It was Spain’s night in Stuttgart as they pipped the hosts, Germany, to seal their place in the semi-final with a 2-1 win in the quarter-finals at the MHPArena of the ongoing Euro 2024.
German players and fans were left speechless as they bowed out of the tournament with their heads down and only had themselves to blame for all the opportunities that went begging past them.
As Germany bowed out of the tournaments, curtains came falling on Germany’s talismanic midfielder Toni Kroos’ career as he bid adieu to his international career. It was a game of high voltage, with both teams dominating the game in patches throughout the 90 minutes.
Spain started the game with high intensity and registered the first shot on target in the second minute of the game. Spain was handed an early blow after Pedri got injured, forcing head coach Luis de la Fuente to bring him off for Dani Olmo.
Germany continued to dominate the possession but struggled to make the most of it and make a meaningful contribution to the attacking front.
They had their first sniff at the goal in the 21st minute after Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon denied Kai Havertz from giving Germany a lead.
Fourteen minutes later, Havertz once again came close to breaking the stalemate, but Simon stood in front of the goal. The assistant referee eventually raised the flag to deem the play offside.
Before the first half ended goalless, Spain had one final opportunity to break the stalemate. Olmo took a shot, which was carried away by Neur. The ball fell to Alvaro Morata’s feet, but defender Jonathan Tah was there to deny him a goal. In the second half, Spain continued to knock at Germany’s door and eventually got the breakthrough in the 51st minute.
Lamine Yamal set the ball perfectly for Olmo, who made a late run into the box and slotted the ball into the back of the net with ease.
Germany, looking for an instant response, shifted through gears to bring the game back on level terms. With fans firmly behind the hosts, Germany threatened Spain’s defense with swagger. With the game slowly reaching towards its climax, Robert Andrich forced off a remarkable save from Simon.
A couple of moments later, Havertz’s shot was blocked by Dani Carvajal. Fullkrug struck the post, raising Germany’s agony in their hunt for an equaliser.
Havertz’s attempt to chip the goalkeeper over the head had too much power in it as the ball sailed over the goalpost.
With a minute left for added time, Florian Wirtz equalised for Germany, who struck the ball with venom to find the far corner.
With the scoreline reading 1-1, the game went into extra time. The first period of the extra time ended without a change in the scoreline.
Germany almost went ahead after Fullkrug was denied following an exceptional save from Simon.
With the game looking bound to go to penalties, Mikel Merino, with a late piece of magic, found the back of the net to seal a 2-1 win for Spain. Before the final whistle, Carvajal was shown a red card after he received his second yellow leaving Spain with 10 men on the field for the final moments.
(ANI Inputs)
