UEFA Euro 2012 Quarterfinals: 6 Bold Predictions for Spain vs. France

With the conclusion of Group D on Tuesday, the Quarterfinals for UEFA Euro 2012 are set. Eight teams remain and there are some absolutely mouthwatering match-ups. One of these features Group C winner Spain and Group D runner-up France.

Spain took their time securing the top spot in Group C.

It took them until the 88th minute of their match on Monday against Croatia, when Jesus Navas blasted a shot into the open net, to get the match-winning goal, which proved to be vital because with a 0-0 draw, Italy, who beat Ireland 2-0, would have been the group winners.

France didn't play terribly, but didn't exactly stroll into the Quarterfinals.

After coming into the tournament with a 21-match unbeaten streak, they opened with a draw against England. France wasted a lot of chances before finally striking twice in the span of three minutes to beat Ukraine 2-0. They managed to progress despite losing to Sweden 2-0 on the last matchday.

So now 90 minutes separate one of these teams from the Semifinals.

For Spain, it would be a second straight trip after winning the tournament in 2008 and for France, it would be the first time since winning in 2000. In this battle of two of Europe's elite, here are six things to watch for on Saturday.

Fernando Torres Will Score

Torres played in all three matches in the Group Stage, starting the last two and he scored against Ireland.

We all know the story with Torres. Ever since leaving Liverpool, he has been in absolutely atrocious form with the sporadic goal that turns your head.

Torres is desperate to find goalscoring form. As the saying goes, "form is temporary."

Look for Torres to have a big game.

Laurent Koscielny Will Start and Struggle

With Philippe Mexes suspended, Arsenal center back Laurent Koscielny will likely start for Laurent Blanc's side in the back.

Koscielny is a key player on defense for the Gunners, but hasn't yet emerged on the French national team.

Before the warm-ups for the European Championship, the 26-year-old had made one appearance—against the United States on November 11, 2011. He played the full 90 against Serbia on May 31 and played the final 26 on June 5 against Estonia.

It's now been two weeks since his last appearance as France used only five defenders, with Gael Clichy replacing Patrice Evra after the first game, but no defender was ever subbed off.

Koscielny will be playing the biggest international game of his career and having never played a meaningful international before, he will be nervous. It certainly doesn't help that he's going against Spain.

Knowing that the other three starters in the back have all done well, helping to only allow 10 shots on goal. Spain will probably try to go at the Arsenal man in the hopes of exposing him. He's going to have a rough time of it on Saturday.

Spain Will Have About 65% Possession

Spain are known for their possessive football, and they will gladly demonstrate their talent at keeping the ball against France.

La Roja have been in possession for 63.33 percent of the time in their three matches thus far. France have possessed 56.33 percent.

Spain are always the best possessive team whenever they play, but they also had to face another country that prides itself on possessive football, Italy. In that game, Spain dominated the possession with 60-40 control.

Despite that conquest, France still like to see the ball in the midfield.

The midfield is definitely their strongest area on the field and they will need to rely on them a lot in this match. Despite their domination of possession in a weak group, they haven't seen the tiki taka that will outdo them this time. Unfortunately for Les Bleus, Spain will likely have 60-65 percent of the possession at the least.

Karim Benzema Will Need to Have a Big Game

The midfield will have its work cut out for it trying to establish a rhythm against the possession-happy Spaniards, so that will mean the bulk of the work in attack will, rightfully, fall to Karim Benzema.

While that should seem obvious, Benzema has failed to perform so far at Euro and given the nature of Group D, he should have been able to thrive.

Against Spain, France will need Benzema to have a performance we've not yet seen from him at Euro 2012.

He had a brilliant season for Real Madrid, scoring 21 times in 34 La Liga matches. France need to see more of that form against some of his club teammates if they want a chance of getting to the next round. However, going up against Spain, Benzema will have a hard time getting through Spain's defensive wall.

Despite Their Solid Defense, Hugo Lloris Will Have a Long Night

Hugo Lloris is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, yet he hasn't been challenged much in this tournament. He has faced 10 shots and three went in. Of the 14 keepers who played all 270 Group Stage minutes, Lloris faced the fewest.

Not too far ahead of him was Spain's Iker Casillas.

With 13 shots faced, Casillas only allowed one goal, the one scored in the first match against Italy. That means he is riding a shutout streak of about 210 minutes.

Lloris is coming off a performance where he was tested against Sweden more than he had been in the last two games. In Tuesday's game alone, Lloris faced six shots. He could only stop four, but those four saves helped keep things from getting worse for France.

While France has been generally strong on defense so far, the Sweden match was a struggle and if they play that way against Spain, Lloris will be in for a long night.

France will be up against the wall all day with Spain's constant nagging in attack. There will be plenty of shots to deal with for Lloris, maybe as many as he's seen all tournament. He's bound to be picking the ball out a couple times.

Spain Will Move One Step Closer to History

It will be a tough match, but Spain will move to within two wins of their third straight major trophy.

Spain are overall better in every category and are in fantastic form. They played extremely well in the Group Stage and showed resilience when put against the wall by Italy.

As if the starting lineup isn't deep enough, with the likes of Jesus Navas and Cesc Fabregas in great form and coming off the bench, Spain will always have the best combination of players on the field.

France will do everything they can to see as much of the ball as possible, but in the end, it will be all for naught. Spain's tiki-taka play is just too devastating for France to handle and with their star-studded front six, they could easily win by two or three.

France may have some great players in back, none better than their goalkeeper, but a goalkeeper can only handle so much. Spain are the best in the world and will show such on Saturday.