Spain v Germany LIVE: Latest Euro 2024 quarter-final team news and updates

Gareth Southgate says England have to be “ready to go right to the depths again” in Saturday’s crunch European Championship quarter-final against Switzerland.

The eyes of the nation will be focused on Dusseldorf as the Euro 2020 runners-up continue their quest to go one better by taking on the side 19th in FIFA’s world rankings.

England are fifth in those standings but have yet to show those standards in Germany, where they topped Group C in unconvincing fashion before narrowly avoiding humiliation last weekend.

Turkey defender Merih Demiral has been banned for two games by Uefa following a gesture he made during his side’s last-16 win against Austria on Tuesday and will miss Saturday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final against Netherlands.

The 26-year-old centre back scored twice in a 2-1 win over the Austrians to send his side into the last eight for the first time since 2008, and celebrated by making a “wolf” gesture with his fingers.

Uefa have charged Jude Bellingham with “violating the basic rules of decent conduct”, but the player will not face an immediate ban.

England midfielder Bellingham was facing a ban after Uefa opened an investigation into a gesture he made while celebrating his spectacular overhead kick against Slovakia in the last-16 tie last Sunday.

In the aftermath of his goal, Bellingham was seen shouting “Who else?!” as he ran over to England fans after scoring. The Video showed the Real Madrid forward then kiss his hand and grab his crotch in a gesture which appeared to be directed towards the side of the pitch.

Here’s a look at how the two nations compare from a statistical standpoint, after four matches apiece at Euro 2024, with Spain’s score first and Germany’s second:

Goals per game – (ESP) 2.3 – 2.5 (GER)

Average possession – 59.5% – 65.8%

Big chances created – 17 – 12

Expected goals – 8.9 – 7.7

Shot conversion rate – 11% – 13.9%

Euro 2024 is heading to the quarter-finals after an entertaining start to the knockout rounds saw eight more nations exit the tournament.

Spain were the only team to collect the maximum nine points in the group phase and they continued their impressive form with a 4-1 win over Georgia. Switzerland and Germany both progressed to the quarter-finals with 2-0 wins, but it was much harder work for France, England and Portugal who respectively required a late own goal, a very late equaliser/extra-time winner and a penalty shootout to go through.

Here, we assess how every Euro 2024 nation stacks up before the quarter-finals (these rankings are revised after each round of games).

Exactly one year ago Lamine Yamal was playing in the quarter-finals of the U17 European Championships in front of only a few hundred supporters. Skipping past defenders for fun, he registered an assist and scored once in Spain’s 3-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland.

At just 15 years old, he was one of the youngest players competing in the U17 competition at the time. Yet he already stood out among his peers, finishing as the joint top-scorer of the tournament – despite Spain crashing out to France in the semi-final.

Fast forward a year, he’s now the youngest player competing at Euro 2024, with his boyish smile revealing braces, his joyful approach to the game providing a captivating subplot to Friday’s European Championship quarter-final with hosts Germany. To say it has been a whirlwind 12 months for the Barcelona winger would be an understatement.

Our feature piece on the Spanish starlet, for Premium subscribers:

The winner of this one will meet either Portugal or France in the semi-finals for another mouth-watering tie.

Here’s a closer look at the draw:

Gundogan is one of Germany’s most experienced players and has taken almost 20 penalties in a successful career between clubs like Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.

However, he believed anyone who stepped up to take a spot kick should be lauded for their bravery and that even some of the game’s greatest players do not always score.

“Even the best takers in the world miss,” Gundogan said. “I automatically think about someone like Harry Kane who has a finishing that is unbelievable but I also remember him missing quite a few penalties.

“So it’s just the circumstances at the end of the day. I missed a lot of penalties in my career so far as well. At the end of the day you just try your best. Sometimes it gets rewarded and you can do it in a better way and sometimes not.

“I think to have the guts to step on, to take a penalty in crucial moments, to show respect for it, even when you miss because it is a situation that is extraordinary and it is very difficult to deal with.”

Mental preparation and plenty of practice are the most important factors in taking a penalty, Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan said as his team gear up for Friday’s Euro 2024 quarter-final clash against Spain.

Both teams are heavy favourites and have provided some of the best football in the tournament so far and their clash could come down to a penalty shootout.

Gundogan, 33, said on Thursday that the pressure of taking a penalty is not something that can be replicated in training, but that it’s still important to be mentally prepared.

“The key word for me is routine. When you step on to take a penalty, the pressure that exists in a game it’s just different than it was in training and obviously to replicate is very, very difficult. I don’t believe that you can replicate it in training,” Gundogan told a press conference.

“You can train your routine. You can train how you want to approach a penalty. Your breathing, how you get calm… The most crucial thing is to get calm, how to get your heartbeat down.

“Just try to be cool and enjoy the moment of taking a penalty. Which is the most difficult thing because, otherwise anyone would score a penalty.”

Only three nations have won the Euros as hosts (Spain 1964, Italy 1968, France 1984) and three more have played a final on home soil, only to lose (Portugal 2004, France 2016 and England 2020).

History is also not on Germany’s side for Friday’s matchup, as they have not beaten Spain in a tournament game since 1988, a winless run which includes a 6-0 demolition in the 2020 Nations League.

Despite Spain’s imperious form in their four straight wins so far at Euro 2024 and their previous success against Germany, De la Fuente said it would be an evenly-matched clash.

The difference could be, according to the Spaniard, the individual talent of certain players, like Germany midfielder Toni Kroos. The 34-year-old could be playing the last game of a remarkable career as he plans to retire after the tournament.

“I will ask Uefa if I can tie his feet together for this game,” De la Fuente joked. “Kroos is a super class player. It is incomprehensible that he is leaving football. It’s a shame that he will stop playing. We know what Kroos does and we will try to limit his passing, be very close and help him so that he doesn’t receive or at least doesn’t do it comfortably.

“That’s what we can do as they won’t let us tie his feet. It is a final before the final and I hope we advance.”