NO MER-CY
Spain 2 Germany 1 (aet): Ex-Newcastle star scores 119th-minute winner to break hosts’ hearts and end Kroos’ career
What the first heavyweight clash of the knockout stages lacked in quality, it made up for in drama and needle
MIKEL Merino declared an end to Germany summertime with a sensational late winner for Spain.
Luis de la Fuente’s side thought they had won it once through Dani Olmo’s goal early in the second half.
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But after Florian Wirtz equalised with barely a minute to go of normal time, the hosts were the better team and had the better chances and a penalty shout in extra time.
And home hearts were broken with a similar amount of time left in the additional 30 minutes as Olmo crossed for fellow substitute Merino to head past Manuel Neuer.
German replacement Niclas Fullkrug almost sent the game to the penalty shootout that seemed to be coming.
But Spain held on and after riding their luck in the end, will wonder if their name is on the trophy.
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Full back Dani Carvajal will miss the semi final after earning a late red card for his second bookable, cynical foul.
Carvajal will not be the only absentee after English referee Anthony Taylor showed a total of 16 yellow cards to players on and off the pitch.
What the first heavyweight clash of the knockout stages lacked in quality, it made up for in drama and needle.
And at the end of it, just as the weather forecast was improving for the final week of the tournament, the hosts were out.
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Home hopes of a repeat of 2006’s Sommermarchen, the “summer fairytale” when the German football team and nation were reborn with a third-placed finish at their own World Cup, are over.
Julian Nagelsmann is the first head coach to fail to take the Nationalmannschaft to at least the last four of a major tournament on German soil.
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Spain were comfortably superior in the first half. Yet they never created a better chance than the one that fell to Pedri inside a minute when Manuel Neuer saved easily.
And the Barcelona midfielder soon left the field as the physical edge to the game started early.
It was a half of three yellow cards, but it should have been more.
Starting with the challenge which Toni Kroos made on Pedri. Moments later Pedri went down of his own accord and had to come off before eight minutes had elapsed.
Toni Rudiger put himself out of the notional semi-final with more than 76 minutes of the quarter-final to go, his clumsy challenge Olmo, Pedri’s replacement, earning his second booking of the tournament.
But although Spain continued to look the more threatening side, they failed to capitalise on the hosts’ apparent nervousness at the back.
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Yamal and Nico Williams were often menacing, without ever quite finding the final ball or finish.
Yamal went close with the free kick after the Rudiger foul and Williams forced a smart near-post save out of Neuer.
The Athletic Bilbao winger had been flagged offside but if the ball had gone in, the VAR review might have been interesting.
Meanwhile Germany’s own wonderkid, ageing 21 year old Jamal Musiala, was struggling to make an impact. Leroy Sane, too, was ineffective.
Nagelsmann’s side were not functioning as an attacking force.
But Kai Havertz did have a decent sight of goal.
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Spain centre back Robin Le Normand, himself already a yellow card that had ruled him out of the semi-final, misjudged Rudiger’s hopeful punt.
But Havertz’s shot was neither hard nor well directed enough and Simon saved.
Neuer made an unconvincing stop from Olmo. It was reasonably compelling stuff, but not the thriller the neutral wanted.
Nagelsmann was not impressed either. Sane and Can were hooked at half time in favour of Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich.
But after Morata had missed the first chance of the half, Spain took the lead and it was no surprise that Yamal was involved.
The 16 year old laid the ball perfectly into the path of the onrushing Olmo, who angled his finish enough to beat Neuer to his right.
Germany had to come out and Nagelsmann made another double change, which included taking off captain Gundogan and bringing on Borussia Dortmund target man Niclas Fullkrug to give his team more punch up front.
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The tension gradually wound up towards Wirtz’s crucial intervention.
Taylor was forced to flash more yellow cards as the clock ticked down.
Fullkrug hit the post from Wirtz’s cross.
Simon was booked for time-wasting as home frustrations grew. And the Spain goalkeeper almost paid an even greater penalty for a poor goal-kick.
But Havertz sent his attempted chip over the onrushing ‘keeper the wrong side of the crossbar.
Spain were finally looking a little nervous and at last the pressure told.
Substitute Max Mittelstadt crossed to the back post, where fellow full back Joshua Kimmich headed it down and Wirtz swept it home.
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The noise was deafening, as roars of joy and relief rang round the arena.
In the first half of extra-time, the momentum was with Germany, but clear-cut chances were few.
The best of them saw Spain substitute Mikel Oyarzabal fire wide from distance and Wirtz go close to grabbing his and Germany’s second.
Seconds into the second period, the hosts screamed for a penalty. But VAR Stuart Attwell agreed with Taylor that Marc Cucurella’s arm was in a natural position when it blocked Musiala’s fierce effort.
Simon stretched out a big right hand of his own to keep out Fullkrug’s header.
And just when it seemed penalties were coming, Merino headed home Olmo’s cross.
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Even then there was time for Fullkrug to send his own header agonisingly wide.
But the hero of the group game against Switzerland could not keep Germany’s Euros going into the final week.
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