Yesterday’s marquee matchup between Belgium and Portugal was ultimately a massive disappointment as far as football spectacle is concerned, so hopefully today’s heavy hitters will do better.
Not that I expect Spain to suddenly turn to route one direct football, but their matchup against Croatia’s midfield excellence could provide for a fascinating technical battle — especially as Croatia will have to rely on Modrić and Kovačić even more now that Ivan Perišić managed to contract COVID-19 and rule himself out for the rest of the tournament outside of the actual final itself.
On the other side, hopefully Spain give César Azpilicueta another start, just as they did in their 5-0 beatdown of Slovakia in the final group game.
CROATIA vs. SPAIN
Date / Time: Monday, June 28, 2021, 17.00 BST; 12pm EDT
Venue: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark
Referee: Cüneyt Çakir (TUR)
On TV: ITV 1 (UK); ESPN (USA); elsewhere
Streaming online: ITV Hub (UK); ESPN+, PrendeTV (USA)
The second match of the day will see favorites France take on Switzerland, who will be looking for a famous upset. France have won just one of their three games thus far, including a 1-1 draw against Hungary, and will have to start producing a bit better if they hope to avoid the fate of fellow Group of Death-ers Portugal, who were eliminated yesterday (and to keep building N’Golo Kanté’s Ballon d’Or credentials).
FRANCE vs. SWITZERLAND
Date / Time: Monday, June 28, 2021, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT
Venue: National Arena, Bucharest, Romania
Referee: Fernando Andres Rapallini (ARG)
On TV: ITV 1 (UK); ESPN (USA); elsewhere
Streaming online: ITV Hub (UK); ESPN+, PrendeTV (USA)