Euro 2016’s most miserly goalkeeper Manuel Neuer must keep out the tournament’s top scorer Antoine Griezmann in a landmark semifinal clash between Germany and France on Thursday.
The prize from the Marseille battle in front of 65 000 fans will be a final against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Paris on Sunday.
But the European Championship hosts will also be looking to beat Germany, the World Cup holders, in a major tournament for the first time in 58 years.
Germany have triumphed in three World Cup encounters since then, the last in the 2014 quarterfinals. Their most famous meeting was in the 1982 semifinal when France’s Patrick Battiston had to be revived by medics on the pitch after a brutal clash with German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Neuer and Atletico Madrid striker Griezmann could hold the key to their latest encounter however.
Griezmann has scored four times as France have improved with each game at Euro 2016. Two of his goals came in a comprehensive 5-2 win over Iceland in the quarterfinals last weekend at the Stade de France.
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