The Best Teams in the Last Two Decades Will Face Each Other for a Ticket to the Final

Brilliant Spain faces France, looking to regain their strong form, in the first of the two semi-final matches of the European Football Cup 2024 in Munich.

A confrontation that many consider to be between the best teams, at least in the last two decades, after dominating continental and international football since the 1998 World Cup, which France won at home, the two teams have reached the finals of nine major tournaments.

Spain hopes to hold the record for the number of European Cup titles, which it currently shares with Germany, with three crowns in 1964, 2008, and 2012, while France is looking to catch up with the top two after winning in 1984 and 2000.

Spain shined in the tournament currently being held in Germany, especially with the elegant play of the fast young wingers, Lamine Yamal (16 years old) and Nico Williams (21 years old).

In turn, France, which was the strongest candidate with England (facing the Netherlands on Wednesday in the second semi-final) before the start of the tournament, fell into the trap of their offensive fragility, which was deepened by the fact that their captain and top scorer, Kylian Mbappé, suffered a broken nose in the opening match.

France has only scored three goals in five matches, two from own goals against Austria and Belgium, and one from a Mbappé penalty against Poland.

But the 2022 World Cup runner-up only conceded a goal from a penalty kick against Poland, before beating Belgium 1-0 in the quarter-finals and then Portugal on penalties in the quarter-finals.

On the other hand, Spain has the strongest attack in partnership with Germany (11), the largest number of attempts (102), and the most ball recoveries from the opponent (230). They eliminated Germany, the host, in a fiery quarter-final (2-1) that ended in extra time and the loss of their midfielder Pedri due to a knee sprain.

Spain, the only team to win five full matches, is relying on the talent of Lamine Yamal, who has three assists and will become the youngest player to score in the history of the tournament if he scores against Mike Maignan, while Williams scored a goal and made an assist.

There is great positivity over the “La Roja” camp, led by the veteran coach of the last decade, Luis de la Fuente, who said after eliminating the host with goals from Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino, “This is a winning horse.”

The coach, who supervised many current players in age group teams, added, “We can go far. There is a lot of confidence and spirit in this team.”

A spirit that the Iberian national team will need in light of the absence of the brilliant young man Pedri and the suspended defenders Dani Carvajal and Ruben Lonorman. However, they are counting on the toughness and skill of their defensive midfielder Rodri, who has won the English Premier League title with Manchester City in the last four years.

On the other hand, France hopes to regain their scoring appetite they had in the last World Cup in Qatar, when they scored 16 goals, including 8 for Mbappé, the tournament’s top scorer.

The 25-year-old player, who moved from Paris Saint-Germain to Spanish Champions Real Madrid, said: “It is obvious that we win matches if we are more effective in attack, but in a major tournament you do not expect to go far if you are not solid defensively.”

Since the 2014 World Cup, coach Didier Deschamps’ team has failed only once to reach the final of a major tournament, which was in the last edition of the European Cup when they were eliminated in the last 16 round by Switzerland on penalties.

Deschamps, who has been supervising France since 2012 and led them to the 2018 World Cup title, acknowledged that his team must improve offensively. “Our toughness is perfect, and this is necessary in a major tournament. When you do not score many goals, it is better not to concede many, but I prefer us to be more efficient.”

France won their first title in the continental championship, beating Spain 2-0 in 1984, which smiled at their superstar Michel Platini and frowned at La Roja goalkeeper Luis Arconada after he let Platini’s free kick roll under his stomach.

France eliminated Spain 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the 2000 European Cup on their way to the title, then in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup (3-1), in two matches that witnessed the imprint of Zinedine Zidane.

But Spain responded by winning 2-0 with two goals from Xabi Alonso in the 2012 European quarter-finals, which was their only major victory over their opponents in a major tournament. The last major confrontation between them ended in favor of France 2-1 in the European Nations League final in late 2021.

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