Stuttgart, Jul 3 (IANS): Former champions Spain and Germany, the two favourites to lift the trophy, will clash in a marquee quarterfinal clash at MHP Arena here on Friday as the 2024 European Championship reaches the business end with the last-eight stage matches scheduled in the next few days.

A lot of attention would be on German veteran Toni Kroos as the 34-year-old midfielder is set to retire at the end of Germany’s campaign.

Ahead of the feisty encounter against Spain, Kroos’ former Real Madrid teammate Joselu spoke on the occasion and said, ‘We hope to retire Toni on Friday.’

“We hope it is his last game. It is a game that is not special because of him being here. It is a quarterfinal against a great team. We hope to retire Toni on Friday. He’s been a friend to me. I have spoken with him a lot and he has advised me a lot. He is fundamental for Germany and he has been for Real Madrid. We have to be careful with him on Friday,” said Joselu to reporters in the pre-game conference.

Joselu joined Real Madrid at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. The Spanish forward has been a lifelong fan of the Los Blancos and had a fairytale run with the club which saw him score a late brace against Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the competition which led their team to victory. He scored 17 goals and provided three assists in 49 games for Real Madrid despite starting in only 18 of those games.

Joselu has now left the club and will play for Qatari side Al Gharafa in the coming season.

“We know the conditions that Toni has. I think he is a fundamental player, but we cannot focus only on him. The ball goes through him every time Germany has possession and Toni is a player who represents everything for them. We will have to have a special eye on him so that Germany does not enjoy the game. It is very important to win to qualify. About Toni, we have to believe in ourselves. We don’t care about the other team’s players. I think Friday will be Toni’s last game,” added the former Real Madrid striker.