The Spain that has taken Euro 2024 by storm is unrecognisable from the iteration which won three straight major tournaments between 2008 and 2012.
If it was about metronomic midfielders then, it is about the wing wizardry of 16-year-old Lamine Yamal and 21-year-old Nico Williams now.
No one has assisted more goals at these finals than Yamal. Williams has arguably been player of the tournament so far and will run at Germany in Friday’s blockbuster quarter-final.
“The 2008 Spain team is unmatched because it brought together the best generation of midfielders in the country’s history,” says Abraham P Romero from Spanish newspaper El Mundo.
“This team still has Rodri but the difference is Nico and Lamine, who are much faster and more direct. Spain used to be slower… now they’re a hurricane.
“Germany struggled against the Swiss and Danes on the counter-attack and against Spain it’ll be the same.
“Spain's main weakness is their defence, especially the two centre-backs Aymeric Laporte and Robin Le Normand, who could suffer against [Jamal] Musiala.
“Spanish fans and journalists believe the team have done what had to be done and that anything achieved now is a bonus. There is a feeling of zero pressure. I honestly believe that the winner of the European Championship will come out of this match.”
There is an uncannily similar feeling in Germany about their team, whose young stars Musiala and Florian Wirtz (both 21) have also shone.
“Reaching the quarter-final is the minimum target achieved - everything else now will be seen as a real bonus,” German football journalist Raphael Honigstein explains.
“Germany were in desperate need of a decent tournament after the stinkers of the last three. Losing to Spain would be disappointing, but I don’t think the pitchforks would be out for [Julian] Nagelsmann.
“They do have options against Spain. One is to out-Spain them - press high, keep the ball. The second option is to sit a little deeper and then play over the top. They’ve had some success there with [Kai] Havertz making some very good runs.
“Germany’s weaknesses are two-fold. If they are harassed, the centre-backs’ passing is not great. If they can’t find Toni Kroos then things stutter quickly, as we saw against Switzerland.
“The other weakness is the full-backs. [Joshua] Kimmich and whoever plays on the left are not natural defenders. Yamal and Williams will target them in one-on-ones and might have the upper hand.”
The tie in in Stuttgart could not be more finely poised.
