SPAIN
Brand: “A feat to die for from Spain! Mikel Merino sealed an unforgettable game in which the Spanish team stood up against the German siege. A game forever, full of epicness and majesty, and Spain writes an unforgettable chapter.”
Euro 2024: Spain’s Mikel Merino (centre) celebrates his late goal to make it 2-1 with Ferrán Torres.
Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
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AS: “This is for Quincoces, Zarra, Camacho, Zubizarreta, Butragueno, Joaquin, Busquets… For everyone who tried the host who won the World or European Championship at the time – and failed. Spain beat Germany in a very complicated game. You are willing to accept heart attacks like this.”
The sports world: “Spain calls for blood to overcome Germany and reach the semi-finals after an unforgettably harrowing extra time.”
ENGLAND
BBC: “Germany has a boring end to it. Deep down, German fans may not have really expected their team to make it to the final of the European Championship. But that doesn’t make the dramatic 2-1 defeat against Spain any less painful.”
Daily Mail: “Merino ends Germany’s dream, hosts’ heartbreak. Ecstasy for the Spanish, torment for the Germans. What a game! This was a worthy final between the two best teams in the competition.”
Also read: Handball debate heats up after Germany exit from European Championship: Would a penalty be right?
Sun: “What this winning round lacked in the first heavy blow, it made up for in drama.”
Guardian: “Football, bloody hell. It was an exhausting, exhausting evening. A game on a knife’s edge.”
ITALY
Gazzetta dello Sport: “The Euro Scandal! Germany was not given this penalty. That’s a joke for the Germans. Even the inadequacy of a referee like Taylor can not stain the memory of a quarter-final match from the museum. Two national teams faced each other that showed everything you could want from a football team: technology, tactics, personality, courage, resilience. Applause, nothing but applause.”
Corriere dello Sport: “Germany is prosecuting Taylor. Spain celebrate, but Germany are punished. He also destroyed this, in front of the whole world. Anthony Taylor, the worst referee around, managed to ruin the most important game of the European Championship.
Tuttosport: “Merino, the hero of Spain in extra time: Germany beat! Taylor’s brilliant mistake put pressure on the game as he disallowed a clear handball from Cucurella in the Spanish penalty area.”
The Republic: “Spain and Germany put on a real show, a game of raw beauty. It is a pity that one of the two most beautiful teams in the competition has to say goodbye. This also means that champions such as Kroos, Kimmich, Wirtz and Musiala are safe.”
Corriere della Sera: “Spain win at the end of a dead end game which is once again cursed for Germany. The Spaniards celebrate the victory, Germany is slipping into drama.”
AUSTRIA
The Crown Newspaper: “Spain ended Germany’s European Championship dream in the 119th minute. Was a penalty stolen from Germany?”
Delivery man: “Last minute shock for Germany. The dreams of the next German summer fairy tale have been shattered.”
Switzerland
Blick: “Pure drama! From ecstasy into the deep hole. Germany in the Valley of Tears.”