Euro 2012 Spain vs France: Live Report

1943 GMT: Some TV commentators are saying it is business as usual for Spain. Well, it is business as usual to the extent that they are winning, but I would say they are not focussing on possession as much as they have done sometimes and there are opportunities for France if Laurent Blanc's team can take them.

1935 GMT: Have you noticed how Spain's coach Del Bosque never looks stressed. England's Roy Hodgson bites his nails to the quick and even Germany's Joachim Loew was chewing gum frantically and wore a worried expression against Greece yesterday, though his nerves turned out to be unjustified.

Del Bosque, on the other hand, radiates calm, whether the play is going Spain's way or not. How does he do it?

HALF-TIME: Spain 1 France 0

45 mins: Xavi takes a free kick in front of the French goal. He fails to 'bend it like Beckham' and it sails straight into Lloris's arms.

42 mins: Cabaye hurts himself in a fierce challenge on Busquets. He gets a yellow card too from Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli.

38 mins: Iniesta darts forward to meet a dangerous pass. Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny gets there just ahead and slides the ball over the French goal line.

35 mins: Anyone who was expecting a frustrating match of possession play has thankfully been confounded.Both teams are energetically going for more goals.

32 mins: Yohan Cabaye gets in a shot for France, making Casillas do some work to intercept his attempt. The Spanish keeper is put on his mettle twice more as Ribery makes two shots.

28 mins; Fabregas in the cente of the action yet again as he puts Iniesta through on the right. Anthony Reveiller anticipates the move and blocks Iniesta.

23 mins: Silva chips a ball to Fabregas in front of the Spanish goal again. It doesn't land well for him and rolls away,

21 mins: A burst of roars and horn-blowing as Spaniards in red shirts leap to their feet at a pavement terrace outside a cafe in southern Madrid after Alonso's goal, says AFP's Roland Lloyd Parry, on the spot. A group of French supporters remains seated in silence, he tells me.

19 mins: Jordi Alba outstrips Anthony Reveillere down the left leaving the defender slumped on the ground and puts in a perfect cross for former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso to head past Hugo Lloris.

19 mins: GOAL! Spain 1 France 0

16 mins: French pressing again. Ribery wins a throw in near the corner flag. Clichy throws it in to Ribery who tries unsuccessfuly to force his way through a line of Spanish defenders.

14 mins: Arbeloa blasts a cross from the right. It sails in front of the Spanish forwards across the French goalmouth.

12 mins: Both teams are captained by their goalkeepers - Casillas and Lloris. I don't have a stat on how common that is, nor am I going to look for one!

11 mins: Fabregas shoots from the right. It lacks power - more like a back pass - Lloris scoops it up.

9 mins: Spain are looking unusually ragged. Maybe they are struggling to find space against France's 4-5-1 structure.

5 mins: Now it's Spain attacking. Arbeloa puts Silva through on the right though the French defence quickly pounce othe Manchester City man. Fabregas is attacking repeatedly too. There doesn't look to be much "false" about the centre-forward or number nine role he is playing.

3 mins: Ribery fumbles the ball going forward but Benzema picks it up. He can't break through but there's no sign of the caution we expected from the French side as they push foward.

1845 GMT: France win the toss and kick off.

1841 GMT: National anthems.

1839 GMT: The teams run out to start the match.

1829 GMT: Chelsea colleagues Malouda and Torres slap their hands cordially as the teams return to the dressing room after the warm up. It could be the last time they see each other tonight unless Torres comes on as a sub.

1822 GMT: In Paris a giant screen has been set up almost at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. AFP's Germain Moyon says a big crowd has already thronged the Trocadero, across the River Seine from the tourist landmark. A few Spanish flags can be seen amongst the French jerseys.

1812 GMT: Here is some interesting analysis from AFP's Tom Williams on the teams: "Laurent Blanc is taking an unprecedented gamble with his selection.

"France averaged more possession than any other team apart from Spain during the group phase, but their line-up suggests they will look to frustrate Spain in midfield and play on the counter-attack, which is not their natural style.

"Spain, meanwhile, take to the field without any recognised strikers. Cesc Fabregas, who scored 15 goals in his debut season with Barcelona, will be their main goal threat."

1803 GMT: The 51,000-capacity Donbass Arena was only half-full as the teams ran out for their pre-game warm-ups. There were noticeably more cheers for Spain, whose fans have bought over 2,000 tickets for the match, compared to only 800 for France.

1802 GMT: The sun is setting behind the Donbass Arena and AFP's Philippe Grelard says the thermometer has dropped to around 26 degrees. Quite a comfortable playing temperature, I'd say.

1801 GMT: The difference is that instead of taking on Angela Merkel's representatives, Spain's opponents are France, where new Socialist president Francois Hollande favours toning down eurozone austerity.

1757 GMT: All right, this match doesn't have the same political edge as Germany versus Greece last night but the Spanish government are equally strapped for cash as Greece and admit they may soon be seeking a bailout from other eurozone members as they try to cope with one of Europe's highest unemployment rates. So the Spanish squad will be battling to boost national pride for their country's hard-pressed people.

