European Championship 2024: Semi-Final Fixtures & Preview
Football fans are in for a treat in midweek, with the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship scheduled to be staged in Germany. Spain and France meet in Munich on Tuesday, while the Netherlands and England will go head-to-head in Dortmund the following day. Read on as we preview the semi-final fixtures for Euro 2024. … Continue reading European Championship 2024: Semi-Final Fixtures & Preview
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Football fans are in for a treat in midweek, with the semi-finals of the 2024 European Championship scheduled to be staged in Germany.
Spain and France meet in Munich on Tuesday, while the Netherlands and England will go head-to-head in Dortmund the following day.
Read on as we preview the semi-final fixtures for Euro 2024.
Euro 2024 – Semi-Final Fixtures
Tuesday, July 9
- Spain vs France (Munich, kick-off 8.00 pm)
Wednesday, July 10
- Netherlands vs England (Dortmund, kick-off 8.00 pm)
Euro 2024 – Semi-Final Preview
Spain were the first team to book their place in the semi-finals after overcoming hosts Germany in a thrilling encounter in Stuttgart on Friday.
Dani Olmo put Spain ahead in the 51st minute, but a late equaliser by Florian Wirtz sent the game to extra-time. Mikel Merino settled the tie with a 119th-minute header.
Spain will be without midfielder Pedri for clash with France after he was forced off in the early stages against Germany following a shocking Toni Kroos tackle.
Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand and Alvaro Morata will also miss the game through suspension, forcing manager Luis de la Fuente into a reshuffle.
France needed a penalty shoot-out to defeat Portugal in their quarter-final and are guaranteed to make life difficult for Spain in Stuttgart.
Les Blues have kept four clean sheets in five games, but their much-vaunted attack has struggled to find any cohesion throughout the tournament.
They should be at full strength for the semi-final, with Kylian Mbappe expected to recover from the blow he took on his broken nose against Portugal.
Spain’s only major tournament victory over France came at the 2012 European Championship and they are fancied to repeat the trick on Tuesday evening.
While the winners of that tie will be overwhelming favourites to lift the prestigious trophy, England will hope to have something to say about that.
The Three Lions have booked their place in the last four despite producing a series of underwhelming performances in Germany.
They fell behind against Switzerland in their quarter-final tie, but Bukayo Saka’s superb equaliser sent the game to extra time.
After a scoreless additional period, England kept their nerve in the penalty shoot-out to secure their place in the last four of the competition.
They will need to improve against the Netherlands, who battled back from a goal down against Turkey to claim a hard-fought 2-1 victory.
Turkey gave the Dutch side plenty to think about during the game, but two goals in the final 20 minutes scuppered their hopes of upsetting the odds.
The historical head-to-head record between England and Netherlands undoubtedly paints a worrying picture for Gareth Southgate’s side.
The Three Lions have beaten the Dutch just six times in 22 previous meetings. Their 1-0 victory in 2018 was their only win in nine matches in the 21st century.
While the bookmakers rate England as favourites to progress to the final, the Netherlands look a good bet to overcome their opponents in Dortmund.
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