Germany have exited Euro 2024 following a heartbreaking 2-1 extra-time defeat to Spain in the quarter-finals.
After a feisty but goalless first period, Spain hit the front in the contest when a Lamine Yamal pass found teammate Dani Olmo, who produced a brilliant first-time finish to beat Manuel Neuer.
Aiming to keep their Euro 2024 dreams alive, the hosts pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages of the 90, and Germany got their rewards, with Florian Wirtz netting from close range to send the game to extra time.
Hurtling towards the title of becoming the first-ever host of a European Championship to be knocked out at the quarter-finals, Germany found pairty of the contest late on to force the game into extra time.
Taking up a position on the left, Maximilian Mittelstaedt swung a delivery into the box which was kept in play at the back post by Joshua Kimmich, and the ball found its way to Wirtz, who struck the ball into the far corner to deny La Roja a success within 90 minutes.
Dani Olmo would have be dreaming of having an impact off the bench last night, however a first-half injury for Pedri meant that the 26-year-old’s magical moment arrived nearly 50 minutes after escaping his fellow substitutes.
Robert Andrich found Jamal Musiala on the right flank and the Bayern Munich sensation seemingly struck fear into the soul of David Raum, who allowed the 21-year-old to dribbble into the German box.
Musiala slowed his run for a second before feeding a pass into the path of substitute Olmo, who timed his run perfectly between the German lines and produced a first-time finish into the bottom corner past the outstretched Manuel Neuer.
With two great footballing sides going toe-to-toe in Stuttgart, not many inside the MHP Arena were expecting such a scrappy battle in the middle of the park between Spain and Germany during the first 10 minutes.
Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos was guilty of two badly-time tackles on Pedri, who picked up a muscle injury as a result and was forced off the field of play.
The Barcelona prodigy will be hoping that his fitness issue is not too severe, with the 21-year-old suffering with a number of injury heartbreaks during the early stages of his career.
Heading into the final 10 minutes of the match, Die Mannschaft were pushing hard to keep their European Championship dreams alive, with an unbelievable chance falling at the feet of Kai Havertz.
Unai Simon’s poor goal kick deflects off the Spanish backline and Havertz rushes through on goal and spots the goalkeeper off his line, however the Arsenal attacker’s long-range chipped effort flew painfully over the bar, to the despair of those of a German persuasion.
Havertz was exceptional in many areas of his play in Stuttgart but was unable to provide the finishing touch on too many occasions to warrant a place at the top of his nation’s forward line.
