Gregg Covers Sport

Three weeks ago, 24 teams travelled to Germany, all carrying their nations hopes and dreams. Now only eight remain, an array of former champions and battling underdogs. The routes to the final in Berlin are clear, but the pressure is mounting, the expectations are rising, and hopes are being raised. Four games will decide the semi-finalists, each with its own promising tale.

Spain vs Germany, Friday 5pm ITV 1

The quarter-finals kick-off with a mouth-watering tie pitting Spain against the hosts Germany. Spain are the only side to have won every game so far in this tournament and put in a supremely assured performance in their 4-1 dispatching of Georgia in the Last-16. Luis De la Fuente’s men kept their cool when their opponents took a surprising 1-0 lead in the 18^th minute on Sunday, dominating the game with 75% possession and turning on the style to turn the game around.

Nacho, who lifted his 6^th Champions League title last month, and former Newcastle forward Ayoze Perez were both fitness concerns heading into that round of 16 matchup, but it remains to be seen whether De la Fuente will opt to make any adjustments, often choosing to stick with the same starting line-up consistently.

Similarly, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann also doesn’t like to chop and change his starting 11 often, and he will be boosted by the return of commanding centre-back Jonathan Tah from suspension. He’ll reignite his partnership with Antonio Rudiger at the heart of the German defence, who will know all about his opponents having starred for Real Madrid since he joined from Chelsea in 2022.

The hosts will want to continue their good form following their 2-0 victory of Denmark in the last round, a game that saw them battle the elements with play being halted due to a thunderstorm. A fascinating matchup is in store between two giants of the world game.

Portugal vs France, Friday 8pm BBC One

In a matchup that pits the past and the present vs the present and the future, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe face off, with both sides struggling in their respective round of 16 matchups.

Roberto Martinez’s Portugal needed penalties to get past an inspired Slovenia, a game that saw Ronaldo in tears at half-time in extra-time having seen his penalty expertly saved by Jan Oblak. Portugal’s talisman would have his redemption though, scoring the opening penalty in the shootout before Diogo Costa saved all three of Slovenia’s first three penalties.

The shootout win saved Portugal’s blushes, who had struggled to breach a strong Slovenian defence. Rafael Leao returned from suspension to bolster Portugal’s attack, and he should keep his place with Martinez unlikely to make any changes. Portugal will be hoping their legendary number seven finds his scoring boots in this match, with it somewhat being unfathomable that Cristiano Ronaldo hasn’t scored a goal four matches into a major tournament.

Similarly, France’s golden boy Mbappe hasn’t fared much better. Suffering a broken nose in their opening game, Mbappe has only managed one goal so far, and that was from the penalty spot in their 1-1 draw with Poland in the final group stage game. Real Madrid’s new Galactico’s struggles mimic that of his countries so far, with Didier Deschamps men having got to this point without scoring a goal from open play, reliant on Mbappe’s penalty and two own-goals. They switched to a 4-3-3 against Belgium and will have to make one personnel change with Adrien Rabiot suspended. Deschamps may also be tempted to start PSG’s Randal Kolo Muani who forced the Jan Vertonghen own goal that set up this tasty clash, a repeat of the 2016 Euros final that Portugal won 1-0.

England vs Switzerland, Saturday 5pm BBC One

The Three Lions were mere seconds from an embarrassing defeat against Slovakia when Jude Bellingham acrobatically saved his country, ensuring the game went to the extra-time, where Harry Kane booked England’s place in the last-eight. Gareth Southgate has been under exceptional pressure and scrutiny so far, with many fans unhappy at the style of play employed so far in the tournament. Marc Guehi’s suspension leaves Southgate rumoured to be considering a switch to a back-three, with Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa expected to start alongside Manchester City pair Kyle Walker and John Stones at centre-back.

The real conundrum for Southgate comes at wing-back. Trent Alexander-Arnold may find himself selected in a more familiar role on the right if Kieran Trippier is again selected to start on the left-hand side of defence, but the Newcastle right-back has struggled at times on the opposite flank, opting to cut inside on his stronger right-foot and slowing England’s play down. Bukayo Saka was moved to left-back for the latter stages of Sunday’s game and could find himself there again should Southgate choose to switch up the lineup. Switching Saka would free-up the right-wing position for Cole Palmer to gain his first start of the tournament, having looked dangerous in his two substitute appearances so far.

Switzerland dispatched defending champions Italy with an ease that would have made the rest of the teams take notice, and Murat Yakin’s side will be further bolstered by the return of right wing-back Silvan Widmer who was suspended for the 2-0 win over the Azzuri. Yakin will look to keep the winning formula the same in a match where they will favour themselves to upset a labouring England side. Captain Granit Xhaka has undergone a resurgence under Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen and will lead his country out hoping to make the semi-finals of a major tournament for the first time in their history.

Netherlands vs Türkiye, Saturday 8pm ITV 1

Ronald Koeman’s side looked in cruise control in their 3-0 win over Romania, with Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo taking himself to the top of the goalscoring charts as he scored his third goal in Germany. After coming off the bench, Donyell Malen staked his claim to start ahead of Steven Bergwijn on the right-hand side of the Dutch attack as his two goals sealed their comprehensive victory in the round of 16. Koeman’s selection decisions will be made easier with no injury or suspension concerns as they look to make the semi-finals for the first time since 2004.

Türkiye’s 2-1 victory over Austria may well go down as one of the games of the tournament, with goalkeeper Mert Gunok producing a moment of magic to deny Christoph Baumgartner a dramatic equaliser as time ran out on Tuesday night. Merih Demiral scored the fast goal in Euro’s knockout history when he put his side 1-0 up within 57 seconds in Leipzig, and his second proved the difference, though the centre-back’s goal celebration has landed him a two-game suspension and will miss the all-important quarter-final, as will commanding centre-midfielder Orkun Kocku, who is also suspended, but they will be boosted by the return of captain Hakan Calhanoglu from a suspension of his own. It remains to be seen if Montella will stick to the three-back that proved successful against Austria or the 4-2-3-1 that they relied on in the group-stage.