More excitement last night as Spain and Italy qualified for the semi finals in two closely fought games. Spain scraped past Switzerland on penalties. Luis Enrique's team were the better side but were helped by a poor refereeing decision that saw Remo Freuler sent off when a yellow card would have sufficed. It was a bit harsh on the Swiss who'd done well to stay in the game. After going 1 - 0 down to an early own goal Xherdan Shaqiri equalised on 68 minutes for his third goal of the tournament. The Spanish have played some lovely football throughout the tournament but are still a goal scorer away from being a great side. Both Morata and Moreno had chances to go 2-1 up but weren't clinical enough. Swiss Keeper Yann Sommer also had a good game to keep his side in it. The penalty shootout went Spain's way and they will now face Italy at Wembley in the semi-finals on Tuesday night. Both sides looked to attack from the onset. Italy had the ball in the net early on through Bonucci but it was chalked off, correctly, for offside. Donnarumma then had to pull out a quality save from De Bruyne's intelligent run and drive from outside the box. Italy went 2 - 0 up with two lovely goals from Barella and Insigne. Insigne in particular showed his quality coming from beating a man in midfield then smashing the ball in top corner. Belgium were missing Eden Hazard through injury so Roberto Martinez surprisingly started young Rennes forward Jérémy Doku in his place. The 19 year old was a threat throughout the game using his pace to effect down the left hand side. After a great run in to the box he was elbowed in the back by Di Lorenzo and a penalty was awarded. Lukaku dispatched the penalty for his fourth goal of the Competition just before half time. It was an even game but Belgium pressed for an equaliser and should have equalised through Lukaku. Doku was a constant threat, making great runs from the left wing and had a shot that went just over the bar. Rennes will do well to keep hold of the youngster from Antwerp following that performance. Italy defended well and saw the game out. The Italians must be the favourites for the tournament now after knocking out the number one ranked team in the world. They've been impressive in every game so far. The only downside for Roberto Mancini's team is that will be without left back Leonardo Spinazzola who went off with an injury to his achilles. Spinazzola has been brilliant in the tournament making great runs forward well whilst being part of an impressive back four.
Two more big games today.
Czech Republic V Denmark - kick off at 1700 from Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaijan. Live on ITV and ITV Hub.
Here we have two teams that have really grown in to the Competition. The Czechs played well and dominated against a good Netherlands team. Of course the Czechs were helped by the Dutch going down to 10 men in the second half but the Czechs had successfully frustrated Frank De Boer's side up to that point. The Netherlands had scored 8 goals in three previous games so Jaroslav Šilhavý's team did well to keep them quiet. The Czech Republic have a strong, hardworking midfield particularly with Holeš and Souček. The pair work well to win the ball but aren't afraid to get forward too. Both are a threat from set pieces and will get forward when they can. Holeš did brilliantly against the Dutch, planting a header past Stekelenburg for the first goal then winning the ball from Wijnaldum to burst forward and set up Schick for the second. Striker Patrik Schik is one of the players of the tournament. He has 4 goals and possibly the goal of the tournament up to this point. So many sides in this tournament don't have an old fashioned striker that finishes well. The Bayer Leverkusen forward can hold the ball up and has taken his chances brilliantly in this competition. England did very well in keeping him quiet in their group game. He has scored in each of his other games so far and will be a threat to the Danes. Czech Manager Jaroslav Šilhavý changed his team system slightly for the game against Holland. He went with a 4-1-4-1 formation against the Dutch over the 4-2-3-1 system he'd favoured in all the previous Competition games. Will he favour the more defensive option of two banks of 4 again here to try and contain the Danes? Or will he go for the slightly more attacking system of three players supporting Schick? The system change could have been down to Captain Vladimir Darida picking up an injury before the Netherlands game. It will be interesting too see if he gets back in the side if fit or if Šilhavý keeps the team that beat the Dutch.
