European Football Championships on channels 14.6.–14.7. Go to the competition website from this link.
Listen to the latest episode of the 11 friends podcast below or from this link.
The European Championship football has reached the quarter-finals. The last quarterfinals were played on Tuesday, and the top eight will continue their championship hunt on Friday and Saturday.
Based on the results of the group stage, the upper half of the playoff chart became a tough one, and at this stage of the tournament there are already matches between the champion favorites. In the lower chart, only England is among the pre-favorites.
Sports expert Miika Nuutinen break down the deciding questions of the quarterfinals.
Spain-Germany (Friday at 19:00)
Who is able to hurt the other in situations?
– A great football match. The most convincing of the big countries so far, both of which have played happy football. Two very attacking teams. These teams have gone into the games with the organ open, with brave balances. Football has not been terribly thought through through fear and assurances, but the idea has been to score goals.
– There are wonderful young players on the field. Spanish side rockets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams are playing an insane tournament, while in Germany the young twenties Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz have their own party in the opponent’s penalty area.
– I believe that this will be decided by who can hurt the other in those moments when the ball is won. Both attack with big numbers and try to get a lot of players up. The facilities on the field are therefore huge. Both have excellent counter hitters. Most likely, the meeting between the top teams will be resolved by some kind of counterattack. I would put this slightly in Spain’s favor, but at a very minimal 51% chance.
Portugal-France (Friday at 22:00)
Whose superstars will flash?
– The nature of this match is completely different from the previous one. Portugal is more of a ball control team. Here are two very defensive teams and a little bit of a game of tug-of-war. At the same time, both have absolutely super quality upstairs. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this comes down to a little glimpse of a superstar.
– France has not gone crazy with goals. Portugal, on the other hand, had to be needlessly tough in their own quarter-final. France defends really well and they have very high quality players in all positions. About Kylian Mbappé the best has yet to be seen, and such a player will light up towards the end of the tournament. France are a brutal team with no weaknesses, and they know it themselves. They have underperformed a bit in terms of the goals they have created, but still there is a certain peace around the team compared to, for example, England.
– Portugal, on the other hand, is almost a working machine. Cristiano Ronaldo the role is starting to be a bit of a burden for the team, when in every attack you have to think about how to reach him. He is still a quality player, but the team could use more versatile playing. In the World Cup, Ronaldo was left on the bench just around this time. I don’t think it will happen again now, but something should be found so that Portugal can get the most out of its own potential. If they succeed in that, they will be able to wound France.
England–Switzerland (Saturday at 19:00)
Will England clear a whole new challenge?
– Switzerland showed against Germany that it is possible to topple these giants. They were able to defend at different heights with quality and even take Toni Kroosia to the discomfort zone. Their playing is pretty good. England, on the other hand, dodged the bullet, and just fine. England doesn’t collect style points, and we continued with a low bar. You must have had to work hard on the training ground.
– You can sense a certain kind of peace in Switzerland. They have clear leading players, especially in the mid lane, and that has impressed. For example Granit Xhaka always feels like a different player in the national team than in the club team. The energy in the national team usually goes in the right direction.
– Switzerland poses a challenge to England’s attacking play that it has not had yet. England must be able to find new ways to create chances or this could go badly. The ball is in England’s court. We should come up with something new again. I give Switzerland a fair chance through the press and the counter-attacks that follow the exploits.
Holland-Turkey (Saturday 22:00)
Who is better at defending?
– This may even be the most colorful match of these. If you look at the quarterfinals, there may even be open doors here, if anywhere. I’m most looking forward to this kind of goal-scoring race. At the same time, both still have their own question marks in defense. If Holland can at all continue their development in terms of attacking, it will be difficult for Turkey.
– Can Turkey also maintain the same nerve control they found for the first time at these Games in their quarter-final? It is the only seam in Turkey. If discipline begins to slip, it will be really bad for Holland. In these games, Turkey practically plays for the home crowd and it feels like every match spills over and the cards shake.
Friday 5.7. at 19:00 Spain-Germany
Friday 5.7. at 22:00 Portugal–France
Saturday 6.7. at 19 England–Switzerland
Saturday 6.7. at 10 p.m. Holland–Turkey
The races are followed moment by moment in the app and on ‘s website in this article.