The action gets underway early on Friday evening with Switzerland taking on Spain in Saint Petersburg. Spain have become the rising force of the tournament after scoring 10 goals in their last two matches, while the Swiss are fresh from their upset win (via penalties) over world champions France in the Round of 16 and have started to dream of glory.
“We always believed. Even before the game we said no matter what happens in the game, it doesn’t matter if we’re down, or if things are going well; we play until the end, we never give up,” said Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
“It’s always ‘anything is possible’. We believe. We said before the game that we are a small country, but we have a lot of quality and a lot of experience and we showed it [against France].”
The second match on Friday night is an all-heavyweight clash between Belgium and Italy in Munich. The Red Devils are looking to justify their world number one ranking, but will likely have to cope without key men Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, while the Azzurri will again be reliant on their strength in depth.
“I think we deserve to go through. We are a group of 26 players and all of us are eager to help the team win games. This is what made the difference [in a 2-1 win over Austria in the previous round],” said Federico Chiesa, whose goal-scoring substitute appearance may convince manager Roberto Mancini to put him into the starting XI.
Saturday’s early game is the meeting of the two surprise packages of the tournament, with Czech Republic facing Denmark in Baku. The Czechs are flying high after their stunning upset win over the Netherlands, but the Danes are continuing to ride the emotional wave driving them forward in the wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse early in the tournament.
“It’s hard to believe that this is reality. I admire the boys and the fact that we can keep fighting. No matter who plays, they play very well. The guys are true warriors,” said Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand.
The Quarterfinals wrap up on Saturday night with the meeting of Ukraine and England in Rome. The Three Lions are in ecstasy after a historic 2-0 win over Germany in the Round of 16, but Ukraine’s last-gasp, extra time win over Sweden shows that they are dangerous opponents.
England manager Gareth Southgate has warned against underestimating the Eastern Europeans: “It’s a dangerous moment [with] the feeling around the country that we’ve only got to turn up to win the thing,” he explained. “We know it’s going to be an immense challenge from here on [in].”
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Match broadcast details
Friday 2 July
4pm: Switzerland v Spain – LIVE on SuperSport Premier Leagueand SuperSport GOtv Euro
7pm: Belgium v Italy – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport GOtv Football and SuperSport GOtv Euro
Saturday 3 July
4pm: Czech Republic v Denmark – LIVE on SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport GOtv Football and SuperSport GOtv Euro
7pm: Ukraine v England – LIVE on SuperSport Premier Leagueand SuperSport GOtv Euro