EURO 2020 sparked into life during the last 16 stage with 29 goals being scored across the eight ties. 

There were a number of shocks along the way with the Netherlands, France and Germany all exiting the tournament after poor performances. 

Now only eight remain, but who will lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy after the final at Wembley on Sunday July 11? 

Here Herald and Times Sport previews the upcoming quarter-finals ahead of the games getting underway from tomorrow. 

SWITZERLAND VS SPAIN 

Nobody expected Switzerland to make it to this stage of the tournament, but here they are. Vladimir Petković’s side were outstanding in the last 16 as they came from two goals behind before knocking favourites France out on penalties.  

The Swiss will be without captain Granit Xhaka for their match against Spain in the quarters after the Arsenal midfielder received his second yellow card of the tournament on Monday night. As a result, Borussia Mönchengladbach ace Denis Zakaria will likely deputise in midfield alongside Remo Freuler. Petkovic will also have a selection headache at right back with Silvan Widmer and Kevin Mbabu both vying for a position. 

Spain navigated their way past Croatia in the last 16, in a thrilling contest that ended 3-5 to La Roja. Scotland know all about the threat that the Croats pose, and they were once again impressive, with Luka Modric at the heart of all their attacks. But Spain were clinical in front of goal and they managed to cut open the Croatia defence on a number of occasions. 

Team wise, David De Gea may return in goal for Spain after recovering from a thigh strain sustained in training. Jordi Alba is also expected to return after he was dropped for the Croatia clash, with José Gayà being given the nod. 

Up top Alvaro Morata finally found the back of the net in Spain’s previous outing, but questions remain over who will join him at the top end of the park. Pablo Sarabia has impressed and will likely start again, but Luis Enrique has a decision to make over Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo. Torres made an impression after starting against Croatia, but Olmo was a real bright spark from the substitutes bench. 

BELGIUM VS ITALY 

There is no doubt that on paper Belgium vs Italy is the tie of the round. Will it live up to its expectations? We will have to wait and see. Both teams remain unbeaten up to this point and both have arguably played the best football of the competition. Belgium face an anxious wait on two of their star men ahead of the crunch match, with Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard limping out of the last 16 clash against Portugal. Belgian media have suggested that both players are major doubts for the match and Dries Mertens and Yannick Carrasco will likely replace them in Roberto Martínez’ starting XI.  

Even if Belgium are without two of their star men, the Italian defence will need to be on top form with Romelu Lukaku on fire this tournament. The Inter Milan forward has three goals to his name and he has led the line terrifically throughout all of Belgium’s matches. 

Italy needed extra time to see off Austria in the last 16, but their ability to 'turn it on' late in the game was something special. Defensive rock Giorgio Chiellini will be back after he limped off in Italy’s first game against Switzerland. The 36-year-old will likely replace Francesco Acerbi and his experience could prove vital. The midfield battle in this contest will be one to keep a close eye on, but Italy will be confident they can come out on top. Marco Verratti, Jorginho or Nicolò Barella have been influential in the middle of the park, and they will all need big performances once more if they want to book a place in the semi-finals. Roberto Mancini will be without midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini and defender Alessandro Florenzi is also a doubt. 

CZECH REPUBLIC VS DENMARK 

The Czech Republic have probably been the surprise package of Euro 2020 so far and they will be looking to add another upset to their name when they take on Denmark. The Czechs impressed during the group stages as they defeated Scotland before grabbing a point against Croatia. They then went on to defeat the Netherlands in the last 16 and despite the Dutch being down to ten men, the Czech Republic were largely dominant throughout the 90 minutes.  

Patrik Schick has been a standout for his country after scoring four goals throughout the tournament so far. His overall link up play is vitally important to how his team performs, and he still has aspirations of lifting the golden boot. Left-back Jan Boril was missing as the Czechs dumped Holland out of Euro 2020, but he will return against Denmark following his suspension. Antonin Barak and Petr Sevcik were surprise inclusions and may keep their place ahead of Jakub Jantko and Vladimir Darida. 

Denmark booked their place in the last eight after thumping Wales 4-0 in Amsterdam. After the Christian Eriksen scare in their first game against Finland, the Danes look a team full of spirit and belief. Youngster Mikkel Damsgaard has been given the nod in Eriksen’s place and he has seized the opportunity. The midfield maestro has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur for a fee in the region of £40million and after his performances to date, you can see why he is being touted for that kind of figure. 

On the injury front, Simon Kjær and Yussuf Poulsen will be medically assessed before the match in Baku due to both having slight knocks.  

UKRAINE VS ENGLAND 

The final match of the quarters will see England go up against Ukraine. Andriy Shevchenko guided his team through to the last eight after conquering Sweden in extra time at Hampden Park. The Ukrainians had stuck religiously to a back four throughout the tournament, but for the Glasgow showdown they opted for a back three.  

There could be changes once more with several of the Ukraine squad currently struggling with injuries. Andriy Yarmolenko was forced off in extra time and it remains uncertain whether the West Ham attacker will be fit and available. If ruled out the striker would likely be replaced by Artem Dovbyk, who netted the winner at Hampden against the Swedes. Denys Popov and Artem Besedin will both miss out, while Oleksandr Zubkov is set to be assessed ahead of kick-off in Rome. 

England will be looking to build on their stunning victory over Germany in the last 16. Gareth Southgate got his tactics spot on as the Three Lions produced their performance of the tournament so far. They will need to produce more of the same if they are to get past a determined Ukraine though and it remains to be seen whether Southgate will opt for the same set up. Jack Grealish could be introduced into the starting XI, but he will more than likely be utilised from the bench once more. 

Kieran Trippier and Declan Rice both picked up knocks against Germany and will need to be assessed ahead of the Stadio Olympico clash. Rice, Kalvin Phillips, Phil Foden and Harry Maguire are all walking a disciplinary tightrope as, if they are booked against Ukraine, they would miss a possible semi-final showdown with the Czech Republic or Denmark.