Euro 2024. Spain-Germany, final before the letter

The Euro 2024 quarter-final clash on Friday between Spain and Germany, the two nations that have impressed the most since the start of the competition, has the feel of a final ahead of its time, reminiscent of the one won by La Roja in 2008.

At the time, a Spanish team at the dawn of its golden period, around Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas, had dominated the Mannschaft in the final (1-0) with a goal from Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, giving La Roja its first title since 1964.

Etched in memories

A match that will remain etched in the memories of the supporters of each camp: like a second consecutive trauma for the German selection after its elimination in the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup by Italy at home, and the first stone towards an unprecedented treble of Euro-2008, World-2010 and Euro-2012 for Spain.

Led by David Villa, Xabi Alonso, Carles Puyol and Sergio Ramos, the Spaniards subsequently acquired the status of Germany’s “bête noire”, once again extinguishing the dream of Michael Ballack’s teammates in South Africa in the semi-finals (1-0, goal by Puyol).

As the legendary Lothar Matthäus recalls in his column for Sport-Bild: “It’s almost unbelievable, but the last time we won an official match against Spain, I was still there as a player: 2-0 in the group stage match of Euro 1988 in Munich, with two goals from Rudi Völler.”

“After 36 years, it is now time to beat Spain again in a major tournament,” wrote the former defender.

“Comparable to 2008”

Renewed around their young talents – Musiala, Wirtz on one side, Yamal, Williams on the other – the two teams that will face each other on Friday in Stuttgart (6 p.m.), no longer have much in common with those pitifully eliminated very early at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after a 1-1 draw in the group stage.

Spain, the only team to have won all three of its group matches and then mercilessly defeated Georgia (4-1) in the last 16, has established itself as the best team in the tournament so far, despite having arrived in Germany “on tiptoe”.

As a symbol, it was the first time since… 2008 that La Roja qualified for the knockout phase of a major tournament with nine points, which confirmed the similarities perceived by the press between the two generations.

“Of course, this selection reminds me of the one from 2008. There are many similarities, such as the lack of consideration for both teams before the start of the tournament. Then, as the matches went on, the illusion took hold of the country, the fans and the media,” said the hero of the time Fernando Torres.

“Spain 2008 was also a team with different profiles. The goal in the final is an example of this mixture of possession and depth,” said former defender Carlos Marchena, while Spain were praised for their attractive and more direct play.

For the Süddeutsche Zeitung, a major Munich daily, “the Spanish selection inspired Germany (particularly in terms of possession play, editor’s note), then became its bête noire and seems to have a head start again, before the quarter-final of the Euro.”

Musiala the savior?

But the Mannschaft, carried by its Bayern Munich nugget Jamal Musiala, joint top scorer in the competition (three goals), has what it takes to make a Roja team tremble, sometimes feverish in transition when its high pressing is beaten.

A qualification for the semi-finals at home would perhaps represent the last step towards winning back their public, tired of recent successive failures in international competition since 2018.

Before the match, the iconic Toni Kroos, 34 years old and who will end his career after the Euro, assured that this match “would not be his last”, while the Spaniards Joselu and Pedri affirmed that they wanted to “send him into retirement”, as the Iberian press had done, with a certain bad taste, for Zinédine Zidane in 2006.