Spain and France, two titans of European football, are set to meet in a highly anticipated semi-final clash at Euro 2024, pitting pre-tournament favourites against each other.
France aim to reach their fourth Euros final, having done so in 1984, 2000, and 2016, with this being only their second potential final not played on French soil but have struggled to impress at the Euro 2024, scraping past Portugal on penalties after a goalless draw in the quarterfinals.
La Roja boast a flawless record so far, advancing to Munich by eliminating host Germany in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, France reached the final four via a tense penalty shootout win over Portugal.
Luis de la Fuente’s side are the only team to have triumphed in all five matches of this tournament in Germany, edging past Julian Nagelsmann’s hosts in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 extra-time victory. Dani Olmo opened the scoring early in the second half before a late Florian Wirtz equalizer forced extra time, only for Mikel Merino to secure victory with his 119th-minute header.
Kylian Mbappe will lead the line for the French while promising young winger Lamine Yamal is also catching the eye. Despite France’s faltering form, the team had been expected to dominate the tournament.
With both teams aiming for glory, the semifinal promises to be a thrilling encounter between two of Europe’s football powerhouses.
Head-to-Head Stats
The two teams are no strangers to one another at major tournaments, with Tuesday set to be their sixth such meeting.
France has won three of the first four encounters, triumphing 2-0 in the Euro 1984 final on home soil, 2-1 in the 2000 quarter-final of the same competition, and 3-1 in the 2006 World Cup round of 16.
Spain was victorious in the most recent clash, a 2-0 quarter-final win en route to their Euro 2012 glory, while the other meeting ended in a 1-1 draw during the 1996 group stage of UEFA’s top international tournament.
Having already met in every other possible round of action at major tournaments, this semi-final will make Spain vs. France the third fixture to be played at each stage of the World Cup and Euros, joining Italy vs. Spain and England vs. Germany.
Prediction
According to Opta’s supercomputer prediction, Spain are slight favourites to win, with La Roja triumphing in 38.2% of the 10,000 pre-match simulations. France has a 31.8% chance of victory.
A draw, which would send this tie to extra time (as was the case in three of the four quarter-finals), is forecast in 30% of the simulations.
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