Spain – France

Spaniards will be the first finalists at the UEFA EURO in Germany

The first semi-final match of the European Championship will see the teams that were among the favourites even before the start of the tournament. Another thing is that already during the main stage of the competition, the teams have shown themselves in different ways. If the Spanish team in a dominant style beat all their opponents, including the hosts of the current championship, then France for five matches of the EURO did not bother to score a single goal from the game, using to achieve the goal only auto-goals of opponents and eleven-metre kicks. Bookmakers have identified the Pyrenees as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.62 on their victory. At the same time, the advantage in the quotes of one national team over the other does not look overwhelming. The Spanish team started the continental championship as the fifth favourite. The mix of experience and youth in the Spanish squad did not arouse the confidence of analysts. However, the opening matches of the UEFA EURO demonstrated that De la Fuente has a well-coordinated team ready to tackle serious challenges. First, Spain scored three times against Croatia without allowing their opponents to score a single goal. The next meeting in the quartet with Italy was held with the overwhelming advantage of Rodri and company. The Spanish victory was recorded only with a minimum score only because of the successful play of Donnarumma at the "ribbon". Spain's "technical" victory over Albania was followed by a convincing triumph over Georgia. Despite the fact that it was the Georgians who scored first, the total advantage of the Spaniards did not cause any doubts about the fairness of their victory - 4:1. Finally, in the quarter-finals against Germany, Spain had two outcomes. First, the Pyrenees conceded a return goal at the end of the main time and then sealed the victory at the end of the second extra time. The 1/4th final against Germany also left a side effect: the injury to Pedri, the disqualifications of Le Norman and Carvajal. France had a less exciting tournament journey at the EURO. After finishing second in the quartet with Austria and the Netherlands, the reigning world vice-champions reached the play-offs against Belgium, who were only beaten by an 85th minute penalty. The French also failed to score against Portugal, but Deschamps' team was more fortunate in the penalty shootout. France had a more faded EURO and hardly deserves to play in the final more than Spain.