It was the European Championship quarter-final that could and perhaps should have been the final — and it did not disappoint.
Spain thought they had beaten Germany after Dani Olmo’s 51st minute finish to a fine team move. But Julian Nagelsmann’s side stuck with it and somehow found an equaliser in the 89th minute from Florian Wirtz after a towering header from Joshua Kimmich… and a throw from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
That took the contest to extra time, where the tournament hosts were denied a penalty in seemingly controversial circumstances. But, improbably, it was the substitute Mikel Merino who decided this match with his fine 119th-minute header.
So, what did our writers Dermot Corrigan, James McNicholas, Mark Carey and Sebastian Stafford-Bloor think of it?
Are Spain now favourites?
Having beaten hosts Germany in dramatic fashion, some will now consider Spain the favourites win Euro 2024.
They’d already played the most coherent attacking football in the tournament, putting three past Croatia and four past Georgia. Against Germany, they showed a different side to their game, withstanding the home nation’s physical approach, the pressure after their equaliser and then claiming a late, late winner.
Their football was not quite as fluid, with Germany finding a way to reduce Rodri’s influence in midfield. Nevertheless, Spain found a way to win, crafting a beautiful opening goal for Olmo and then finding that chance for Merino in extra time.
Spain had never previously beaten a host nation in a knockout tie at either a World Cup or European Championship. For this youthful team to do so, at their country’s 10th attempt, feels like a vital step in their development.
They now advance to face the winner of Portugal vs France on Tuesday evening. That will provide a stern test — but Spain look up to the task.
James McNicholas
What does the hosts going out of the tournament mean for them?
Germany will be backbroken, but not too disheartened by the result. As soon as a path was plotted through this draw, it was clear that all roads led to Spain and, ultimately, to what many considered a superior and better developed side.
It was still cruel. One last moment of euphoria via Wirtz’s 89th-minute equaliser, then the gut-punch of that late Spanish winner.
And the defeat belongs in proper context. This was a graceful exit for Germany, not one — as in 2018, 2021, and 2022 — which demands introspection and route-and-branch reviews. Give it a few days and the positives will have been extracted, with thoughts turning to 2026.
Mittelstadt and Kroos look on (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
The disappointment will be that the journey has come to an end — the fun, the fan parks, and the sense of unity that Euro 2024 seems to have awakened. People will still enjoy themselves, but in a far less engaged way for the final week of the tournament. There will be no more saxophone player, no more Major Tom, and, for now at least, no more rebirth for the national team. That’s what will sting in the morning.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
What happened to Pedri?
This game between two of the most technical teams in the tournament began very physically — with Spain aggrieved at Germany’s aggressive approach.
La Roja left-back Marc Cucurella was the first to need medical attention just seconds into the game, but the big flashpoint came after two Toni Kroos challenges within the opening six minutes.
First Kroos raced into a challenge to stop Pedri counter-attacking, with the knee to knee contact sending the Barcelona midfielder flying through the air. Almost immediately, Kroos had arrived late again, this time with studs coming down on the foot of teenage winger Lamine Yamal.
Kroos swings a leg at Pedri…
… and was eventually forced off
Kroos’ challenge on Yamal
Pedri tried to continue, but soon had to limp off. Luis De la Fuente is usually quite calm on the sideline, but the Spain coach was understandably upset at English referee Anthony Taylor’s leniency in not showing a yellow for either foul, when, arguably, both merited a booking.
The substitution on eight minutes was the earliest in Euros history. Initial explorations by Spain’s medics suggested he had a sprained knee ligament, which may have ended his tournament. It was such a shame for a player who has suffered so many injury issues over the last three seasons.
Germany’s physical approach continued, with Taylor flashing his first yellow card at defender Antonio Rudiger for a wild lunge to stop Olmo just outside the Germany box, meaning Rudiger would miss the semis should Germany progress.
The game then settled down somewhat, but Spain were angered when Robin Le Normand was booked, taking him out of a potential semi-final. While Emre Can got away with a trip on Lamine Yamal near half-way. Closer to half-time, there were fewer protests when Rodri got away with a disguised rugby tackle to stop Jamal Musiala breaking.
