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GOLDEN GOALS EURO 2024 & COPA AMERICA QUARTER-FINALS SPECIAL

Injury-time scissor kicks, penalty saves, waterworks and possibly the greatest Gordon Banks impersonation in football history – the Euro 2024 last 16 did not disappoint.

Sure, a little more fluidity might have been expected from England against Slovakia. They had all the balance of a one-legged stall and did not manage a shot on target until Jude Bellingham did another Jude Bellingham thing in the 95th minute to level the scores.

But the Three Lions are through. They now face Switzerland after they overcame an abject Italian side in impressive style a day prior.

Spain came from behind against Georgia to win 4-1 and set up a last-eight tie against hosts Germany thanks to the performance of some precocious young talents. France, meanwhile, are yet to score from open play but still find themselves in the quarters.

Didier Deschamps’ men take on Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, who went through a rollercoaster of emotions during his team’s penalty shootout triumph over Slovenia.

Elsewhere, the Netherlands put in a polished performance in a 3-0 win over Romania and will face Turkey, who beat Austria 2-1 in arguably the game of the tournament so far.

For this round of Golden Goals we have also shot across the pond to the Copa America – also entering its quarter-finals stage – and added two games into the mix in Venezuela vs Canada and Uruguay vs Brazil.

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Let’s take a closer look at all six Golden Goals quarter-final matches…

SPAIN VS GERMANY

Friday 5th July (17:00) Stuttgart Arena.

Are Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal the world’s newest superstars?

The former scored a wonder goal – sitting one defender down and finishing high past the excellent Giorgi Mamardashvili to put his team 3-1 up – while the latter is the first teenager to register two assists at a European Championship since 2004 when a certain Ronaldo was lighting up the stage.

Indeed, the whole Spain team have an undoubted swagger about them at the moment – Germany pose a different challenge though. They are the hosts, have played some tasty stuff at times themselves and, in Jamal Musiala, they have their own generational talent.

The last time these two met was at the World Cup in 2022. Both Alvaro Morata and Niclas Fullkrug scored in that game and both have been in the goals in this tournament, too. Can either find the net here?

This one truly is a tough call. Germany have not beaten Spain competitively since Euro 1988 but, with home advantage, they could exorcise that particular demon in Stuttgart. It won’t be in 90 minutes though.

Prediction: Spain 1-1 Germany

PORTUGAL VS FRANCE

Friday 5th July (20:00) Volksparkstadion, Hamburg.

So Slovenia are just a really tough team to break down then. Or, maybe, Portugal followed England in not finding the net against them because there is a whopping great tactical elephant in the dressing room.

He’s chiselled. He’s the most successful goalscorer in men’s international football history. He’s been one of the best players in the world for nigh-on two decades… but one does wonder how Portugal would perform without 39-year-old Ronaldo as their focal point in attack.

While his world-class moments do crop up now and then, they are getting fewer by the match. For example, he has scored just one of 60 direct free-kick attempts at major tournaments.

It would help if he didn’t miss penalties when called upon, too. Jan Oblak’s extra-time spot-kick save prompted an emotional outburst by Ronaldo, who claimed afterwards he was “at rock bottom”.

On reputation alone this quarter-final tie should be getting the juices flowing – but France are hardly setting the world alight. They are yet to score a goal from open play, with three strikes coming from two own goals and one Kylian Mbappe penalty.

However, Les Bleus know how to get the job done. Indeed, they have lost only one of their last 15 European Championship matches (won eight and drawn six).

Add to that the knowledge that Portugal have won just one of the last 14 head-to-head contests between the sides stretching back to the mid-1970s and this meeting of pre-tournament favourites vs pre-tournament dark horses will end in a narrow French victory.

Prediction: Portugal 1-2 France

VENEZUELA VS CANADA

Saturday 6th July (02:00). AT&T Stadium, Texas.

In a group that included Ecuador, Mexico and Jamaica, Venezuela emerged having won all three games while scoring six times and conceding just once.

Defensively, La Vinotinto are incredibly difficult to break down and have conceded just 16 goals in their last 24 matches across all competitions.

They will rely on that solid spine to help them through again as the team look to emulate their best-ever fourth-placed showing in this tournament, back in 2011.

Canada, by contrast, are into the Copa America quarter-finals for the first time.

