Euros 2024 quarterfinal preview
We are down to the final eight at UEFA Euro 2024, with the true heavyweights of the tournament gearing up for epic clashes in the quarterfinals, which will be played on July 5-6, 2024.
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The first quarterfinal is a mouthwatering clash between Spain and Germany in Stuttgart early on Friday evening, a match which pits together two of the best teams of the tournament thus far. ‘La Furia Roja’ have been cohesive and potent, while ‘Der Mannschaft’ have the emotional momentum of being hosts and have grown as a force under young coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Spain have two of the Euro’s most exciting players in Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, but Germany have a stylish game-breaker of their own in the shape of Jamal Musiala, who has three goals in four matches and a passing accuracy of over 90 percent thus far.
“I want Jamal Musiala to keep playing in this magic way, like he’s on a small pitch anywhere in Germany or England… it doesn’t matter,” Nagelsmann said of the Bayern Munich attacker. “He should play like its football with his friends. Don’t think about the pressure, he’s just brilliant at playing football.”
Quarterfinal two on Friday night comes from Hamburg and sees Portugal take on France. These two ultra-talented teams have yet to really hit their stride in the tournament, but perhaps coming face-to-face with a fellow favourite will force them to rise through the gears.
“The best teams are here [at this Euro] and the games are high intensity,” said ‘Les Bleus’ coach Didier Deschamps. “We've always got the capability to score more. It's been tricky for us since the start of the Euro, but we've always had chances. Although we want to push things, we don't want this to be a psychological barrier for us.”
Saturday brings the third quarterfinal, with England and Switzerland meeting in Düsseldorf in the early evening. ‘The Three Lions’ have been one of the most underwhelming teams – given the immense talent at their disposal – while the ‘Rossocrociati’ have been one of the revelations, playing a high-intensity style that eliminated defending champions Italy in the previous round and has earned coach Murat Yakin deserved plaudits.
“We showed we can go toe-to-toe with big teams like Germany and Italy. But we are focused on ourselves,” said Yakin. “We sent out an important signal [against Italy] about how we can play; we didn't just club together and defend, we dominated the game.”
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The last quarterfinal, played on Saturday night at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, will be a colourful affair between the Netherlands and Turkey. The ‘Oranje’ have not been spoken of as potential Euro 2024 champions, but they put in an emphatic showing against Romania in the round of 16 and could be the team to watch in the remainder of the tournament.
“I think we took revenge for the last [group] game [against Austria] and showed what we’ve really got,” said Dutch midfielder Tijjani Reijnders. “We had some words in the dressing room [after that defeat], and today we wanted to show what level we can reach. It was a good example of what we can do.”
The four winners will advance into the semifinals, set to be played in Munich and Dortmund on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 July respectively.
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UEFA Euro 2024 broadcast details
All times CAT
Friday 5 July
18:00: Spain v Germany – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport Maximo 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
21:00: Portugal v France – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League and SuperSport Maximo 2
Saturday 6 July
18:00: England v Switzerland – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport Maximo 1, SuperSport Maximo 2 and SuperSport Maximo 360
21:00: Netherlands v Turkey – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport Maximo 1 and SuperSport Maximo 2
