Match Day Thread Switzerland v Spain. Belgium v Italy.

Swiss on at 5pm friday
Belgium on at 8pm

fancy a Spanish Italian double myself

 

Belgium Italy is really tough to call.

 

I’ll probably do a Italy & Spain double

 

Switzerland are "hungry for more" after shocking world champions France in the last 16 of the European Championship, says manager Vladimir Petkovic.

The Swiss beat favourites France on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw to set-up a quarter-final against Spain.

Luis Enrique's side, who lifted the trophy in 1964, 2008 and 2012, progressed following a remarkable 5-3 extra-time victory over Croatia.

Petkovic said his team "want to go a step further".

• Will Swiss hero Seferovic exorcise Spanish demons?

Euro 2020 Croatia v Spain: Spain into quarter-finals after thriller
He added: "We have done very well to reach the quarter-finals but we are not content and we are hungry for more.

"We know we are playing one of the tournament favourites but we won't be overwhelmed after eliminating France. We will be mentally prepared for another massive challenge."

Switzerland's progression came with a huge blow as they will be without inspirational captain Granit Xhaka, who is suspended after collecting a second yellow card of the competition against France.

The Arsenal midfielder was given the man of the match award for his performance in that knockout game.

'A terrible mistake!' - Spain goalkeeper Simon's howler puts Croatia ahead
Spain recovered from goalkeeper Unai Simon's unforgettable first-half howler in which he failed to control Pedri's 49-yard back pass and allowed it to go into his own net.

"It was a mis-control," said Simon. "I've seen it six or seven times now and I've got a bit worked up about it.

"The sun's not bothering me and it doesn't bounce awkwardly. I think I tried to get the ball out of my feet by controlling it instead of stopping it. It's an accident and something that can be fixed."

What chance do the teams have of progressing?
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Nielsen's Gracenote:

"Spain are favourites to progress to the semi-finals from this match and are given a 60% chance of doing so by our Euro 2020 forecasting model.

"Spain began Euro 2020 with a 10.8% chance of winning the competition according to Gracenote and this has increased only slightly, to 12.5% at this point. Spain were the most likely team of all 24 to reach this stage in our pre-tournament forecast. However, their semi-final opponents are guaranteed to be ranked higher than them on our world ranking. Spain are currently ranked seventh in the world by Gracenote.

"Switzerland were the ninth most likely quarter-finalists at the beginning of the tournament but needed to pull off the shock of beating France to get here after finishing third in Group A behind Wales. The chance of the Swiss winning Euro 2020 has increased from 3.4% pre-tournament to 5.6% now. Switzerland are rated as the 15th best team in the world by the Gracenote world ranking."

MATCH STATS
Head to head

• This is the first meeting between Switzerland and Spain at the European Championship. Their three previous meetings in a major tournament came in the 1966, 1994 and 2010 World Cups, with Spain winning the first two and Switzerland triumphing last time out.
• Spain have lost just one of their 22 meetings with Switzerland in all competitions (W16 D5), with that defeat coming in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Switzerland

• This is Switzerland's fourth quarter-final appearance in a major tournament (World Cup and Euro), and their first in the European Championship. The Swiss have lost each of their previous three such games - 3-2 v Czechoslovakia (1934), 2-0 v Hungary (1938) and 7-5 v Austria (1954).
• Switzerland have scored three goals in each of their last two European Championship matches, having never scored more than twice in any of their first 15 in the competition.
• Switzerland's Haris Seferovic has scored three goals in his last two games at the Euros, having netted just one in his first 13 appearances at major tournaments.

Spain

• Spain became the first team in European Championship history to score 5+ goals in consecutive games. They hadn't scored more than four goals in any of their first 42 matches in the competition.
• Spain are averaging 73.4% possession and have a passing accuracy of 89.5% at Euro 2020 so far. Both figures are their highest on record in a single edition of the European Championship (since 1980).
• Ferran Torres has been involved in eight goals in his last nine appearances in all competitions for Spain (7 goals, 1 assist). Torres has scored in his last two games at the European Championship, with no Spanish player ever scoring in three in a row in the competition.

 

Italy to stun Belgium, just like Wales in 2016.
Spain by one 3-2 or 2-1

 

And we’re off

 

Come on you cuckoo clock makers

 

0-1 spain

 

We've scored.





Pity it was at the wrong end

 

More own goals in this Euros (10) than in all the others combined! (9 apparently)

OG is certainly way out in the lead as top scorer!

 

Gtf in

 

Yes.

 

That’s a fantastic finish by shaq
What a player he is

 

A few minutes ago he was taking a corner and he wasn't any taller than the flag!

 

That’s never a red card. The game has gone soft.

 

absolutely bonkers
games ruined
**** prem var officals as usual

 

Red card for that though I’m not surprised a total twat of a ref.

 

Harsh but stupid

 

I reckon it's a safe bet we're not watching the tournament winners.

It's like a Division 3 game.

 

Spain deserve to go out for their negative footballing style, tip taping it around the defence for 110 minutes and about half of that they were playing against 10 men. Bunch of ****s