By Joiner Martinez
05 Jul 2024, 16:12 PM EDT
A handball by Spanish defender Marc Cucurella during extra time between Spain and Germany sparked controversy in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Jamal Musiala fired a shot from the edge of the area that hit Cucurella’s left hand, which was detached from his body, in the 106th minute.
English referee Anthony Taylor did not award a penalty nor was there a call from the VAR to review the action, with the score tied at one.
Niclas Füllkrug was apparently offside when he received a cross into the area from Thomas Müller in the play prior to the penalty request.
Germany’s hopes of reaching the final in Berlin were dashed on Friday at the Mercedes-Benz-Arena in Stuttgart. In front of 55,000 spectators, the hosts lost 2-1 to Spain and are out of the quarter-finals of the European Championship.
A goal from Dani Olmo in regular time and another from Mikel Merino in extra time were enough to end Germany’s hopes.
With a few changes to the line-up, such as the inclusion of Emre Can from the start and the starting line-up of Leroy Sané for the second consecutive match, Germany sought to strengthen its lines ahead of a match that on paper was more demanding than all the previous ones, which was soon demonstrated, with a Spanish team that sought to breach the goal defended by Manuel Neuer on different fronts.
The opening moments of the game were marked by strong play and interruptions. Pedri had to leave the field after 8 minutes after a strong challenge by Toni Kroos. Dani Olmo came on in his place, a change that would be decisive in the course of the match.
After 20 minutes, Kai Havertz’s header became the first deep attack for Julian Nagelsmann’s team. Shortly afterwards, Kimmich and Havertz also had their chances. After an even game, Spain managed to push the Germans back in the final stretch of the first half, who found themselves in danger on several occasions, requiring interventions from Manuel Neuer, who had not had much action throughout the tournament.
In the 47th minute, Alvaro Morata deflected a shot from point-blank range just metres from the German goal. That was the first warning that the match would go down a difficult path for the hosts. That became a reality 240 seconds later, when Lamine Yamal’s cross was met by Dani Olmo, who opened the scoring in the face of a futile stretch from the German goalkeeper.
When all seemed lost, Florian Wirtz scored in the 88th minute and did some justice, considering the way the game was going. The equaliser forced extra time, where Spain regained control of the game, although Germany still came close to Simon’s goal, as shown by Wirtz’s tight shot in the 105th minute, which just went wide.
And when it seemed that penalties were a matter of seconds, in the 119th minute a header from Mikel Merino made it 2-1, taking the Spaniards to the semi-finals. Now Spain will face the winner of the match between France and Portugal on Tuesday 9 July in Munich.
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