Fresh from eliminating tournament favourites France in the round of 16, Switzerland will attempt to advance to the final four of Euro 2020 when they face Spain in St Petersburg on Friday night.

Switzerland shocked France on penalties to secure their spot in the quarter-finals, while Spain beat Croatia 5-3 after extra-time to progress to the final eight of this summer's European Championship.

Match preview

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Switzerland were unquestionably the underdogs heading into their last-16 clash with France, and it did appear that they were heading out when Paul Pogba made it 3-1 to the world champions in the 75th minute.

Haris Seferovic scored his second of the match in the 81st minute, though, before Mario Gavranovic netted in the final minute to level the scores, and Switzerland ultimately won penalties when Kylian Mbappe missed his effort, sparking jubilant scenes among the players, staff and supporters.

La Nati have now reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time in their history, and they have only needed to win one game in normal time, which came against Turkey in their final group fixture, having opened their tournament with a draw with Wales and a defeat to Italy.

Vladimir Petkovic's team will be in a confident mood following their success over France, but Switzerland have only won one of their last 22 fixtures with Spain, suffering 16 defeats in the process.

A-Team have now only lost one of their last 11 matches in all competitions, though, and a victory on Friday would represent their best ever performance in a major competition, having previously reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 1934, 1938 and 1954.

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Spain, meanwhile, advanced to the quarter-finals courtesy of a 5-3 success over Croatia, and it was another stunning match at the European Championship, with La Roja almost throwing the match away.

Enrique's side took a 3-1 lead in the 77th minute of the contest when Ferran Torres registered, but Croatia scored twice in the final five minutes to force extra-time; there was no penalty shootout, though, as Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal both registered in the additional 30 minutes.

Spain have not been at their best this summer, drawing their first two fixtures with Sweden and Poland, but they put five goals past Slovakia in their final group match before scoring another five against Croatia, and La Roja must be taken seriously in this competition due to the other sides that have been eliminated.

Spain are bidding to win the European Championship for the fourth time, which would make them the most successful team in the competition, passing Germany's three trophies; it is nine years since their last European Championship success, but they are now on the verge of reaching the final four once again.

Enrique's side have actually lost five of their previous eight quarter-finals in this competition, although each time the national team have won their quarter-final, they have gone on to win the trophy, and a win on Friday would see them take on either Italy or Belgium in a mouthwatering semi-final on Tuesday night.

Team News

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Switzerland will be without the services of Granit Xhaka, as the Arsenal midfielder is suspended due to the yellow card that he picked up in the win over France.

Xhaka is expected to be replaced by Denis Zakaria in the middle of the park, but it could otherwise be the same side that took to the field for the clash with Didier Deschamps's side on Monday.

Seferovic, who scored a brace against France, is likely to be joined by Breel Embolo in the final third of the field, with Liverpool's Xherdan Shaqiri acting as the support from behind.

Gavranovic scored off the bench on Monday evening, but the 31-year-old will again be among the substitutes from the first whistle, and the benches could have an important role to play in this match.

As for Spain, Enrique is expected to name the same starting XI that took to the field against Croatia, with Ferran Torres and Pablo Sarabia joining Morata in the final third.

Cesar Azpilicueta and Eric Garcia are likely to get the nod over Marcos Llorente and Pau Torres to feature at the back, while there are not expected to be any alterations to the midfield three.

Enrique has kept faith with Morata this summer, and the striker was on the scoresheet against Croatia, meaning that there will be another spot for the 28-year-old in the quarter-final affair.

Dani Olmo and Oyarzabal will provide support from the bench, while Villarreal's Gerard Moreno will also be keen to make his mark, having thus far been unable to replicate his club form from 2020-21.

Switzerland possible starting lineup:
Sommer; Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Widmer, Freuler, Zakaria, Zuber; Shaqiri; Embolo, Seferovic

Spain possible starting lineup:
Simon; Azpilicueta, Garcia, Laporte, Alba; Koke, Busquets, Pedri; Sarabia, Morata, F Torres

We say: Switzerland 1-2 Spain

This is a very, very dangerous game for Spain, as Switzerland will be full of confidence following their win over France. La Roja have shown a lot of encouraging signs in their last two fixtures, though, and we fancy Enrique's side to advance to the final eight courtesy of a 2-1 win, which could come after extra-time.

Written by
Matt Law

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