Spain 2-1 Germany (after extra time): Late Merino header sends La Roja through to semi-finals

Mikel Merino struck late in extra time as Spain booked their place in the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-finals with a narrow victory over Germany in Stuttgart.

Match in brief: Late drama as Spain edge through

Billed by many as a meeting of the competition's two strongest sides, the tournament's first quarter-final started at a ferocious pace. Pedri stung Manuel Neuer's palms with a low shot inside the opening minute, only to be replaced by Dani Olmo minutes later after suffering an injury.

Lamine Yamal dragged a low free-kick wide of Neuer's left-hand post and Olmo sent a left-footed drive over the crossbar as Spain sought to assert control, before Kai Havertz headed Joshua Kimmich's looping cross straight at Unai Simón in Germany's first clear-cut opening of the contest. The lively Nico Williams then had a close-range attempt repelled by Neuer, who also kept out Olmo's low effort to preserve parity before the interval.

Álvaro Morata almost opened the scoring moments after the restart when he swivelled past Antonio Rüdiger and blazed over the bar, but the deadlock was broken six minutes into the second half when Olmo steered a low first-time shot beyond Neuer from Yamal's pass. The goal prompted Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann to introduce striker Niclas Füllkrug, who sent a header over the bar not long after entering the fray.

Dani Carvajal denied Florian Wirtz with a superb sliding block as Nagelsmann's men threw caution to the wind in the latter stages of normal time. Füllkrug then slid Wirtz's low delivery against a post and Havertz's lob sailed narrowly over Unai Simón's goal, but Germany's late pressure eventually told when Wirtz slammed a low shot in off the far post to force extra time.

Florian Wirtz scored Germany's equaliser late in normal timeAFP via Getty Images

The first period of extra time was finely poised. Both teams went close to taking the lead, Mikel Oyarzabal's venomous long-range effort whistling wide before Wirtz narrowly missed the target at the other end. Unai Simón was equal to Füllkrug's well-placed header, but Merino decided this absorbing contest with a powerful header of his own from Olmo's centre, as La Roja held on despite Carvajal's late red card.

Vivo Player of the Match: Dani Olmo (Spain)

The Bundesliga-based midfielder came on as a substitute to fill Pedri's big shoes. He was very dangerous, very involved in the game, scored a goal, provided an assist, moved out wide and did well. He did a good job defensively, too.
UEFA Technical Observer panel

Graham Hunter, Spain reporter

Such drama, such equilibrium between these two sides in terms of attitude, playing philosophy and talent. Magnificent atmosphere and tension from first to last. This was a quarter-final for the ages. Wonderful entertainment. Sad that there had to be a loser.

Phil Röber, Germany reporter

We got the epic battle that we had all been waiting for. I loved how Germany, spurred on by a really enthusiastic crowd in Stuttgart, left nothing to chance in their efforts to fashion an equaliser. It was a cruel end to the tournament for Nagelsmann's team, but Spain head into the semi-finals brimming with confidence.

Reaction

Luis de la Fuente, Spain coach: "This is the moment to appreciate what we've achieved and enjoy. My players are insatiable. I'm proud to coach players like this. They're used to competing at the highest level and they have an opportunity to win [the tournament]. This team are always going to compete. There's always room for improvement, of course, but we can't question their pride, quality and commitment."

Luis de la Fuente cut a delighted figure after his team's narrow victoryUEFA via Getty Images

Mikel Merino, Spain midfielder, on his winning goal: "Everything happened in one millisecond. As soon as I saw that Dani [Olmo] had the ball, I knew he had a lot of quality and that he would put an amazing cross in. I only had to make the run, jump and direct the header. The rest is history!"

Dani Olmo, Vivo Player of the Match: "It was a difficult game. It went to extra time, which is also complicated, but in the end we deserved the win. We're celebrating and enjoying the moment. This is probably my best night with the national team."

Julian Nagelsmann, Germany coach: "Congratulations to Spain for reaching the semi-finals. The game was too open in the first half. We were better in the second half and from the 60th minute onwards, we were clearly the better team. Our late [equaliser] was well-deserved. We conceded the winner with the last chance. Unfortunately we weren't able to apply enough pressure on the wing."

Joshua Kimmich, Germany midfielder: "The last six weeks have been very special with the team spirit in the camp. I haven't experienced that very often. That's why the disappointment is greater than at other tournaments. We didn't deserve what happened today. I felt it was our role to give the German fans something they could be proud of."

Toni Kroos, Germany midfielder: "At the moment, I'm only thinking about our exit from the competition. We all had a big objective we were aiming for. The dream we had has been dashed, to some degree. We'll eventually come to the realisation that we had a good tournament, but it's very hard to take right now."

Toni Kroos applauds the Germany fans after playing his last match as a professional footballerGetty Images

Key stats

• Merino scored the third-latest winning goal in a EURO match (118:52), after Michel Platini at EURO '84 (118:53) and Artem Dovbyk at EURO 2020 (120:36).
• Spain have won all five of their matches at EURO 2024, becoming only the third nation to win five in a row at a single edition of the finals after France at EURO '84 and Italy at EURO 2020.
• Germany have lost three of their last four EURO knockout stage games (W1), as many as in their previous 12 at the finals beforehand (W7 D2 L3).
• Olmo has been involved in five goals as a substitute in EURO final tournaments (two goals, three assists). Only Cesc Fàbregas (two goals, three assists) has been able to match that tally in the competition's history.
• Yamal is the fourth Spain player to register three assists in the same edition of a EURO, after Fàbregas (2008), David Silva (2012) and Olmo (2021).
• Aged 21 years and 63 days, Wirtz is Germany's youngest goalscorer in a EURO knockout game.
• Neuer is just the third player after Cristiano Ronaldo (29) and Pepe (22) to reach the landmark of 20 EURO appearances.
• Only one of Germany's last 26 EURO matches have finished goalless.
• Just two of Die Mannschaft's last ten EURO knockout games have gone to extra time.
• Leroy Sané is the 21st German player to make ten EURO appearances.

Niclas Füllkrug was denied by the frame of the goal in the second halfGetty Images

Line-ups

Spain: Unai Simón; Carvajal, Le Normand (Nacho 46), Laporte, Cucurella; Pedri (Olmo 8), Rodri, Fabián Ruiz (Joselu 102); Yamal (Ferran Torres 63), Morata (Oyarzabal 80), Williams (Merino 80)

Germany: Neuer; Kimmich, Rüdiger, Tah (Müller 80), Raum (Mittelstädt 57); Can (Andrich 46), Kroos; Musiala, Gündoğan (Füllkrug 57), Sané (Wirtz 46); Havertz (Anton 91)