2024-07-06 03:01:00
Spain struck a blow and eliminated host Germany 2-1 in a thrilling Euro quarter-final duel. A late goal from Mikel Merino with just one minute left in extra time gave Luis De la Fuente’s team the qualification, which in the semi-final will face France, who beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on penalties after a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.
With goals from Dani Olmo and Merino, Spain beat Germany, who temporarily equalised through Florian Wirtz and left angry after a penalty was not awarded for a handball by Marc Cucurella in extra time. The match also marked the end of the career of Toni Kroos, who had announced his retirement after the tournament.
Olmo, who came on at the start of the game after Pedri came off injured – a violent foul by Kroos that didn’t even earn him a yellow card – opened the scoring with a fast-paced finish after an assist from Lamine Yamal. It seemed that Spain would win, but two minutes from the end Wirtz appeared to send the match to extra time. And that’s when Merino scored with a header, just as penalties were looming. Spain thus eliminated the host country, maintaining a trend that has been repeated since 1984, when France was the last team to celebrate the title at home.
France and Portugal later failed to gain an advantage in the 120 minutes and had to resort to penalties to decide their place in the semi-finals. Given the precedent of Diogo Costa’s three saved shots in the tie against Slovenia, it seemed that the Portuguese were the favourites. However, the effectiveness of the French players prevented the Portuguese goalkeeper from even guessing a shot. On the other hand, Joao Felix’s shot against the post was enough to determine the defeat and the elimination of Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo thus left the tournament without scoring a goal for the first time in six appearances. Playing as a centre forward, the star did not have a tournament in keeping with his past and said goodbye with a missed penalty against Slovenia and two scored in the shoot-outs against the Slovenians and the French.