The EURO 2024 Semi-Finals are here. Can Spain continue their dominant display with another victory? Or will France make it to an international final for the 4th time in the past decade?

Spain v France

The Allianz-Arena in Munich is set to host the first semi-final on Tuesday between Spain and France. Both sides will be eyeing the Henri Delaunay trophy with just two matches to go, but it is hard to ignore Spain as the clear title favourites in this contest. Luis de la Feunte’s side went unbeaten throughout the groupstage, and even dispatched of tournament hosts Germany in the previous round. 

The 2-1 victory had its share of controversy when a seemingly clear extra-time penalty wasn't awarded for a foul on Marc Cucurella. However, the Spaniards rode their luck and ultimately secured a last-gasp winner in the 119th minute. 28-year-old Mikel Merino was the hero on the night, scoring only his second international goal for Spain in his 26th appearance. Merino is not an unknown quantity in German football - the midfielder played 8 Bundesliga matches for Borussia Dortmund in the 2016/17 season - but it is back home in the Basque country where he has truly flourished into form. Merino has become a mainstay in Imanol Alguacil’s Real Sociedad midfield, and his most recent performance has given him a strong case to make his second start for Spain at this year’s competition.

More generally, Luis de la Fuente has a bit of a selection headache ahead of this crucial semi-final. Referee Anthony Taylor’s 15 yellow cards and one red leaves Spain with numerous key players suspended for Tuesday’s affair. Robin Le Normand and Dani Carvajal will  miss out for disciplinary reasons, while midfield magician Pedri is out for the remainder of the tournament with a serious knee injury. The fact that Spain’s two goal scorers against Germany - Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino - both came off the bench shows the level of quality throughout the squad, but de la Fuente will still be seething at the fact that his defensive plans have been dashed by Taylor’s quick disciplinary trigger. 

France don’t have the same selection headaches - all players are available for the upcoming fixture - but Didier Deschamps nevertheless has a lot to think about ahead of his 5th international semi-final in a row. 

Goal scoring remains a huge issue for the squad despite a star-studded attack. Across 5 matches and almost 500 minutes of football France have scored just 3 goals: a penalty and two own-goals. Whereas the groupstage highlighted France’s lack of efficiency in front of the net, the knockout-stages have placed the lack of creativity in a central spotlight. Across 120 minutes against Portugal France crafted just 5 shots on target and 1.2 expected goals. 

Still, to count France out as a tournament heavy-weight does a disservice to their exceptional defence that has now kept a clean sheet in 4 of their 5 tournament fixtures. Not a single player from the preferred defensive combination of Theo Hernández, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Jules Koundé, and Mike Maignan featured for France the last time they won an international title in 2018, but this youthful backline is working wonders for Deschamps throughout this tournament. 

Prediction: Spain Win