Dermot Corrigan
How unfair is UEFA’s yellow cards rule?
The Spain trio of Le Normand, Dani Carvajal and Alvaro Morata should be celebrating qualification for a Euros semi-final. They should be preparing to play the biggest game of his life.
Instead, they will all miss Tuesday’s semi-final through suspension. Under UEFA’s rules, a second booking across five games is deemed sufficient to warrant a ban. Carvajal ensured his absence in any case with a second yellow card for a late foul on Jamal Musiala.
The same fate would have awaited the German trio of Rudiger, Maximilian Mittelstadt and Robert Andrich had Germany qualified for the semi-final.
Any yellow cards picked up in the earlier rounds are expunged once the quarter-finals are over. The system is designed in part to prevent players missing the ultimate showpiece occasion: the final. But given how easily a booking can be acquired in modern football, a ban for two offences seems somewhat draconian.
Perhaps it would be more appropriate to wipe bookings after the group stages. In any case, the punishment for the Spain players seems unduly harsh — although perhaps not for Carvajal or Morata (the striker was booked as he celebrated Merino’s winner).
James McNicholas
How impressive was Spain’s opener?
Given the amount of talent on the pitch in Stuttgart, it was clear that certain players needed to be nullified to stop their side from controlling the game.
The metronome of Spain’s team is undoubtedly Rodri, but Germany’s out-of-possession approach was excellent in the first half — preventing the Manchester City midfielder from dictating the play.
When Spain built out from goalkeeper Unai Simon, Ilkay Gundogan and Emre Can went man-for-man on Rodri and Fabian Ruiz, pressing aggressively to ensure that neither received the ball in their own third. This forced Simon to frequently play the ball long towards left-winger Nico Williams — often conceding possession.
Rodri tried to pull wide and dropped between Spain’s centre-backs, but Gundogan’s disciplined defensive performance was winning the battle in midfield.
What Germany had to remember was that De la Fuente’s Spain are far more versatile in the way they play. Step off them and they can keep possession for long periods and make triangles all over the pitch like the tiki-take style of old. But they also have the speed of their wingers to punish you in transitional moments or in wide areas.
That is exactly how Spain scored their opener. Rather than play through the thirds, a direct through ball from Aymeric Laporte found Alvaro Morata dropping into space. That dragged German centre-back Jonathan Tah out of possession, with Lamine Yamal finding space to square the ball to the oncoming Olmo to sweep home. It was a beautifully worked goal from Spain, but indicative of their versatility in possession this summer.
Mark Carey
How well did Olmo step in for Pedri?
It was likely to take a special moment to decide such a furiously paced game, and Spain’s star player on the day was someone who has shown a knack of vital and spectacular strikes over his career.
The goal was superbly set up by the 16-year-old Yamal, whose third assist of the tournament was ideally placed for Olmo to arrive and calmly sweep the ball to the net from the edge of the penalty area.
That made it 10 goals for Olmo for Spain in 36 caps, with his ninth having fired home in the last 16 against Georgia on Sunday. Regular Spain watchers would not have been surprised — during his international career he has regularly chipped in with key pals, including a long range screamer in added time to win a crucial World Cup 2022 qualifier against Georgia.
4 – Dani Olmo 🇪🇸 has been involved in four goals as substitute at the European Championship (2 goals, 2 assists). Only Cesc Fàbregas 🇪🇸 (5 – 2 goals, 3 assists) has a better tally among all the players in the competition ever. Revulsive. pic.twitter.com/W7f388n5ci
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 5, 2024
Both coaches today are well aware of Olmo’s talents too. Current Spain manager De la Fuente was also in charge when Olmo scored Spain’s second goal in a 2-1 win over Germany in the 2019 Under-21 Euros final.
Germany’s Nagelsmann was Olmo’s RB Leipzig manager when the Catalan fired in a longer ranger in the DFB Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund in May 2021, although Leipzig lost that game.
The former Barcelona starlet has developed his senior career first in Croatia and then in Germany. He did not even start Friday’s game, but after replacing the injured Pedri, he showed his ability to mark the big occasion with a crucial goal.
