Key events
7 min: A distraught Pedri is forced off the pitch with an injury; one he sustained in that challenge with Kroos. Dani Olmo comes on his place.
6 min: Of course if Germany lose tonight, this will be Toni’s final game as a professional footballer. He’s said he’ll be hanging up his boots as soon as his country’s interest in Euro 2024 ends. There’s a break in play as Pedri continues to receive treatment.
4 min: Toni Kroos mistimes a tackle on Pedri and sends the Spain midfielder cartwheeling through the air. Referee Anthony Taylor is immediately surrounded by complaining players from both sides and shoos them all away. Kroos got a touch on the ball and it’s almost certainly that which spares him a booking.
3 min: Spain are dominating possession in these very early stages but give away possession cheaply by needlessly conceding a throw-in near ther halfway line.
1 min: With his back to goal, Alvaro Morata controls a ball inside from the left and lays it off to Pedri, who shoots with his left foot from just outside the penalty area. His feeble effort is straight at Manuel Neuer.
Spain v Germany is go
1 min: Germany get the ball rolling in this heavyweight eliminator, their players wearing white shirts, shorts and socks. The footballers of Spain wear red shirts, blue shorts and red socks.
Not long now: Anthony Taylor and his team of match officials lead both sets of players out on to the pitch for what could be a truly seismic football match. Kick-off is just a couple of anthems, some handshakes, a coin-toss and a shrill blast of the English referee’s away.
Big Interview: As a Spanish international with a German wife who has never played club football in his home country and plies his trade with RB Leipzig, Dani Olmo is as well placed as anybody to talk about today’s big game. Sid Lowe sat down with the midfielder for a chat in Donaueschingen …
Those teams: A late call-up for Aleksander Pavlovic, who had to drop out of Germany’s squad with tonsilitis on the eve of the tournament, Emre Can makes his first start of the tournament for Germany, with pink-haired Barbie boy Robert Andrich making way.
Jonathan Tah returns to the Germany side after serving a suspension and Nico Schlotterbeck drops to the bench. Spain manager Luis de la Fuente sends out the same 11 men who started against Georgia.
Spain v Germany line-ups
Spain: Simon, Carvajal, Le Normand, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Fabian, Yamal, Morata, Williams.
Subs: Raya, Nacho, Vivian, Merino, Joselu, Olmo, Torres, Grimaldo, Remiro, Baena, Zubimendi, Oyarzabal, Jesus Navas, Lopez, Perez.
Germany: Neuer, Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Raum, Can, Kroos, Sane, Gundogan, Musiala, Havertz.
Subs: Gross, Fullkrug, Fuhrich, Baumann, Muller, Beier, Schlotterbeck, Anton, Wirtz, Mittelstadt, Henrichs, ter Stegen, Andrich, Koch, Undav.
Today’s match officials
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Referee: Anthony Taylor
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Referee’s assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
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Fourth official: Ivan Kruzliak
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Video assistant referee: Stuart Attwell
Spain: Ilkay Gündogan believes Germany can look forward to their quarter-final against Spain “with a smile” having already changed the mood in the country and fulfilled their objectives at Euro 2024, writes Sid Lowe.
Early team news
With his squad untroubled by suspensions or injuries, Spain boss Luis de la Fuente is expected to field an unchanged side to the one that came from behind to beat Georgia last time out, although it would be no great shock to see Dani Olmo Mikel Merino come into midfield in place of Pedri.
Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has something of a dilemma now that Jonathan Tah is back from suspension. He’ll have to decide whether or to reinstate his first choice central defender at the expense of Nico Schlotterbeck, who was excellent in the Bayer Leverkusen man’s absence. Florian Wirtz was also benched for the win over Denmark and could return this evening at the expense of Leroy Sane.
Euro 2024 quarter-final: Spain v Germany
Stuttgart is the venue for this mouthwatering clash between the hosts, Germany and many people’s tournament favourites Spain. Only one of these European heavyweights can advance and keep alive their hopes of winning the European Championships for an unprecedented fourth time.
Kick-off in the south-west of Germany is at 5pm (BST) but we’ll have team news and buildup in the meantime.