Switzerland V Spain - Kick off at 1700 from Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg. Live in ITV and ITV Hub.
The Swiss did brilliantly to take the lead against tournament favourites France. They did even better to recover from almost going 2 - 0 up (Rodriguez missed a penalty on 55 minutes) then fight back from 3 - 1 down to force extra time and penalties. They showed incredible fight and desire to keep playing and get a result. The Swiss carry a real threat on the attack. They have the pace and strength of Breel Embolo whilst fellow striker Haris Seferovic (pictured below) took his headed goals superbly against France and has three goals in the tournament. Seferovic's form has set the transfer rumour mill in motion and there are rumours Everton and Wolves.are interested. If true then the asking price for the Benfica forward will have risen substantially. Behind them, Embolo and Seferovic have Xherdan Shaqiri pulling the strings. Shaqiri has been at some big clubs (Bayern Munich, Inter MIlan and Liverpool) but always struggled to hold a regular place in these sides. He has undoubted talent though and is a match winner on his day. Liverpool seem keen on selling him this summer and he has given his chances of a move a huge boost at the Euros with 2 goals and one assist. Switzerland will be without their Captain Granit Xhaka for this game. The Arsenal midfielder is banned for picking up his second yellow card of the Competition against France. Xhaka had a poor season with Arsenal but has had a great tournament so far for his Country. He's led by example often winning the ball in midfield, protecting his back three and getting his team forward when possible. It was Xhaka that set up the equalising goal against the French with a fantastic ball for Gavranović to run on to and score. He will be missed here and could be another player on the move soon with Jose Mourinho's Roma reportedly interested.
Spain had an unbelievable game themselves also going in to extra time. They showed a lot of belief to get over going 1 - 0 down then throwing away a 3 -1 lead. Unlike the French, Spain stepped it up in the added 30 minutes to win 5-3. They've gone from struggling to score goals to getting ten in two games including extra time. Spain have played some lovely football throughout the tournament and more than deserve their place in the quarter finals. Unlike Switzerland who have kept a relatively settled starting eleven, Spain Coach Luis Enrique hasn't been afraid to make changes. Only Goalkeeper Simon, Laporte, Pedri, Koke and Morata have started in each of Spain's four games. It will be interesting to see who Enrique starts with here. Striker Alvaro Morata has been much maligned for his lack of goal scoring, to the point he's received death threats on social media. He has never been a natural Goal Scorer but Enrique has stuck with him. The Juventus forward now has two in the Competition and his all round play has been outstanding at times. Will he add to his tally here?
Frenchfooty prediction: Switzerland 1 V Spain 3.
Belgium V Italy - Kick off at 2000 from Allianz Arena, Munich. Live on BBC One and BBC I player.
This would have made a good final with the quality these two sides have shown so far. Both won all their group games whilst scoring plenty of goals. Each of these teams have very strong squads and played some of the best football the tournament has seen up to now. Italy, unexpectedly, struggled to break Austria down in their last game and needed extra time to win. Belgium showed a lot of grit to beat an attacking Portugal team 1 - 0. Italy are now unbeaten in 31 games whilst Belgium have only lost once in 27 games. The Italians may have Giorgio Chiellini available after missing the last two games with a muscle injury. The legendary Juventus defender was absolute class in the Azzurri's first two games and could slot back in to central defence alongside Bonucci. Right back Alessandro Florenzi is still carrying a muscle injury picked up in Italy's first game against Turkey. Napoli's Giovanni Di Lorenzo has deputised well at right back so Roberto Mancini has little concerns over injuries in his squad. Belgium Coach Roberto Martinez will have far more anxiety about the fitness of his team. Two of his best players were taken off with injuries in the game against Portugal. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne with an ankle injury and Eden Hazard with a hamstring problem. Both will be desperate to play but are doubts for this game and it's unlikely either will feature for 90 minutes. Any team would miss players of their quality and without them Belgium may struggle to give striker Romelu Lukaku the service he needs.
Lukaku didn't have his best game against Portugal. He needs to get back to his best if he's going to get anything against one of the best defences in the tournament so far. Lukaku has the advantage of facing the Italian defenders regularly in Serie A. He's just come back off a great season winning the Italian League with Inter Milan and scoring 24 goals in the process. Italy have their own goal threat. Immobile, Pessina and Locatelli have two each in the Competition. They have 9 tournament goals as a team which only Spain have bettered as yet with 11. Striker Ciro Immobile in particular is having a good competition and was unlucky not to score against Austria.
The knockout games have been hard to predict so far. This is no exception as they are both such strong teams. A lot will depend on how fit De Bruyne and Hazard are and if they play at all. Italy look so good at times I think they'll just have bit more than the Belgians.
Frenchfooty prediction: Belgium 1 V Italy 2
Well you managed to get the half time result as per your prediction. What will the second half bring??