Euro 2024 semifinal: Dominant Spain look to move past struggling France (Preview)
New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) The 2024 European Championship has reached its final legs, as only four teams remain of the original 24 that entered the competition. Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands are the four contenders remaining in the race for European glory.
Spain are the favourites heading into the semifinals. Luis Da le Fuente’s men have been the best outlet at the Euros, which showed in their recent outing, where they defeated hosts Germany in what was a heartbreaking result for Deuschland.
The side has scored 11 goals at the tournament so far, despite being one of the best defensive units at the tournament, conceding only two goals (2-1 vs Germany and 4-1 vs Georgia). However, the team will be worried as their strong defensive lineup has been damaged ahead of their match against France.
Pedri will miss the game due to a knee injury he suffered in the quarterfinals. Along with Pedri, Carvajal and Normand will miss the game due to picking up suspensions in the quarterfinal.
France, on the other hand, have not been up to the standards that the side has set over the past major tournaments. The side is yet to score a goal from open play in the tournament. They have only scored three goals so far in the campaign, with two being own goals and one being a penalty scored by Mbappe in their final Group Stage game against Poland.
Another cause for concern for the team will be the reduced impact of Kylian Mbappe. The captain of the Les Bleus suffered a broken nose in their opening game against Austria and has struggled to find his footing in games since, with the Real Madrid forward even admitting that the mask is causing him trouble playing.
“He might not have been here at all, so we need to look at it in a positive light. Kylian is here, even if he is not at 100 percent, and I know that has an impact on the opposition, who are forced to adapt to him,” said Deschamps to TF1 on Sunday.
France are aiming to win their first European crown since 2000, while Spain’s last victory came at the 2008 edition.
–IANS
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