The first semi-final of UEFA EURO 2024 will be played on Tuesday in Munich between Spain and France.
Here, UEFA.com’s Spain reporter Graham Hunter and France reporter Alex Clementson analyse the key tactical battles that might decide the match.
The latest from Spain – France
Graham: “At the moment, we’re assuming that with Spain without Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand through suspension, coach Luis de la Fuente will pick Jesus Navas at right-back. But which French player will challenge him directly? Kylian Mbappe? Ousmane Dembele? Bradley Barcola? They’re all much younger than Navas and extremely quick. Can experience and ingenuity match them? It’s these things that intrigue us and make us love football, isn’t it?”
Alex: “The Mbappé paradox. When in form, the striker is undoubtedly the most dangerous figure in world football. He has yet to impose his authority in this tournament, but when you have talent like his, it only takes a minute. Could that moment come on Tuesday?”
Previous EURO clashes between Spain and France
Graham: “When football produces daring and exciting players, the eternal question is: how quickly can opponents ‘discover’ them and thus diminish their impact? I imagine Didier Deschamps’ analysts will have spent a lot of time thinking regarding how (if at all) they can find positional, marking and philosophical solutions to deal with the dynamic Spanish duo of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams.”
Alex: “Jules Koundé knows only too well the panic and consternation Nico Williams can cause in defenders, but the Frenchman is most reliable on the right flank. He was troubled by Portuguese striker Rafael Leão on Friday but ultimately emerged unscathed. That will give him encouragement, along with his Man of the Match performance once morest Belgium, when he smothered another wily operator, Jérémy Doku, with consummate ease.”
“Meanwhile, as the metronome at the base of Spain’s midfield, Rodri is expected to exert his typical influence on the game. Spain’s No16 is blessed with unrivalled intelligence and positional prowess, so Deschamps may need to mitigate, rather than completely eliminate, this influence. How key might N’Golo Kanté be in that exercise? The latter is back to his best at EURO 2024, and no one can disrupt an opponent’s rhythm like Kanté.”
