Spain - France is a classic by now. If the french make a good match I think they got this in the bag. Spain loses most of its edge the moment their rivals challenge their possession, they are not used to it and it showed when Belgium went on the offensive, the latter just doesnt have that initiative naturally, which France has. Spain also lacks an effective counterattack game, one could argue that with so many oportunities they should have scored more but truth is the last two passes are almost always deficient. They also lack someone to destabilize a solid defense since defenders got Lamine figured out for some time now.
The GK doesnt give much confidence either, sure Spain's defense is good but everytime he was tested he made some kind of mistake, a good striker can punish him well. The fact that they kept Unai there when Joan García is benched is a mystery to me.
Perhaps Spain recovers its good form just at the right time, they surely need it if they hope to make a dent on France, or perhaps the french dont make their best match. It will be a great clash regardless.
As for today's QF: brain says England, heart says Norway.
