Switzerland 1 - 1 Spain (1-3 on pens) | EURO 2020, Quarter Final | 02.07.21

Spain ended the Swiss fairytale with a 1-1 aet ( 3-1 on pens) win in St. Petersburg. Switzerland put in a gutsy performance, taking the tie to penalties despite playing with ten men for almost an hour after Freuler's red card in the second half. Zakaria's own goal and Shaqiri's equaliser meant the sides were deadlocked after extra time before Oyarzarbal scored the decisive penalty in a shootout peppered with anxious misses. The victory sees Luis Enrique's team compete in the nation's first semi-final since their winning effort in EURO 2012.

Spain, unsurprisingly, dominated the ball early on and were rewarded for their early pressure in the 8th minute. Jordi Alba was the goal scorer, initially, at least. He profited from a deflection off of Zakaria, in for the suspended Xhaka. The famed dubious goals commission eventually deemed it an own goal, taking the tally in this tournament to a whopping 10.

In complete control, the Spaniards remained a threat forcing Sommer into a save minutes later while also seeing a further effort from Sarabia fall wide of the target. The Swiss grew into the tie as the game went on, threatening most from set-pieces. Centre-backs Akanji and Elvedi both skied headed efforts high over Simon's goal when they might have done before Zakaria's header went agonisingly close after the interval.

Finely poised with twenty to play, Switzerland drew level after another mistake in the Spanish backline. Laporte, this time with a botched clearance that rebounded off his central defensive partner, setting up the opportunity which Shaqiri dispatched from close range. Enrique's men rallied, and the dismissal of Freuler aided their endeavour in the final 15 minutes. Still, despite their numerical advantage, their opponents' visible fatigue, and the spurning of at least five glorious opportunities in extra time, Spain could not find that all-important winning goal.

In truth, they were fortunate not to be punished for their profligacy, triumphing where the French had faltered before them. Busquets and Rodri failed from the spot, but Simon made a couple of brilliant saves before Oyarzabal sent the Iberians through to a semi-final against either Belgium or Italy.