The first semifinal of Euros 2024 is a night’s sleep away, and it is a matchup between two teams who faced their toughest test of the competition in their last round. On one side is a a French team who have massively underperformed in this year’s Euros while facing them will be Spain who have lit up the Euros with their dominance and flair.
For all their available firepower on the field and on the bench, France has failed to score even a single goal from open play in the whole tournament. 2 of the 3 goals scored by France were own goals while the other was a Kylian Mbappe penalty. But this doesn’t mean that France has failed at creating quality chances because they haven’t but have simply underperformed in front of goal failing to convert their XG. On Tuesday they’ll be up against a Spain team who have conceded only 2 goals in the entire competition one of them being an own goal.
But it isn’t as easy as it seems. La Roja will be missing 3 guaranteed starters when they take the pitch on Tuesday against a French team with all players available. Dani Carvajal and the France-born Robin Le Normand will miss the game through suspension. While Pedri, Spain’s magician in midfield will miss out the game through Injury. Half of Spain’s backline on Tuesday won’t be the same. A 38-year-old Jesus Navas will be expected to start at Right Back and will be up against the feisty Kylian Mbappe on France’s left wing. While Nacho will slot in for Le Normand.
But even after these changes, Spain still is ahead in my books. And that is down to the kind of form they have been at the Euros. The rise of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams has been extraordinary, just like Fabian Ruiz’s performances in the middle of the park. Dani Olmo another crucial figure will be slotting in for Pedri and with 2 goals and 2 assists to his name, he hasn’t done for Spain in this tournament. Spain has been outstanding throughout while playing an exciting brand of football which makes fans gasp at their flair. And France, on the other hand, like England has been playing a boring snoozefest brand of football with outdated tactics and a depressing style of play. In a way, France hasn’t been confident and brave with their football.
So when these two European heavyweights and neighbouring countries lock horns at the Allianz Arena in Munich, expect Spanish brilliance to overshadow French timidness.
