Euro 2016 - Quarter Finals Preview 2

 

Portugal were the first side to claim a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2016 after a 5-3 win on penalties against Poland.  Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski finally got on the scoresheet at Euro 2016 after just 2 minutes before his soon-to-be Bayern Munich team-mate Renato Sanches equalised for the Portuguese on what was a first start for his country.

 

Cristiano Ronaldo made amends for two glaring misses by dispatching the first spot-kick, and after Poland's Jakub Blaszczykowski saw his spot-kick saved by Rui Patricio, Ricardo Quaresma slotted home the winning penalty to send Portugal through to the last four.

 

But who will be joining them to be part of the Euro's fantastic four?  Tonight sees Wales take on Belgium for the right to meet Portugal next week while this weekend sees the final two Quarter Finals take place with 3 familiar teams joined by the surprise package of the tournament.  Here is Direct Soccer's preview of the two remaining quarter finals.

 

QUARTER FINAL 3  -  GERMANY vs ITALY  -  Saturday 2nd July  -  Bordeaux

How they got here:  World Champions Germany were drawn in Group C with familiar opponents Poland, Ukraine and Northern Ireland, and were hoping to emulate Spain's recent achievements of holding both the World Cup and European Championships at the same time.

There was a few frantic moments against Ukraine in the opening fixture, but the Germans came through it by 2 goals to nil, thanks to goals from Mustafi and Bastian Schweinsteiger.  Still not firing on all cylinders, Germany were held to a 0-0 draw with Poland and had to rely on a Mario Gómez goal in the 30th minute to defeat Northern Ireland in their last group game and win the group with 7 points with Schweinsteiger's injury-time goal in the opening game being the difference between the Germans and the Poles.

But, just like a top quality German car that takes time to get up to speed, the Germans got their motors going in the knockout stages, hammering Slovakia 3-0 in Lille with goals from defender Jerome Boateng, Julian Draxler and a second in the competition for a rejuvenated Mario Gómez.

Italy were drawn in Group E alongside the highly rated Belgium, Sweden and Republic of Ireland in what was the competition's Group of Death.  A solid display against Belgium in Lyon on June 13th was rewarded with a vital 2-0 victory with the goals coming from Giaccherini and a thumping half-volley from Graziano Pellè to see the Italians go top of the group after the first match.  They left it very late against Sweden but finally made the breakthrough on 88 minutes with Éder bagging the winner to help the Azzurri qualify for the 2nd Round.

With qualification for the knockout stage assured, Italy Coach Antonio Conte (soon to be Chelsea Manager) rested some key players for the game against the Republic of Ireland, but with top spot already assured, a 1-0 defeat to the Irish wasn't seen as a disaster.  Italian supporters everywhere must have been worried about the 2nd Round as they drew defending champions Spain in Paris on Monday afternoon.  But Italy responded to the challenge superbly and dominated the Spanish to knock out the reigning European Championship holders with a fine 2-0 win, the goals coming from Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pellè.

Saturday night's clash pits two of the best goalkeepers in the world up against each other in the shape of Germany's Manuel Neuer and Italy's evergreen stopper Gianluigi Buffon.  Both keepers are yet to let in a goal (Buffon was rested for the Ireland game) so the first goal could be very key to who goes on to win this Quarter Final.  An omen for Italy is that they have never lost to Germany in tournament play, including a memorable 3-1 win over the Germans in the World Cup final of 1982, and a semi-final win in Dortmund at the 2006 World Cup.

  [caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignleft" width="300"] Germany vs Italy on Saturday night could be a battle between two of the world's best goalkeepers. Germany's Manuel Neuer, rated the best keeper in the world, is yet to concede a goal at Euro 2016, but will face his sternest test yet against a potent Italian offence. Italy's legendary shot stopper Gianluigi Buffon is still keeping clean sheets for the Azzurri at the age of 38, and is also yet to let a Beau Jeu go past him at Euro 2016. Will both keepers prevent their opponents and send this match to a penalty shootout? Unlike other games that have went to penalties so far at Euro 2016, this one should have plenty of great saves to keep us entertained.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1470" align="alignleft" width="300"] The hosts France take on shock-troops Iceland in the last quarter final of Euro 2016, and will be fancied to get through to a semi-final against either Germany or Italy. The French should win, but after Iceland knocked out England in the last round, they won't be taking the Icelandic men lightly. Iceland will be confident they can carry on their fairytale journey at Euro 2016 and reward their great fans and many neutrals with another big-name scalping.[/caption]

                                     

QUARTER FINAL 4  -  FRANCE vs ICELAND  -  Sunday 3rd July  -  Saint-Denis

How they got here:  Hosts France kicked off Euro 2016 with a 2-1 win over Romania in Group A, goals coming from Arsenal's Olivier Giroud and West Ham's midfield star Dimitri Payet in the last minute with a superb long-range effort.  The French then struggled to see off a resilient Albania side and needed 2 late goals from Griezmann and Payet to secure the points and qualification for the next round.  France ended their group games with a 0-0 draw with Switzerland to finish top of Group A, though could have won if Paul Pogba's excellent long-range shot had found the back of the net instead of the crossbar.

France's opponents in the 2nd Round were the Republic of Ireland.  The Irish stunned the home fans by taking an early lead after Paul Pogba brought down Shane Long in the French penalty area and Robbie Brady scored with the resultant penalty kick.  The second half saw France fight back and two goals from Antoine Griezmann were enough to see off the Republic and book a place in the last eight.

Iceland's first foray into the European Championships came about from a great qualification campaign that saw them finish runners-up in qualifying behind Czech Republic and beat Turkey and Netherlands to an automatic place at Euro 2016.  Unfancied to get out of Group F which also contained Portugal, Austria and Hungary, they got off to a solid start with a well-earned 1-1 draw with the Portuguese after Birkir Bjarnason tied the game in the second half.

Iceland followed up this result with another 1-1 draw, this time against Hungary.  A penalty in the 40th minute from Gylfi Sigurðsson looked to be enough to give them the 3 points but an own-goal on 88 minutes by Iceland defender Birkir Már Sævarsson rescued a draw for the Hungarians.

The final group game for Iceland saw them claim a historic first win at a tournament by beating Austria 2-1 to finish as runners-up in Group F. Jón Daði Böðvarsson opened the scoring on 18 minutes before Austria equalised early in the 2nd half.  With it looking likely that Iceland were heading for 3rd place in the group and a date with Croatia, Arnór Ingvi Traustason became one of the most famous men in Iceland with a goal in the 4th minute of injury-time.

Iceland's first knock-out championship match was against England, with the Three Lions the fancied favourites to advance to the quarter finals.  After a Wayne Rooney penalty gave the English the lead on 4 minutes, it looked like it was going to be a long night for Iceland but they responded brilliantly with an equaliser from Ragnar Sigurðsson on 6 minutes and then took the lead with a low shot from Kolbeinn Sigþórsson after 18 minutes.  Iceland then defended with their lives and contained a poor England team to win the biggest match of their playing careers (so far) 2-1 and reach a Quarter Final against the host nation on Sunday.