Spain: La Roja in Excellent Form

Spain managed to eliminate the host nation Germany in a dramatic match, winning 1-0 in extra time. Mikel Merino was the hero of the day, scoring the winning goal in the 119th minute. Luis de la Fuente’s team boasts an impressive seven-game winning streak, and their solid defense has been a crucial factor. La Roja has conceded only one goal to opponents in this tournament, and in none of their previous seven matches have they allowed more than one goal. With these impressive statistics, Spain enters the semifinal against France with confidence.

France: Offensive Challenges

Although France has reached the semifinals, their attacking form has been less than impressive. In the match against Portugal, the score remained 0-0 until the penalty shootout, when Theo Hernández scored the decisive penalty. Interestingly, none of France’s players have scored from open play in this tournament. Nevertheless, manager Didier Deschamps’ reputation as a serial winner remains intact. If France wins and reaches the final, Deschamps would become only the second person, after Germany’s Berti Vogts, to win a European Championship both as a player and as a coach.

Players to Watch

Mikel Oyarzabal scored four goals in two matches for Spain before Euro 2024 began, but he has yet to open his account in this tournament. However, he did score the opening goal in the match against France back in October 2021 (a 2-1 defeat). On the other side, Kylian Mbappé also found the net in that game, but he has been disappointed with just one goal in this tournament. With the most attempts to score (20), there’s a good chance the situation could change in the semifinal against Spain.

SportAi365 predicts a match with under 3.5 goals.