Spain will face a big problem in the semi-finals. The best-performing team at the Euros will be missing several stars, Kroos ends Pedroia’s championship

Fans already know the first semi-final pair at the European Championships. Probably the best and the worst playing teams at the championship will face each other. Spain will take on France. But the former will have to deal with big losses.

• Spain beat Germany in the quarter-finals
• Coach Luis de la Fuente will have to do without several stars in the semi-finals
• Pedri is done for the championship

The quarter-finals of the European Football Championship were played on Friday and later in the evening we learned the first pair of semi-finalists. Spain and France, probably the best playing team against probably the worst playing team in the championship, will battle it out for the final.

While Luis de la Fuente’s charges took care of Germany thanks to Mikel Merino’s winning goal in extra time, with the match slightly botched by the referee’s performance, Didier Deschamps’ team kicked their way past Portugal thanks to penalties.

France have not scored a single goal from open play in the championship. But neither has it scored any. They are the first team to do so. Moreover, in the era in which the eight-final matches are played, no semi-finalist has scored fewer goals than the Gallic country. Even Greece in 2004 was more goal-scoring.

But back to the other team. Spain will have to do without several stars. One of the most controversial figures in the duel with Germany was the legendary Toni Kroos, who made perhaps five yellow card saves, strangely seeing only one. Yet he could have walked off the field in about the 10th minute.

He took one of the opposition’s stars out of the game. And Pedri will be the only one missing.

Spain will miss their stars in the semi-final

The aforementioned Toni Kroos unfortunately ended the championship of one of the stars of Luis de la Fuente’s selection. A harsh tackle on Pedri, after which he didn’t even see a yellow card, put the 21-year-old Barcelona starlet out of action not only for the rest of the championship, but also for several weeks, maybe months.

It’s worth noting that it was Pedri who expressed his respect for the German legend before the game, vowing that the game against Spain would be Kroos’ last in his career.

But Pedri won’t be the only player Spain will have to do without against France. Defenders Robin Le Normand and Dani Carvajal will also not play due to card penalties. The latter was sent off against the Germans in the last minute of extra time.

Pedri could be replaced by Dani Olmo, who gave a great performance against Germany. Le Normand will most likely be replaced by Nacho. However, it will be harder for the coach to find a replacement for Carvajal.

Given the quality of the France team, which admittedly doesn’t play the most attractive football, these are really unpleasant losses for Spain.

Source: UEFA, Football-España