Barcelona clinched a 1-0 away win at Atletico Madrid, while AS Roma held AC Milan to a 2-2 draw.
Yet even though the Swiss lack world stars like France's Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema or Kylian Mbappe, Spain must be prepared for a long evening finding their way through Vladimir Petkovic's disciplined side on Friday in St Petersburg.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Barcelona's Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski struck just before halftime to give the league leaders a 2-0 home win over lowly Cadiz on Sunday in their pursuit of a 27th Spanish title.
Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez struck a last-gasp goal to snatch a dramatic 1-0 win over 10-man Napoli as they claimed their third successive Italian Super Cup title on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Roundup of the matches being held across major football leagues in Europe on Sunday
The quarter-final draw was the last in the current format with UEFA adopting an all-new format from the 2024-25 season onwards.
Here are the top-10 highest paid soccer players according to Forbes.
World champions France recovered from two goals down to beat Belgium 3-2 in a thrilling Nations League semi-final on Thursday with a last-minute strike from Theo Hernandez securing a place in Sunday's showpiece match against Spain.
Girona reclaimed top spot in LaLiga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2
Kylian Mbappe became France's youngest scorer at a World Cup when he put Les Bleus 1-0 ahead at halftime against Peru in their second Group C game on Thursday.
England coach Roy Hodgson, basking in a 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday clinched by goals from two substitutes, said fringe players would be a major factor at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale put Wales in front before Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge replied, the latter in stoppage time, after both came on in the second half. Hodgson said it was hard to remember if he had made a better double substitution in his 40-year career.
France coach Didier Deschamps was relieved to come through his side's 2-0 quarter-final win over Uruguay without losing any of his players to an unnecessary suspension, he said after Friday's match in Nizhny Novgorod.
Barcelona made a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign by losing 2-1 to AS Monaco on Thursday.
Tebas has led the campaign to get the season back on track since it was postponed on March 12, warning that clubs could lose up to one billion euros ($1.11 billion) collectively if the remaining 11 rounds of matches could not be completed.
Messi mania highlights 'epic' year for MLS, Garber says
The three match-ups which are likely to have a strong bearing on the result in Sunday's FIFA World Cup final.
France was always among the favourites but an underwhelming set of warm-ups plus a timid start suggested their reputation rang louder than reality
Five images from last week's action in Europe for you to savour.
The 19-year-old ravaged Argentina from start to finish in France's thrilling 4-3 win in Kazan
Robert Lewandowski and substitute Pablo Torre each scored twice to help leaders Barcelona thrash visitors Sevilla 5-1 in LaLiga on Sunday in a confidence boost for Hansi Flick's side ahead of key clashes against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was used for the first time in a World Cup final to award France a 38th-minute penalty which Antoine Griezmann scored to give them a 2-1 lead over Croatia.
Uruguay captain Diego Godin praised his team mates as 'lions' after reaching the World Cup quarter-finals but falling 2-0 to France
Atletico Madrid made a typically aggressive start to lay the foundations for a 2-0 victory at home.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Holders Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after being stifled by a brilliantly well-organised Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid have recorded five COVID-19 positives, including manager Diego Simeone
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Manchester City have one just victory from their last 10 games across all competitions.
Leverkusen's Schick scores hat-trick in comeback win over Heidenheim.
The Tunisian captain's goal mobilised the French into action, with Deschamps bringing in stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to jump-start an attack that had so far been tepid.
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
Target man Giroud is level with Thierry Henry on 51 goals after scoring twice in their 4-1 win against Australia on Tuesday.
Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was voted Player of the Year for last season by European soccer body UEFA on Thursday, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah with Lionel Messi fifth.
Barcelona's Raphinha scored deep into stoppage time to hand his side a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica and a place in the Champions League last 16.
A rousing 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid on Saturday may suggest otherwise, but Atletico Madrid are still rebuilding after losing several key players in the close season, coach Diego Simeone said on Monday.
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
Leaders Barcelona played out a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe battled for a home point in a hard-fought game on Sunday.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
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