SPAIN VS GERMANY PREVIEW

A highly anticipated clash to kick off the Quarter-Finals of EURO 2024 as hosts Germany take on the standout performers so far, Spain, in Stuttgart in a bid to make it to the Semi-Finals.

The two top scoring teams at the tournament so far are coming up against each other two rounds too soon, but the big question is, who will come out on top, Jamal or Yamal?

Luis de la Fuente’s men have cruised through the competition so far, keeping a perfect record in the group stage, winning each game and not conceding a single goal, and winning their round of 16 match against Georgia emphatically after a fantastic attacking performance ended the match 4-1. Despite going behind against Georgia, conceding their first goal of the tournament, La Roja didn’t hold back on pushing for the win.

🏁 ¡¡𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟, 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗟, 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗟 𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗡𝗜𝗔𝗔𝗔𝗔!!

¡¡Otro partidazo de los nuestros y con remontada!!

🇪🇸 🆚 🇬🇪 | 4-1 | 90+4’#VamosEspaña | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/c3qpUG6LbQ

— Selección Española Masculina de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) June 30, 2024

Recent history of this tournament suggests that Spain have the nouse to get far into the EUROs, with them reaching the semi-finals back in EURO 2020 only to lose to Italy on penalties. La Roja will hope to reach the semi-finals yet again and hopefully push on to the final, but their pathway hasn’t been made easy for them. Their next hurdle to overcome is Julian Nagelsmann’s gallant Germany.

😳⚡️ Image of the lightning during Germany vs Denmark. #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/FRBtzBfejD

— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) June 29, 2024

Germany boasted an impressive 2-0 win over Denmark in the round of 16 on Saturday, but it didn’t seem as easy as some may have expected, with a lightning storm temporarily pausing play. Despite dominating possession and chances, the Danes had a few chances of their own, including a goal ruled out for offside from Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen just after the start of the second half, which could’ve been what pushed Germany into action as they scored both of their goals within the following 20 minutes.

GET IN! 😍😍😍

Quarter-finals here we come ⏭️#DFB #GermanFootball #GermanMNT #EURO2024 #GERDEN

📸 DFB/ Philipp Reinhard pic.twitter.com/eq5lcPNTLA

— German Football (@DFB_Team_EN) June 29, 2024

Being top scorers of the tournament so far (10 goals), die Mannschaft have shown their intent to win the title on their own soil, and that they aren’t afraid of whoever is put in front of them. This game will be the hardest test of that mentality. It would be easy for any side to decide to sit back and defend against such a strong side like Spain, but the best way to defend against them will be to attack themselves, and if they do, then we will be in for a fantastic watch.

Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal hit this celebration after Spain's third 🕺 pic.twitter.com/lOqK7ibMCN

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 30, 2024

With how attacking both of these teams have been so far in this tournament, we can expect this game to be very open and end-to-end, however neither side has been susceptible to conceding many, so it will be interesting to see who will break the deadlock first, and if they can capitalise on the mistakes of their oppositions, which there will likely be very few of.

SPAIN TEAM NEWS

There are no fresh injuries for de la Fuente to deal with, and it is expected that he will name an unchanged starting XI after such an impressive showing against Georgia. There are a number of names on the bench who have been pushing for starting positions, especially the likes of Dani Olmo, but it’s unlikely that anyone would change a side that has done as well as Spain have in this tournament so far.

GERMANY TEAM NEWS

Jonathan Tah is expected to return to the starting XI after serving his one match suspension, replacing Nico Schlotterbeck. While there are no new injuries, Julian Naglesmann does have a couple of decisions to make regarding their starting lineup. Will he bring Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz back in after dropping him against Denmark? And who will play at left-back, Tah or Raum?

SPAIN VS GERMANY PREDICTED LINEUPS

ESP: U. Simon, D. Carvajal, R. Le Normand, A. Laporte, M. Cucurella, Rodri, Pedri, F. Ruiz, L. Yamal, A. Morata, N. Williams.

GER: M. Neuer, J. Kimmich, A. Rüdiger, J. Tah, M. Mittelstädt, R. Andrich, I. Gündogan, T. Kroos, F. Wirtz, K. Havertz, J. Musiala.

SPAIN VS GERMANY HEAD-TO-HEAD RESULTS

The two sides have faced each other 12 times in all competitions, with Spain winning on four occasions, Germany winning four, and four ending in a draw, so there really isn’t much to separate the sides. The most recent clash being a World Cup group stage match back in November 2022 in Qatar, in which Alvaro Morata and Niclas Füllkrug both scored for their nations to make it 1-1.

SPAIN VS GERMANY PREDICTION

Spain 2-1 Germany

This game is set to be one of the most competitive and high-quality fixtures of the tournament so far. With both sides in such impressive form, and Germany being on their home ground, the atmosphere will be electric and chances will be flying everywhere. Both teams hold such attacking talent that they are bound to create a lot of shots on goal, there is no doubt about that, so it will come down to which defence is more sound. Looking back on the previous matches for both sides in this tournament, Spain have had the better defensive record, conceding only one goal compared to Germany’s two, but there really isn’t much in it.

Despite Germany having home advantage, it is hard to see past Spain’s magic front three of Lamine Yamal, Alvaro Morata and Nico Williams turning up for the big occasion. Whilst it’s likely that both teams will score, we think Spain will just have the edge to progress through to the Semi-Finals.

Whoever wins this exciting fixture will go on to face the winner of France vs Portugal in the Semi-Finals in Munich next Tuesday.