To make it they overcame two-time Copa America champions Chile and Peru in Group A, with a nail-biting 0-0 tie with the former enough to get them over the line behind Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

While, in Alphonso Davies, Canada possess arguably the most talented player between both teams and Lille striker Jonathan David continues to impress up front, we reckon Venezuela and their three-time 2024 Copa America player-of-the-match winner Salomon Rondon will have a bit too much know-how, experience and depth.

They will take their place in the last four.

Prediction: Venezuela 2-0 Canada

ENGLAND VS SWITZERLAND

Saturday 6th July (17:00). Düsseldorf Arena.

It is difficult to know what to say about this England team – and their manager.

The performances they are putting in are among the poorest of any recent England team at any international tournament. In the dying embers of the dramatic win over Slovakia, there were comparisons with the 2016 debacle against Iceland, where the Three Lions were humiliatingly eliminated in a 2-1 defeat.

But you could argue that the collective performance in that tournament was better – or at least more forward-thinking. In the four games they played in 2016, they averaged more than 20 shots per game. In this tournament, after the same number of matches, they have barely topped 11.

They are playing a right-back at left-back, a number 10 at left wing and have even experimented with a right-back in central midfield. There is, it seems, an imbalance and the lack of goalscoring threat is concerning.

What is more, they will have to do it all without Marc Guehi – arguably the player of the tournament so far for the Three Lions – after he picked up a yellow card against Slovakia.

Switzerland were impressive against Italy and have looked good all tournament, bar a poor second-half showing against Hungary.

There are goals across the team – each of the seven Switzerland strikes in the Euros have come from different players – and they play with a slick and quick tempo.

But can England finally click and cut through Switzerland where they failed to do so against Serbia, Denmark, Slovenia and Slovakia? There were moments against Slovakia; brief, fleeting glimpses of what could be.

This could be the moment Gareth Southgate turns it all around.

Prediction: England 3-1 Switzerland

NETHERLANDS VS TURKEY

Saturday 6th July (20:00). Olympiastadion Berlin.

The Netherlands have had a stop-start Euros so far but the 3-0 win over Romania was the clearest sign yet that things are starting to fall into place.

Much of the success for the Oranje is down to the form of Cody Gakpo. The Liverpool forward has scored six goals across the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024 – only Mbappe has managed more with nine. Gakpo made the BetMGM team of the last 16 as a result.

Turkey go into the game off the back of one of the most thrilling games of the Euros so far. The 2-1 triumph over Austria was brimming with drama but the moment of the match was reserved for goalkeeper Mert Gunok, who flew across his goal to keep out Christoph Baumgartner's header in the final seconds. It has, understandably, been compared to the famous Gordon Banks save from Pele at the 1970 World Cup.

We can expect more action here if the last two matches between these two are anything to go by. We have seen a combined 13 goals (6.5 per game), with Turkey winning 4-2 in March 2021 and the Netherlands winning 6-1 in September 2021, both in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

All four Turkey matches in the Euros have featured at least one concession on their part and at least three goals in total – the only nation still in the competition to meet that particular criteria.

We will, then, go for a high-scoring Netherlands win here.

Prediction: Netherlands 3-2 Turkey

URUGUAY VS BRAZIL

Sunday 7th July (02:00). Allegiant Stadium, Nevada.

So Brazil are through to the next round – but at what cost? Real Madrid forward and Ballon d’Or frontrunner Vinicius Junior is suspended after picking up a yellow card just six minutes into the 1-1 draw with Colombia that sealed the Selecao’s second-place fate in the group stages.

It was one of 17 fouls and four yellow cards in the first half of that match alone. On the other side of the disciplinary scale, Uruguay picked up their only two bookings of the tournament in their victory over the USA.

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It is not just that their respect for the rules is near-flawless – Uruguay’s backline have conceded just one goal in three games so far and scored nine in the group stages. In short, they look threatening up front and formidable at the back.

Brazil, second and winners in the last two Copas, are struggling to impress at all with just five goals to their name for the loss of two.

This has ‘upset’ written all over it – and would mark the first time since the early 1980s that Uruguay have beaten Brazil in back-to-back competitive meetings. Prediction: Brazil 1-2 Uruguay

Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Friday 5th July at 17:00. Opt-in is required and you can find out more here.

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