Luis Enrique's free-scoring Spain will look to avoid the same fate as France when they take on European Championship quarter-final debutants Switzerland.
Switzerland pulled off one of the tournament's all-time greatest shocks by eliminating competition favourites France on penalties in the last 16 after a thrilling 3-3 draw.
La Roja were also involved in a game that saw six goals inside an eventful 90 minutes, before going on to beat Croatia 5-3 in extra time in another Euros classic.
In doing so, Spain became the first side in European Championship history to score five or more goals in successive games, having seen off Slovakia 5-0 in their final group match.
Ahead of Friday's showdown with Switzerland, Luis Enrique has vowed to stick to an attacking style of play.
"I'm ready for games like the one against Croatia if we have another – but I'm not sure if my family or the fans feel the same," he said.
"We won't play long ball, defensive football even if playing the way we do brings wild matches. We only defend by trying to own the ball and play."
Switzerland have reached the last eight of the World Cup on three occasions, but this is the furthest they have ever made it at a European Championship.
They have never previously made it to the semi-finals of a tournament but, buoyed by their famous triumph against France, Vladimir Petkovic's players have a chance to change that.
"The game against France was almost too emotional. All my players gave 120 per cent," said Petkovic, who will be without suspended skipper Granit Xhaka.
"It was probably one of my team's best games ever. We will now need a similar performance against Spain in the quarter-finals."
Spain have lost just one of their 22 meetings with Switzerland in all competitions (W16 D5), with that solitary defeat coming in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Switzerland - Haris Seferovic
Benfica striker Seferovic scored just one goal in his first 13 major tournament appearances for Switzerland, but he has now netted three in his last two appearances at Euro 2020.
That includes a couple of well-taken goals in the win against France, and he is now out to become the second Swiss player – after Josef Hugi at the 1954 World Cup – to score in three successive appearances in a single tournament.
Spain - Ferran Torres
Manchester City attacker Torres was recalled to Spain's starting line-up for the Croatia match after scoring from the bench in the resounding win against Slovakia.
He made the most of his opportunity with another goal and an assist in the last 16, making it eight goal involvements – seven goals and one assist – in his last nine international appearances.
KEY OPTA FACTS
- This is the first clash between Switzerland and Spain at the Euros. Their three previous meetings in a major tournament came in the 1966, 1994 and 2010 World Cups, with Spain winning the first two and Switzerland triumphing last time out.
- Spain have scored five-plus goals in consecutive European Championship games. They had not scored more than four goals in any of their first 42 matches in the competition.
- Switzerland have scored three times in each of their past two Euros matches, having never scored more than twice in any of their first 15 in the competition. They previously scored three-plus goals in three straight matches in all competitions in October 2017.
- Having scored with just 8.5 per cent of their shots in the group stages (4/47), Switzerland converted 25 per cent of their attempts in the last-16 meeting with France (3/12).
- Spain are averaging 73.4 per cent possession and have a passing accuracy of 89.5 per cent at Euro 2020 so far. Both figures are their highest on record in a single European Championship (since 1980).
Girona 0-1 Villarreal: Traore strike lifts Yellow Submarine
Bertrand Traore's goal gave Villarreal a 1-0 win at Girona on Tuesday that prevented the hosts from reclaiming second spot in LaLiga.
Girona, who have enjoyed a superb campaign, are third with 75 points, trailing Barcelona, who moved a point clear with a 2-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Monday.
Alexander Sorloth and Goncalo Guedes went close for Villarreal in the first half, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga was in fine form.
Traore broke the deadlock in the 59th minute after latching on to a superb pass from Guedes, however.
Viktor Tsyhankov, Savio and Artem Dovbyk all went close for Girona, but could not find the back of Filip Jorgensen's net.
Villarreal were reduced to 10 men in the 95th minute after Kiko Femenia was sent off for a second yellow card after a push on Aleix Garcia.
Data Debrief: Rare home loss for Girona
Girona have suffered only their second defeat at Montilivi in LaLiga this season, following a 0-3 loss to Real Madrid in September.
The home side attempted 749 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in LaLiga this season.
Postecoglou rues missed chances against City as Son squanders decisive opportunity
Ange Postecoglou was left to rue missed chances as Tottenham's Champions League hopes were ended after Tuesday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Spurs needed three points to take the Premier League's top-four race to the final day but were undone by Pep Guardiola's side, who moved within touching distance of another top-flight title.
Erling Haaland's routine tap-in from Kevin De Bruyne's brilliance after 51 minutes proved a cruel blow before the City striker's stoppage-time penalty sealed a decisive three points.
It could have been a different story, though, if Stefan Ortega – on as a second-half substitute for Ederson – did not deny Heung-min Son's gilt-edged chance following Manuel Akanji's error.
The City goalkeeper denied the onrushing Spurs forward when one-on-one with the visitors 1-0 up, and Postecoglou acknowledged his side failed to seize their opportunities.
"We lost the game so it was a missed chance for three points," the frustrated Tottenham manager told Sky Sports.
"We had the opportunities and we had to punish them. It was a tight game and in the big moments we were not able to capitalise and they were.
"I thought we were in the game the whole time, even at 1-0 we had a great chance to go level.
"In the second half we were chasing the game so they got a little more space but I thought we were well in it up until that point [the second goal]."
Spurs' loss proved Aston Villa's gain as Unai Emery's side qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, ending a 41-year absence after last featuring in the European Cup in 1982-83.
Postecoglou found it hard to seek the immediate positives, having watched Tottenham fall short and inadvertently damage rivals Arsenal's title hopes in the process.
"We lost the game so I am disappointed," the Australian added, before responding to whether any pride could be taken.
"Not right now because we have lost. We will assess the season, still one more game to go, one more game against Sheffield United and we need to make sure we win.
"I think wherever you finish is a fair reflection of where you are at."
Tottenham will finish outside the top four for the fourth time in the last five seasons, after finishing in the Champions League spots in Mauricio Pochettino’s final four full campaigns in charge (2015-16 to 2018-19).
Postecoglou acknowledged there is still work to do to catch up with England's perennial champions City.
Asked how his side measure up to Guardiola's men, he said: Nothing earth-shattering that I didn't know before the game. We still have some work to do. We need to do some work to catch up."
Real Madrid 5-0 Alaves: Vinicius double continues LaLiga champions party
Vinicius Junior scored twice as newly-crowned LaLiga champions Real Madrid thrashed visitors Alaves 5-0 on Tuesday, after the hosts had paraded the trophy in front of the home fans before the game.
Jude Bellingham and Vinicius scored a goal each inside 30 minutes before Federico Valverde put Los Blancos 3-0 up at the break, unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time.
Vinicius added one more in the 70th minute from a precise cross by Bellingham that the Brazilian fired into the top corner, and substitute Arda Guler completed the scoring with a low finish.
Carlo Ancelotti's side travel to Villarreal on Sunday before hosting Real Betis on May 25 ahead of their Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
Having thrashed Granada 4-0 on Saturday and Cadiz 3-0, either side of their Champions League semi-final victory over Bayern, Real are firing on all fronts heading into the Wembley Stadium showpiece.
Meanwhile, Alavez remain 11th in the table heading into their next game against Getafe at home on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Madrid capitalise on opportunities
Madrid found the back of the net five times from just 2.47 expected goals (xG), suggesting Los Blancos' finishing quality was far greater than Alaves' 1.28 xG.
Ancelotti's side have now kept 20 clean sheets in 36 LaLiga games this campaign, their most in a single season in the competition's history (19 in the 1986-87, 1987-88 and 2019-20 seasons).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
