07:23 AM
After three exciting weeks, the Euro Cup is giving way to serious matters with two big matches this Friday to kick off the quarter-finals: Spain-Germany and Portugal-France.
Four of Europe’s most prestigious teams will be taking to the pitch at the Stuttgart and Hamburg stadiums, representing nine of the 16 Henri-Delaunay trophies that have been contested since the creation of the European Championship: three for Germany (1972, 1980 and 1996) and Spain (1964, 2008 and 2012), two for France (1984 and 2000) and one for Portugal (2016).
The victory achieved by the Seleçao eight years ago against Didier Deschamps’ Les Bleus, defeated at the Stade de France in extra time (1-0), is probably the most bitter memory of the French coach and he will certainly want to take revenge.
Of those present in Hamburg on Friday, it was not only the coach who experienced that disappointment: Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud are the only survivors of that team.
But Giroud, the all-time top scorer in the ‘Bleus’, is no longer a starter and has barely played in this Euro, and ‘Grizi’ does not seem to be in his best form either, in line with what the rest of the team has offered.
On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo (39 years old), who left the 2016 final early due to injury, and defender Pepe (41) remain pillars of the team now coached by the Spaniard Roberto Martínez.
Mbappe vs. Ronaldo
Another of the big attractions in Hamburg will be seeing Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo face to face.
“It’s an honour, everyone knows how much I admire him. I’ve been lucky enough to meet him, to talk to him. We keep in touch and he gives me advice. He’s a football legend, but we hope to beat him and get to the semi-finals,” the Frenchman said on Thursday.
The captain of the ‘Bleus’ used his press conference to reiterate a political message ahead of the second round of the French legislative elections on Sunday.
“More than ever, we have to go out and vote. It is really urgent. We cannot leave the country in the hands of these people, it is really urgent. We have seen the results, it is catastrophic,” he said, referring to the victory in the first round of the elections of the far-right National Rally (RN) party.
If Mbappé has barely stood out so far in the championship, with just one goal scored, it is not being CR7’s tournament either, who has not yet scored and who in the round of 16 match missed a penalty against Slovenia that could have cost the Seleçao their elimination.
“He is an example: someone who wants to win every day, who wants to compete every day, despite having won everything and having a huge number of records. It is a privilege to have such a committed player,” defended the Portuguese coach, Roberto Martínez.
Early ending
The winner of this duel will face the winner of the match in Stuttgart in the semi-finals, which will pit the two teams that have played the best football so far and are the top scorers: 9 for Spain and 10 for Germany.
“It’s a final, it’s very balanced,” said the Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente before the match. “We will try to take the initiative against an opponent who has a very similar idea to ours and we will try to win. The one who makes the fewest mistakes will have the best chance of winning the match,” he added.
This match will also have a taste of revenge. In 2008, Spain, led by Fernando Torres, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta, defeated the Germans (1-0) in the continental final, marking the beginning of a golden era for La Roja, with the 2010 World Cup and the 2012 Euro Cup.
On the pitch, the interest will be to follow the developments of the youngsters Lamine Jamal (16 years old) and Nico Williams (21), two of the sensations of the tournament, or, on the rival field, Jamal Musiala, leader of the ‘Mannschaft’ despite being only 21 years old.
Not forgetting that, in the event of a German defeat, it will be the last professional match for Toni Kroos, who announced his retirement after this tournament, although the former Real Madrid midfielder (who is no longer listed as a member of the squad on the club’s website) expressed confidence that he would still play a few more games.
“I don’t feel like this is going to be my last game and I will do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said.
2024-07-05 12:15:23
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