Denmark showed a lot of composure to beat Wales 4 - 0 in their last game. The emotion of what happened to teammate Christian Eriksen in their first game was channelled into a much more professional and clinical display. The Danes seemed to be one of many teams in the Competition to not have a quality goal scorer. However Kasper Dolberg was a focal point against Wales and took his two goals really well. Dolberg was hardly prolific for Nice last season (6 goals in 25 games) but the 23 year old clearly has talent. Perhaps newly named Nice Coach Christophe Galtier will get more out of the striker next season. As he did with the likes of Jonathan David and Burak Yilmaz for Lille last season. The Danes now have 8 goals in their last two games so clearly have recovered from the shock of Eriksen's collapse. They also seem to be seeing the best from Sampdoria winger Mikkel Damsgaard who has one goal and one assist in the competition. Damsgaard has had more of a chance in the team due to his role model Christian Eriksen's heart issue and has performed well. Denmark have enjoyed fervent support having played in front of their home crowd but also had a lot of their own fans in Amsterdam for the Wales game. They will have less fans in Baku but seem to be enjoying the support of the neutrals in this tournament after the harrowing experience of their opening game.
Frenchfooty prediction: Czech Republic 2 V Denmark 1
Ukraine V England - kick off at 2000 from Stadio Olimpico, Rome. Live on BBC One and BBC Iplayer.
Ukraine made it past Sweden in dramatic fashion, scoring a winner in stoppage time of extra time. Seconds away from a penalty shootout, substitute Artem Dovbyk headed in to win the game. It had been such an even game with both teams hitting the woodwork. Ukraine had slightly more possession and showed patience in their build up to score two good team goals. Manager Andriy Shevchenko had previously set up his side in a 4-3-3 formation throughout the group games. Against the Swedes he changed it to a 3-5-2, perhaps in a bid to get Zinchenko further forward. If that was the plan then it worked as the Man City left back was deployed wide on the left rather than in a three man midfield as he had in the group games. He showed his quality in scoring from Yarmolenko's cross and crossing for Dovbyk's winner. Ukraine are perhaps the least fancied of all the third placed qualifiers. They got through their group by beating North Macedonia 2-1. They lost against the Netherlands and Austria and have conceded in all of their games so far. They have some good players though with Zinchenko, Yarmolenko and Yarenchuk. The latter two have a good understanding between them and have two goals and three assists between them in the tournament. The Ukrainians have some momentum now and look like they are clicking as a team
This is England's first game of Euro 2020 outside of Wembley. They will travel to Rome with confidence though after getting to the quarter finals without conceding a goal let alone losing a game. In fact they are the only team to not concede so far in this tournament. Three wins, one draw, no goals conceded and coming off the back of a big win against Germany. Gareth Southgate has taken a pragmatic stance regarding this tournament preferring to be cautious than get the ball forward quickly. He wants his team to be careful in possession so as not to concede.This doesn't make for an exciting watch and England's last game against Germany was boring for large parts. It is working though and Southgate's team battled well to keep the Germans out before two late goals won the game. It could have been different had Thomas Müller taken his chance when one on one with Pickford but pulled his shot wide. Pickford, much maligned for his erratic performances with Everton has been surprisingly good throughout the competition. Too often his club form has been mired by odd decisions and lapses in concentration. During these Euros he has been calm, commanding and decisive. I don't want to jinx him but he's been one of the best Keepers in the tournament. He did well to come off his line quickly to block a shot from Werner then made an outstanding save to tip Kai Havertz's effort over the bar. It's almost impossible to win a tournament without a decent Keeper. If Pickford keeps this form going it gives England a chance. Harry Kane finally scored which will be a huge boost to his confidence. For him to score more, England need to create chances for him and play with a little more attacking intent. I doubt we'll see much difference in philosophy from Southgate unless Ukraine score first. It's likely we'll only see one of Saka, Foden and Grealish start. So far so good for England though. The draw has been relatively kind to them too and they have a great chance of getting through to the semis here.
Frenchfooty prediction: Ukraine 1 V England 3
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