In the early morning of July 7, Beijing time, the 2024 Euro Championship ended all the competition for the quarterfinals in the midst of the fire, and finally Spain, France, England and the Netherlands, the four traditional Europa League giants, defeated their respective opponents and entered the semifinals.
Review the road to the semi-finals
- Spain
The Matadors Spain team is worth 966 million euros and is ranked 8th in FIFA. Spain, who are in the top half of the death zone, have been impressive in this tournament. Although compared with the midfield strength led by Iniesta, Xavi and other passing masters at its peak, the technical style of the Spanish team has changed a lot with the change of personnel structure.
It is no longer stuck to the methodical pass-and-control style of play in the past, but to counter-attack with a more concise and efficient practical counterattack, emphasizing the play style of rapid impact on the wing. This makes the Spanish team's performance in this European Championship refreshing. Spain won 4 and drew 1 in regular time in this European Cup, scoring 11 goals and conceding only 2 goals to remain unbeaten. In the quarter-finals, they eliminated their opponents 2-1 in extra time to advance to the semi-finals.
- France
The French team, which has superstar Mbappe, is worth 1.23 billion euros and ranks second in the FIFA rankings. Before the start of this European Cup, the Gallic Roosters with strong cards and deep heritage are also the favorites to win the championship.
But although the Gallic Roosters have already made it to the final four, their progress to the finals has not been convincing. France won 2 and drew 3 in regular time in this European Championship, scoring 3 goals and conceding 1 goal. It's unbelievable that they haven't scored in five games. There were two own goals and the other was a penalty from Kylian Mbappe.
Although Deschamps' defensive system for the Gallic Roosters has been watertight, the defense led by Saliba can be called impregnable. But on the offensive end of the superstar pile, it's a little mediocre. In the 1/8 finals, Belgium narrowly defeated Belgium 1:0 with an own goal, and in the 1/4 finals, the Grape team exchanged blanks in 120 minutes, and finally advanced to the semifinals 5-3 by virtue of a penalty shootout.
- England
England topped the table with a total value of €1.5 billion at this European Championship. The team has Bellingham, Kane, Saka, Foden, and Rice, five superstars at the level of 100 million yuan. It stands to reason that the Three Lions' strong strength should have played a highlight in this tournament. Disappointingly, however, the Three Lions' unfortunate form at this tournament has been worrying.
Although in the group stage, they rushed to the knockout stage as the top of Group C. However, the performance of scoring only two goals in three group games is still somewhat shabby. In the next first round of knockout matches, Slovakia advanced to the top 8 through 90 minutes of stoppage time and 2:1 in extra time, and eliminated Switzerland 6:4 in the 1-1 penalty shootout in the 1/4 finals, scoring 5 goals and conceding 3 goals. Clearly, manager Gareth Southgate's chaotic tactics have made England, a luxury division, look like they can't find the north.
- Netherlands
The Dutch team is worth a total of 815 million euros and is ranked 7th in FIFA. The Orange team only won 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the group stage, and only entered the knockout stage with a better third place in the group, thus avoiding the top half of the group of scuffles. In the first round of the knockout round, they met the weakest group winners, Romania, and defeated their opponents 3-0 to easily advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarter-finals against Turkey, in the first half of the opponent scored a goal, the Dutch in adversity once again showed the temperament of the former king, scored two goals in the second half, and reversed the victory with the opponent's goal.
After 20 years, he advanced to the semi-finals of the European Championship again, and how could the "uncrowned king" with a heavy heritage let the opportunity slip away easily. Today's Dutch team, under the tutelage of Koeman, has played very well both on the wing and through the middle of the short pass. From the extravagant low-key nature of the group stage to the strong demeanor of the knockout rounds, the Dutch team finally showed his true strength.
Semi-final matchups
Spain - France
Both teams came out on top from a rainy top half of the game, with luck and the ability to take advantage of the opportunity in key moments. However, judging from the overall performance of both sides in this European Cup, Spain has shown strong attacking power and teamwork ability. On the other hand, the French team did not play consistently and did not show the demeanor of a strong team.
The two sides have met 36 times in all competitions, with Spain holding a slight advantage with 16 wins, 13 losses and 7 draws.
Score recommendation: Home team Spain 2-0 or 3-1 win.
Netherlands - England
Both sides made it to the semi-finals from the less competitive bottom half, but the difficulty of progressing varies. It is a miracle that the Dutch team, with its daring and accurate scoring ability, entered the semi-finals of this European Championship at the lowest cost! The Three Lions' ability to risk reaching the semi-finals has been questioned. England were lucky enough to get to the last four.
Next up against the orange team, England has run out of luck and has a high probability of stopping in the semi-finals.
Score recommendation: Home team Netherlands 2-1 or 1-1 draw (90 minutes of regular time).