Spain stretches the boundaries

They are the special ones who are expected to stick the ball in the net and win matches and trophies for their teams.

That's why they hog the headlines, fetch the biggest wages and are worth their weight in gold.

However if Spain has its way and wins its second straight European championship with a striker-less formation it might set a trend that could change the face of football.

The world champion reached the semi-finals of EURO 2012 by playing most of its matches with a line-up that does not include a recognised striker.

Coach Vicente del Bosque must believe that if you have such attacking midfielders as Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Xavi Hernandez and David Silva who can create anything out of nothing you do not really need an out-and-out forward.

He has a point because his four world-class playmakers would have to be more dangerous going forward than 95 per cent of the world's striker population.

It has yet to be seen if this unusual playing pattern will prevail at the business end of the tournament.

One thing is certain, however: if Spain was to pull this off, it could change the way the game is played and many strikers will have every reason to feel nervous about the value they bring to their teams.

By the same token, the value of midfielders who can score goals as easily and as regularly as they can make them would sky-rocket.

"If Spain go on to win Euro 2102 playing this way strikers could well become an endangered species," former England striker Gary Lineker tweeted, probably with his tongue firmly in cheek. Or did he?

Spain and Germany, the world's finest national teams, are moving relentlessly and inexorably towards the final in Kiev.

These two super teams, who have dominated the world game for the best part of six years, were most people's pre-tournament favourites for the title.

Nothing we've seen so far in this championship would change most pundits' minds.

Spain and Germany stormed into the semi-finals with comfortable victories over France and Greece.

The Spaniards were in total control of the match against the insipid French who, not for the first time, went out of a major tournament without even offering a decent fight.

Germany adopted a more straight-forward approach to crush Greece 4-2, a result that does not truly reflect the three-time champion's all-round superiority.

Joachim Low's men threw everything at the Greeks from the first whistle and they only took their feet off the pedal after netting the fourth goal.

Germany could have scored six or seven goals... and that's not counting the half chances.

While Spain excels at keeping possession, Germany's forte lies in its ability to attack with pace from many directions.

The constant movement and crisp passing swept the Greeks off their feet in much the same way Germany annihilated Australia, England and Argentina at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa two years ago.

In this week's semi-finals Spain faces in-form Portugal in Donetsk while Germany meets old rival Italy in Warsaw.

The Spaniards have an old score to settle with the Portuguese, who dumped them from the competition in the group stage eight years ago.

Captain Cristiano Ronaldo is a far more mature and complete footballer than he was in 2004 when he buckled under the pressure of his country's expectations.

He is in red-hot form and he certainly has the ability to crack open Spain's mean defence.

The question is whether Spain will give the Portuguese prince enough space and let him have enough ball to cause his special brand of mayhem.

The Germans would have hoped to avoid their bogey team Italy, which has surprised many people with its eye-catching football.

Andrea Pirlo's Azzurri outplayed and outclassed England and should have won the match well before the shootout lottery.

Thankfully justice was done. The last thing the game needs is another 'Chelsea' setting bad examples and, worse still, prevailing.

Italy must feel it has the wood on its Teutonic rival because the history of clashes between these two countries weighs heavily in its favour.

However German football is on a roll since its attempt to win the 2006 World Cup on home soil was foiled by Italy in that epic semi-final in Dortmund, which the Azzurri won 2-0.

Germany has since reached the EURO 2008 final against Spain when it fell 1-0 to an angled shot from Fernando Torres and made the World Cup semi-final in 2010 before it again lost 1-0 to Spain, this time to a thumping header from Carles Puyol.

So this will be its fourth straight major semi-final in six years.

Which is probably why Germany, which also will have a two-day rest advantage over Italy, will feel confident of reaching the final and try to snare its seventh major tournament.