Spain-Germany 2-1 (0-0, 1-1, 1-1)
Result, quarter-final, Stuttgart, MHP Arena, 54,000 spectators, led by: Anthony Taylor (English)
Spain: Unai Simon – Carvajal, Le Normand (Fernandez, left), Laporte, Cucurella – Rodri, Fabian Ruiz (Joselu, 102.) – Yamal (Ferran Torres, 63.), Pedri (Olmo, 8.), Williams (Merino, 80.) – Morata (Oyarzabal, 80.). Union captain: Luis de la Fuente.
Germany: Neuer – Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah (Müller, 80), Raum (Mittelstädt, 57) – Can (Andrich, on break), Kroos – Musiala, Gündogan (Füllkrug, 57), Sané (Wirtz, on break) – Havertz (Anton, before extra time). Union captain: Julian Nagelsmann
Scorers: Elm (51.), Merino (119.), illetve Wirtz (89.)
Red card: Carvajal (126.)
Yellow card: Le Normand (29th), Ferran Torres (74th), Unai Simon (82nd), Carvajal (100th, 126th), Rodri (110th), Morata (120th), Ruiz (120th, off the pitch) , and Rüdiger (13th), Raum (28th), Andrich (56th), Kroos (67th), Mittelstädt (73rd), Schlotterbeck (89th, off the pitch), Wirtz (94th), Undav (114 ., off the field)
Both teams started at a particularly fast pace, the Spaniards were more dangerous at first, Neuer had to save Pedri’s attempt in the second minute. The Barcelona player had to be replaced a few minutes later due to an injury. The home team tested Unai Simon for the first time following ten minutes. In the pulsating meeting, both sides led promising attacks, but mistakes slipped into the last key passes, most of the time they were ignored by the defenders, so a really big situation did not develop until the 21st minute, when Havertz’s header was saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
In addition to attacking football, the first half was characterized by hard, almost rough entries, the English referee “honored” this with three yellow cards, but it might have been more. In the ten minutes before the break, as in the beginning, the will of the Spaniards prevailed, Neuer saved several times, but Nico Williams, who was once more playing agile and spectacular football, had his best chance denied due to an offside.
Even following the change of half, the Spanish superiority remained, but then it was already manifested in the shots, first Morata shot over from close range, and a few minutes later the Spaniards took the lead.
Olmo gave the Spaniards the lead. Photos: uefa.com
Yamal received the ball on the right side, rolled it back to Olmó, who arrived in the second wave, who shot from 14 meters into the bottom right corner (1-0).
The Germans, being at a disadvantage, immediately tried to change the rhythm, but this opened up a larger area for the Spanish attackers to counter-attack quickly, which were thus more dangerous than the home attacks. The pressure on the Spanish goal increased for the last twenty minutes, mainly due to the setup of Füllkrug, who might be played in the penalty area or right in front of it. Cheered on by the home crowd, the German team came closest to equalizing in the 76th minute, when Füllkrug hit the left post in the evening. Havertz also made a mistake, as he tried to lift Unai Simon following a bad kick, but the ball went well over the goal. In the last minutes, the host attacked with everything on one hand, which eventually led to a result.
After Mittelstädt’s pass from the left side, Kimmich headed the ball back from near the baseline, and Wirtz found the net from 7 meters with the help of the right post (1-1).
The Germans equalized with Wirtz’s goal
In extra time, Thomas Müller even had a match ball, but he shot near the bottom left corner, so extra time might follow.
In the “overtime”, both teams showed signs of fatigue, and the football players became noticeably more cautious. The game was still enjoyable, both sides led good actions, but in this period, due to minor inaccuracies, the goals were no longer in serious danger, but Wirtz, on the other hand, missed the bottom left corner by inches. In the second half of extra time, Cucurella’s handshake caused excitement, but the referee did not award a penalty. The teams did not want to leave the decision to the 11s, so there was a big rush on the field, but this resulted in more inaccuracies until another substitute decided the match.
After Olmo’s pass from the left side, Merino was left empty 8 meters from the German goal and headed smartly and accurately into the right corner (2-1).
Merino’s header decided the match
Although there was hardly any time left, the German team did not give up, and in fact, it was inches away from equalizing once more, but Füllkrug headed the left corner as far as Merino’s header might fit past the right post on the other side. In the last moments, Carvajal was sent off by the heroically defending Spaniards, but he apparently did not mind this because of the progress.
(MTI)
