When Spain vs Germany kicked off, ITV commentator Ally McCoist was eager to watch the two sides go head-to-head in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
"These two teams deserve to be in the final," he said.
Two of the best-performing sides in the competition to this point, this match was billed as a belter, with spectators expecting to be wowed by fluid, eye-catching play.
It started out very differently, however.
A feisty affair began in Stuttgart, with Barcelona's Pedri being injured after an early challenge, and the midfielder had to be replaced by Dani Olmo after just six minutes.
Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger was then booked, before David Raum became the second Germany yellow card. Spain's Robin Le Normand joined them both in the book soon after.
Arsenal forward Kai Havertz had a shot and a header saved by Spain keeper Unai Simon, with both sides struggling to cut out any clear-cut opportunities for their forward players.
Despite billing the two sides as would-be finalists 40 minutes prior, McCoist wasn't happy with the way the game had developed in the first half.
"It's been littered with scrappy fouls," he said on commentary.
"There has been no real, genuine flow to the game."
The first half ended 0-0; not quite the goal-fest that some may have expected.
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