On July 6, Beijing time, the 1/4 finals of the European Cup collided passionately, the host Germany was defeated by the world's No. 8 Spain 1-2, and the world's No. 2 France defeated the world's No. 6 Portugal by 5-3 points. So far, two places have been born in the semi-finals of the European Championship, and the semi-finals in the first half of the region have been released, Spain VS France. This is the fourth time the two teams have met in the knockout rounds of the European Championship, with Spain having a 1-2 record in the previous three meetings against France. Let's take a look at a brief roundup of the competition.
Germany-Spain
Kroos' ferocious defence soon after the opening kick-off caused Pedri and Yamal to fall to the ground in pain in quick succession, and referee Anthony Taylor sparked controversy by not playing a card, with Pedri unable to hold on to a sprained left knee and being replaced by Olmo early. Since then, the two sides have continued to attack each other, the rhythm of offensive and defensive switching has flew, the intensity of confrontation has been full, and the taste of the final has been played. In the 51st minute, Yamal burst into the penalty area with the ball on the right side and sent a scalpel-like cross, and Olmo followed up with a shot from the bottom left corner to give Spain the lead. The backward German attack continued, Andrich's pole burst at the top of the arc was denied by Simon, Phil Kruger's overhead kick was a millimeter away, Havertz's hanging shot was quite threatening, and finally Mittelstedt instigated an attack near the full-time, Kimmich's header was ferried, and Wirtz volleyed a shot into the net to complete the quasi-equalizer. In the first half of extra time, the two sides attacked and defended each other, but the quality of the shots was not high. In the 119th minute of the second half, Merino scored the winning goal with a header from Olmo's cross in the penalty area. In stoppage time, Phil Kruger's header went just wide and almost became the savior of the German chariot. In the end, Spain qualified for the semi-finals of the European Championship for the sixth time in their history, beating the host country in an international tournament (World Cup/European Championship) for the first time in their history, extending their 36-year unbeaten run against Germany in official competitions.
Statistically, the Matadors became only the third team in European Championship history to reach the semi-finals with five consecutive wins, with the bigger plus being that the first two teams won the title (1984 champions France and 2021 champions Italy). At the age of 21 years and 223 days, Pedri surpassed Sanchez at the age of 23 years and 213 days to become the youngest player in the history of the European Championship to make 10 appearances. At the age of 16 years and 358 days, Yamal became the youngest European player to start + provide assists in the quarter-finals of an international competition, and the youngest player to deliver three assists in a single tournament in the history of the European Championship. The 34-year-old Thomas Muller has not scored in the European Championship so far (0 goals and 2 assists in 17 games), which may be a big regret of Thomas Muller's career. The 34-year-old finished the final race of his career.
France-Portugal
The world-renowned Portuguese and French battle was played with extreme caution at first, with extremely fierce competition for the ball and few threatening shots. Yibian fought again against France to take the lead, Mbappe's cold arrow from the periphery was safely confiscated by Costa, Portugal was not to be outdone, B seat volleyed into the far corner from a small angle, Maignan played a divine servant, and then Vitinha's close-range push was saved by Maignan with both hands. Turning his head, Muani's volley from the penalty area was blocked by Dias. In the closing stages, Cristiano Ronaldo's set-piece shot was blocked through the wall, and Kante's successive long-range attempts were confiscated by Costa. In stoppage time, Mbappe's effort into the far corner from outside the area was a tough match for Costa. In the 93rd minute of the first half of extra time, Ronaldo got rid of the defense and volleyed from close range and released the anti-aircraft gun. Four minutes later, Mbappe's volley in the box was blocked by veteran Pepe. In the 108th minute of the second half, Felix rushed to the top of the goal and missed the goal. In the 115th minute, Balcola cleverly flicked off the side to get rid of the pinch defense and enter the penalty area, tossing and turning, and volleyed from a small angle. Extra-time was still difficult to distinguish between winners and losers, and a brutal penalty shoot-out. France started 5-of-5 (Dembele, Fofana, Kounde, Barcola and Te'o), Portugal made 3-of-4 (Cristiano Ronaldo, B, Mendes missed, Felix missed), and finally France advanced to the semi-finals of the European Championship for the sixth time in history, and won the international major penalty shootout again after 26 years.
Statistically, the Gallic Roosters set an embarrassing record by advancing to the semi-finals of the European Championship with 0 goals scored in open play (2 own goals, 1 penalty). Kylian Mbappe became the first captain in France history to be substituted in extra time. Antoine Griezmann surpassed Olivier Giroud and Lloris to become the player with the most appearances (17) for France in the knockout stages of a major tournament, and has made eight consecutive appearances for France without direct involvement, the longest record of his career. N'Golo Kante became the first European player to go unbeaten in 20 appearances at international competition (13 wins, seven draws), setting a new record for an unbeaten run in the European Championship (seven wins and six draws in 13 games). For the first time in the history of the Five Shields, they have kept three consecutive clean sheets in a single international tournament. For the first time in his career, Cristiano Ronaldo has not scored in a single international tournament and is the player who has scored the most penalty shoot-out goals (four) in the history of the European Championship.