Scott Thornton's Spain vs France
13/2 Bet Builder

Spain have been the best-performing side at Euro 2024 so far and they will need to be at it once again if they are to book their place in the final. Luis Da La Fuente’s side needed a late goal to avoid a penalty shootout against Germany. The hosts were the other standout performer to that point so eliminating them should mean the Spaniards are full of confidence here.

Since De La Fuente took charge, Spain have lost just two of their 19 matches. They have scored an average of 2.63 goals per game and conceded just 0.68 during that run. His appointment raised some eyebrows, but he has got this team purring heading into the last four.

France, on the other hand, have struggled. they have scored just three goals across their five matches to this point. Two of those went down as own goals and the other came from the penalty spot.

Spain’s heavyweight clash with Germany in the last round saw an abundance of cards. There were eight yellow cards handed out to players on the pitch in the 90 minutes of regulation time. Three yellow cards and a red card were then dished out in extra time. This encounter with France should be another fiery affair with a place in the final up for grabs.

Two of France’s five matches at the European Championships so far have seen five cards or more handed out by the referee. However, the cards reset coming into this game, so the risk of suspension has gone for those players who feared picking up a second yellow card.

Slavko Vincic is the referee for this one. He has refereed two matches at the tournament so far and handed out an average of 4.5 cards. Vincic was at the whistle for Spain’s clash with Italy in the group stages. He gave out five cards in that match.

France’s cautious approach saw them come under pressure in the second half against Portugal. Roberto Martinez’s side managed to rack up a total of eight shots in that half and they didn’t look as deadly as Spain.

Spain have scored an average of two goals per 90 minutes of normal time since the tournament began but most importantly for this bet, they’ve also had plenty of attempts. Their average of 18.6 shots per game is the most in the competition. In the second half of matches, they have had an average of 8.8 shots.

Didier Deschamps has been cautious. Les Bleus will be keen not to concede an early goal and that should aid this bet. The second half is more likely to be open with the teams chasing victory so let’s hope we see an inflated shot count.

France won 2-1 the last time they squared off against Spain. They conceded 10 shots in the second half of that match.