Dermot Corrigan
Where did Wirtz’s equaliser start?
Desperation can do strange things to football players.
Sometimes it can be a cynical foul, sometimes it can be an acrobatic overhead kick in the dying seconds. The decision making doesn’t often conform to the patterns of 99 per cent of the game.
From Neuer’s throw… (James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images)
… to Wirtz’s finish (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Rarely would you see a goalkeeper take a throw in midway in their own half, but in the 88th minute, Germany’s Manuel Neuer hurled the ball forward — arguably a foul throw if we’re being pernickety — to get his side back up the field.
It looked odd to see, but it was an inspired decision. It was that attacking sequence that led to Germany’s equaliser as Mittelstadt’s eventual cross was nodded down by Kimmich for Wirtz to finish excellently in a packed penalty area. Wirtz will get the plaudits for the goal, but it was a sequence of play that started with a throw from their goalkeeper — from the touchline.
Mark Carey
Did De la Fuente get his substitutions right?
During Spain’s golden era, they often won games 1-0 at tournaments (all four knock-out games at World Cup 2010, and against Germany in the Euro 2008 final). When those sides went ahead, they often dominated possession for long spells, running down the clock, and giving opponents little chance to come back and equalise.
This is a different Spain squad, and a different football era. And De la Fuente’s changes once his team were ahead were all around protecting the lead in a different way.
Yamal is just 16, but he is also the team’s biggest creative threat, and assisted the goal on 51 minutes. Twelve minutes later, Yamal was removed for a more direct runner in Ferran Torres.
The double change with 10 minutes left was the one which Spanish fans and pundits will really remember. Off came starting No 9 Alvaro Morata and winger Nico Williams, and on went Mikel Oyarzabal as a false No 9 and midfielder Mikel Merino.
Meanwhile, more and more attacking German subs were entering the action. Spain began to sit deeper and deeper. De la Fuente’s idea may have been to nab a second goal on the counter-attack, and there were some opportunities to do that, but mostly it was now one way traffic towards Simon’s goal.
De la Fuente’s changes had invited the swing in momentum in the game. Many teams look to dig in and defend when they are 1-0 up. But that is not Spain’s football culture, and it did not work tonight.
Then, just as the game appeared to be heading to penalties, came a final decisive moment. Olmo curled one last cross into the box, and Merino leapt spectacularly into the air to plant a header right into the corner. It was 2-1, and De la Fuente’s substitutions had come good, at the very end.
Dermot Corrigan
Should Germany have had a late penalty?
Midway through the second half of extra-time, it looked to almost everyone watching that the decisive moment had come.
Germany centre-forward Fullkrug knocked the ball back to Wirtz, who fired in a shot from 25 yards. When the ball hit Spain left-back Marc Cucurella, the German players closest by immediately appealed, with some appearing to stop playing, so sure were they that it was handball and a penalty.
When play stopped, it looked like a spot-kick was coming, but the officials quickly waved play on. The German team were mystified, while TV cameras caught Cucurella giving a relieved looking grin as he turned away and got back in the game.
Most replays made it look like it was a clear penalty — in La Liga, the Premier League, and all around the world. As it had not been given, there was an immediate debate about the laws of the game, whether Cucurella’s hand was in a natural position and whether English referee Taylor had remembered criticism that came his way for giving a penalty to Germany against Denmark for a handball which seemed much less obvious.
But another replay appeared to clear up the confusion. Earlier in the move, Fullkrug was standing in an offside position, before he controlled a hoisted ball and laid it back to Wirtz. It was very close, just inches the wrong side of the Spain defence, but it kept the score at 1-1.
Dermot Corrigan
What next for Spain?
Tuesday, July 9: Portugal/France, Munich, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
Spain will face a repeat of the Euro 2012 semi-final on Tuesday if Portugal make it through against France tonight. If not, Didier Deschamps’ side will await at Munich’s Allianz Arena — they lost against them in the UEFA Nations League final in 2021 but beat Les Bleus en route to lifting their last Euros in 2012.
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(Top photo: Tom Weller/picture alliance via Getty Images)