1753 GMT: However, Iker Casillas gets his 134th Spanish cap as Del Bosque keeps faith with the Real Madrid number one.

1745 GMT: Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has unexpectedly reverted to the attacking configuration deployed in the 1-1 draw against Italy, says AFP's special correspondent Tom Williams, adding that Cesc Fabregas will play as a "false nine" centre-forward after being selected ahead of Fernando Torres, despite the Chelsea star's two superb goals against Ireland. What's a "false nine" Tom?

Fabregas will be flanked by Iniesta and David Silva, while central midfielder Xabi Alonso wins his 100th cap with La Roja.

1743 GMT: Laurent Blanc has given his side a defensive overhaul, electing to deploy a conservative 4-3-3 formation, with right-backs Anthony Reveillere and Mathieu Debuchy doubling up on the right flank to nullify the twin threat posed by Andres Iniesta and Jordi Alba.

Chelsea's Florent Malouda also returns to the side in place of Alou Diarra, with Karim Benzema set to play as a lone striker against several of his Real Madrid team-mates.

With Philippe Mexes suspended after being booked in the 2-0 loss to Sweden on Tuesday, Laurent Koscielny comes into the side at centre-back to make his first competitive appearance for France.

1741 GMT: Starting line-ups:

Spain (4-3-3): Iker Casillas (capt); Alvaro Arbeloa, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba; Xavi, Sergio Busquets, Xabi Alonso; David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta

Coach: Vicente del Bosque

France (4-3-3): Hugo Lloris (capt); Anthony Reveillere, Adil Rami, Laurent Koscielny, Gael Clichy; Yohan Cabaye, Yann M'Vila, Florent Malouda; Mathieu Debuchy, Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery

Coach: Laurent Blanc

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)

1737 GMT: It's around 29 degrees at the Donbass Arena, says AFP's Philippe Grelard, who is mingling with fans as they make their way to their seats.

1735 GMT: The Spanish have turned up. Zabi Alonso, in line for his 100th cap, was first off the bus.

1733 GMT: France are the first to arrive, though Spain as Group C winners are technically the home team.

1732 GMT: France's former captain Zinedine Zidane celebrates his 40th birthday today. He now lives in Madrid, so will have conflicting loyalties for tonight's match.

1731 GMT: Arsenal centre-back Laurent Koscielny is ready to step into the breach against Spain despite having only made three international appearances. A suspension for Philippe Mexes means that Koscielny will line up alongside Adil Rami in central defence.

1729 GMT: Ramos says of Benzema: "We have a great relationship and we keep in touch via text messages. He might not have had a great beginning (to the tournament), but I think he's a great forward. If you lose him for a second, he can score a goal."

1727 GMT: Spanish centre-back Sergio Ramos will be in direct opposition to his Real Madrid club-mate Karim Benzema, barely a month since they celebrated lifting the Spanish league title with Jose Mourinho's squad.

Although yet to score at the Euro, Benzema will be central to France's hopes of springing an upset and Ramos knows it will be important to keep him under close surveillance.

1725 GMT: Tonight's Spain-France game is also a precursor to the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, for which they are drawn in the same group, but both teams will only have eyes tonight for a semi-final date with Ronaldo and co.

1722 GMT: Opposing coach Vicente del Bosque believes Spain "under-estimated" France when they lost to them in the last 16 at the 2006 World Cup but says there is no danger of that happening again tonight.

1720 GMT: The number of short, technically gifted midfielders in France's squad bears testament to Laurent Blanc's admiration for Spain.

Since replacing Raymond Domenech at the France helm after the 2010 World Cup, Blanc has attempted to inculcate a passing game that mirrors the Spaniards' approach and his squad is an eloquent demonstration of that ambition.

Blanc has only two genuine strikers at his disposal -- Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud -- but can call upon a wealth of nimble creative midfielders such as Samir Nasri, Franck Ribery, Jeremy Menez, Hatem Ben Arfa and Marvin Martin.

1717 GMT: Spain have never beaten France in a competitive match but won their latest meeting 2-0 in a friendly at Stade de France prior to the 2010 World Cup.

Spain started Euro 2012 slowly with a 1-1 draw against Italy before restoring morale by trouncing Ireland 4-0, then leaving it until the 88th minute to notch the only goal of their match against Croatia, enabling them to top Group C.

France also began with a 1-1 draw and then saw off Ukraine 2-0, but disaster struck when Sweden beat them by the reverse score, ending a 23-match unbeaten run and meaning that France had to settle for second spot in Group D.

1715 GMT: Spain are reigning European and World Champions but France have battled back from their 2010 World Cup debacle and are bidding to emulate the glory days when they won the World Cup in 1998 and the European competition in 2000.

WELCOME TO AFP'S LIVE REPORT on the third Euro 2012 quarter-final, between Spain and France. The match kicks off in Donetsk at 1845 GMT. Stay with us for all the team news and build up to the match.

Tonight's winners will take on Portugal in the first semi-final in Donetsk on Wednesday.

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