Germany midfielder Mesut Özil. (Photo : Getty Images)
A high-profile encounter between title favorites Germany and tournament host France is set in the semifinals of the 2016 UEFA European Championship on Thursday, July 7 at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.
With their strong lineups composed of club superstars all over Europe, the two national squads are heavy favorites to win this summer's Euros but only one them will have to opportunity to reach the final and win the Henri Delaunay Trophy.
Germany is coming off a 1-1 (6-5) penalty shootout win over another title-favorite, Italy, in their quarterfinal match held at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux last Saturday, as per SkySports.
After a goalless first half of play, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil broke the game's deadlock at the 65th minute before Juventus center back Leonardo Bonucci equalized the count at the 78th. The game remained tied after extra time and so it has to be decided via penalties.
The match needed 18 kicks to come into a conclusion with Cologne defender Jonas Hector pulling off the winning spot-kick for head coach Joachim Löw's side.
Meanwhile, France cruised past surprise quarterfinalists Iceland, 5-2, in their own last-eight encounter at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday, Daily Mail Online reported.
Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud scored a brace, netting the opening goal at the 12th minute and also the team's fifth and final one at the 59th, to lead manager Didier Deschamps' squad past the gritty Icelanders.
Juventus' Paul Pogba, West Ham's Dimitri Payet, and Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann contributed a goal each to complete Les Bleus' impressive five-goal haul in the contest.
Germany will head in this match against France without suspended defender Matt Hummels and injured starters Sami Khedira, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Mario Gomez, which could be crucial to the world champions' Euro title campaign.
The hosts get back Adil Rami and N'Golo Kante after sitting out the semis against Iceland also due to suspension.
As mentioned above, both teams are equally strong on paper, but the with the Frenchmen playing on their home soil and the Germans missing some of their quality players, there is a huge possibility that La Sélection can pull off an upset over Die Nationalelf.
Still, the reigning World Cup champions remain as the favorites to go all the way to this summer's title.
The predicted result is a close 2-1 win for Germany.
Germany starting lineup (3-4-2-1 formation): Neuer; Howedes, Boateng, Hector; Kimmich, Draxler, Kroos, Hector; Müller, Özil; Götze
France starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Lloris; Sagna, Koscielny, Mangala, Evra; Kanté, Matuidi; Pogba, Griezmann, Payet; Giroud
