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Euro quarters set to begin with event under fire for helping virus spread

LONDON: The quarter-finals of Euro 2020 kick off on Friday with the tournament being blamed for a surge in coronavirus cases as fans have flocked to stadiums, bars and spectator zones across Europe to watch the action while the pandemic still raged.

Belgium take on Italy in Munich and Spain meet Switzerland in St Petersburg in the first two last-eight matches on Friday but the build-up to those matches was overshadowed by the World Health Organization saying on Thursday that the mixing of crowds in host cities, travel and easing of social restrictions had driven up the number of new cases rose by 10%.

A 10-week decline in new infections across Europe had come to an end and a new wave is inevitable if football fans and others drop their guard, WHO senior emergency officer Catherine Smallwood said in Copenhagen.

“We need to look much beyond just the stadiums themselves,” Smallwood told reporters. “We need to look at how people get there, are they travelling in large crowded convoys of buses? And when they leave the stadiums, are they going into crowded bars and pubs to watch the matches? These events were driving the spread of the virus,” she said.

With Covid-19 restrictions varying from nation to nation, crowd sizes have ranged from completely full, such as 60,000 in Budapest, to 25-45 percent capacity in other venues where there have often been around 10-15,000 spectators.

European football’s governing body UEFA said it was fully aligned with local health authorities’ guidelines at every venue.

“The final decisions with regards to the number of fans attending matches and the entry requirements to any of the host countries and host stadiums fall under the responsibility of the competent local authorities, and UEFA strictly follows any such measures,” it said in a statement.

But German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said UEFA’s position was “utterly irresponsible”.

“I cannot explain why UEFA is not being sensible…I suspect it is due to commercialism,” he told a news conference.

Seehofer said a match with 60,000 spectators — such as Hungary’s Puskas Arena and also planned for the semi-finals and final at London’s Wembley stadium — would inevitably promote the spread of Covid-19.

BELGIUM TAKE ON ITALY

On the tournament front, ‘Belgium are anxiously waiting on the fitness of stars Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard for their showdown against Italy.

Thorgan Hazard fired Belgium into the last eight with the goal that knocked out holders Portugal, but the fitness of his brother Eden and De Bruyne is Belgium’s main concern before facing the Azzurri in Munich.

De Bruyne came off early in the second half against Portugal with an ankle knock, while Belgian captain Hazard injured a hamstring late in the game. Neither trained Wednesday with Belgium’s medical staff working around the clock to get them fit to face Italy.

Romelu Lukaku will likely be the main attacking threat for Belgium and he knows the Italians all too well.

Lukaku has scored three goals in the tournament so far and enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career in 2020-21, voted player of the year in Italy’s Serie A as he fired Inter Milan to their first top-flight title in 11 years.

Belgium, who are trying to win their first major football tournament three years after a third-place finish at the World Cup, haven’t lost in 13 games and are the top-ranked team in the world. The Italians haven’t been beaten in a national team record 31 matches, though they were taken to extra time by Austria in the round of 16.

“Italy will be the toughest opponent we’ve met so far,” said Belgium forward Thorgan Hazard. “It’s a nice challenge to beat them after a run of 31 unbeaten games. I estimate the odds 50-50.”

Both teams won all three of their group matches, and with France, Portugal, the Netherlands and Germany all eliminated from Euro 2020, the winner in Munich will certainly be among the favourites for the title.

“We must continue to believe in ourselves,” Italy midfielder Jorginho said. “The most serious mistake would be to think that we’ve already done something great.”

SPAIN FACE SWITZERLAND

In Friday’s other quarter-final, free-scoring Spain look ready to emulate their serial-winning predecessors, although Switzerland are exactly the type of team they hate to face.

Spain won their first knockout tie since lifting Euro 2012 to beat Croatia 5-3 and become the top scoring side in the tournament with 11 goals after netting only once in their first two games.

There was even more excitement among Spanish fans when unfancied Switzerland stunned world champions France after coming back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 and prevail on penalties.

Yet even though the Swiss lack world stars like France’s Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema or Kylian Mbappe, Spain must be prepared for a long evening finding their way through Vladimir Petkovic’s disciplined side, which will be missing captain Granit Xhaka because of suspension.

Xhaka was selected as UEFA’s man-of-the-match after Switzerland beat France to advance to their first quarter-final match at a major tournament since the 1954 World Cup.

Denis Zakaria, a defensive midfielder for Borussia Moenchengladbach, would be the most likely replacement for Xhaka, but coach Petkovic was giving little away on Thursday.

“The natural thing I want to see tomorrow is that everybody has to give 10% more, because this is not just about replacing Granit Xhaka but what’s needed to win the game,” Petkovic said. “I am convinced as a team we have a lot of other leaders on the pitch and we will show that.”

History is on Spain’s side, though, having lost just once in 22 meetings against Switzerland, a 1-0 defeat in South Africa that sparked their run to the 2010 World Cup title.

“The quarter-final depends on us not our rival,” said Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon. “It wouldn’t matter if it were France, the Swiss, Ukraine — we are here to win so we have to face and beat the best.”

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