot is stopped by Simon. It looked like Fulkrug was offside, but much bigger by Germany.
Mittelstaedt and Fullkrug Raum and Gundogan. They go.
Yamine Lamal cuts inside from the right and returns it to Dani Olmo on the edge of the box, who timed his run perfectly and heads home. Spain leads in Stuttgart against the hosts. Now, what kind of reaction will we get from Germany?
Yamal discovers Morata and he spins beautifully, but then avoids his effort by 10 meters. He does better with it. He did the hardest part.
Germany had Wirtz and Andrich for Sané and Can, while Spain had Nacho for Le Normand.
That first half had its moments of change and change at the beginning, but then they got cautious and there were some important tackles. Nothing to decide between these two teams.
Havertz loses the ball and Olmo shoots from distance that Neuer blocks and Germany clears.
Spanish centre-back Robin Le Normand has been cautioned and will miss the semi-final if Spain wins. The party is a bit disjointed now.
Better from Germany and a cross arrives from the right, but Havertz heads directly towards Simon, who saves. With gratitude. Great possibility for Germany. Havertz knows it.
Germany tries and the center of Raum comes to nothing. Then Spain took their chance and Fabián Ruiz shot wide. What a brilliant game from start to finish.
Olmo is hit by Rudiger and is reprimanded. This Rudiger will be eliminated from the semifinals if Germany arrives. Big blow for the locals. Yamal throws the loose kick under the wall but deflected.
Pedri limped off early after a late tackle by Toni Kroos and it was a huge blow for Spain. Dani Olmo is in his position and has been in his right measure in this tournament. However, Pedri’s absence is a real shame and Kroos is very lucky not to get a yellow card for it.
Spain immediately opened Germany and ended with a tame shot by Pedri straight at Manuel Neuer. Even so, a great heist play by Álvaro Morata and he had many runners supporting him.
Simon; Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella; Ruiz, Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Morata, Williams
Neuer; Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Raum; Can you, Kroos; Musiala, Gundogan, Sane; Havertz
There are no suspension considerations for Spain and only Nacho and Ayoze Perez suffered minor injuries and both were unused substitutes against Georgia. In reality, there are many varied dilemmas for Luis de los Ángeles Fuente, as his starting team works well, while Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and Joselu work well off the bench when called upon.
Jonathan Tah has returned from suspension and returns to central defence, while Florian Wirtz has performed well off the bench and could reposition Leroy Sané on the wing. Kai Havertz is still under pressure for his starting spot with Niclas Fullkrug playing so well off the bench, but Havertz was very clever against Denmark and will indeed do so again.
It looks like it will be a very even game, but Spain could well wear down Germany with their fluid system, ball leaks and ideal passes. Spain – Germany 2-1.
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