SpainEuroThe first of the European Championship quarter final matches comes from Saint Petersburg on Friday where Switzerland take on Spain and both these nations were involved in epic knockout round matches earlier this week.

 

 

 

 

Switzerland

 

Switzerland caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far when they knocked out the favourites and World Champions France after a penalty shoot out in the Round of 16 in Budapest on Monday.

 

It was a fantastic match to watch with the Swiss taking a first half lead through Seferovic and after they had squandered a chance to make it 2-0 from the penalty spot France hit back with 3 goals in 18 minutes. At that stage you could have wrote your own ticket for Switzerland to go through but they squared things up through another Seferovic goal on 81 minutes and Gavranovic equalized on 90 minutes to make it 3-3 and send the game into extra time. The Swiss hung on in extra time and were then foot perfect in the penalty shoot out.

 

Switzerland arrived in the last 16 after finishing third in Group A, starting with a 1-1 draw against Wales in Baku and they were never in the hunt in their second group match, a 3-0 defeat to Italy in Rome. That meant they needed to beat Turkey and goals from Seferovic and Shaqiri (2) helped them secure a 3-1 win.

 

The winner of this match will play Belgium or Italy in the semi finals.

 

In the betting to win the tournament Switzerland are priced at around 25/1 and they are 9/1 to reach the final

 

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Spain

 

Just before Switzerland turned France over Spain were involved in a equalling thrilling match against Croatia in Copenhagen, coming through 5-3 in extra time.

Spain were behind after a bizarre own goal before Sarabia squared things up at half time. Second half goals from Azpilicueta and Torres had Spain 3-1 up but Croatia scored twice in the final 5 minutes to force extra time. Spain regained their composure and further goals from Morata and Oyarzabal finally saw Croatia off.

 

Spain made it through Group E as runners up to Sweden and after drawing their first two matches with the Swedes (0-0) and then Poland (1-1) they thrashed Slovakia 5-0 in their final group match, all of which were staged in Sevilla.

 

In the outright betting to win the tournament Spain can be backed at around 3/1 and they are 14/10 to reach the final

 

Recent Head to Head

 

The teams met in the Nations League in 2020 with Spain winning their home game 1-0 in October and a month later the return in Switzerland finished all square at 1-1.

 

A friendly international in 2018 also finished 1-1 and in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa Switzerland beat Spain 1-0 in the group stage.

 

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The Betting

 

90 minutes: Switzerland are trading at around 9/2 to win the game in regulation time with the draw at 26/10 and Spain can be backed at around 13/20

 

A game of 3 goals or more is priced at 19/20 and it's 9/10 for both teams to score.

 

To qualify for the next round under any means of victory Switzerland are priced at around 22/10 and Spain are 3/10

 

Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

 

 

The Verdict:

 

Switzerland's heroics against France suggest they shouldn't be dismissed lightly but they have yet to keep a clean sheet and Spain have found their shooting boots in the last 2 matches.

 

I'm going to go with Spain to win and keep a clean sheet in the process. Having scored a cracking goal against Croatia, Morata's confidence should be restored and he gets the vote to pop up with a goal anytime in the 90 minutes.

 

Bets: Spain to win to nil at 16/10

Anytime goalscorer Alvaro Morata at 17/10

 

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Note, odds are correct at the time of writing but are subject to change

 

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