And then there were eight. As we inch closer to Euro 2020's date of destiny, a few of the favourites have left us already - we're looking at you France and Portugal - and some surprise packages in the shape of Switzerland and Czech Republic have battled their way to within two rounds of the final.

The quarter-finals are live on RTÉ2 or RTÉ Player this Friday and Saturday and the match-ups for the four fixtures are intriguing to say the least, especially with what's at stake.

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Friday, 2 July

Switzerland v Spain, St Petersburg, 5pm

These were two of the protagonists from Monday's extraordinary evening of drama but at different ends of the spectrum. While the Swiss were the underdog who slayed the French giants having fought back from 3-1 down in the final 10 minutes of normal time, Spain were the favourite against Croatia but squandered the exact same advantage at a similar point of their game in Copenhagen, only to find a second wind to prevail in extra-time.

Both sides now head to St Petersburg where they will reprise their role of underdog and favourite but Spain will be rightfully wary of Switzerland's resilience and the nothing-to-lose-now status of a team who have overcome their major tournament last-16 hoodoo.

Spain will of course boss possession on Friday. Against a technically excellent Croatian midfield they still racked up a 64% share on Monday, which wasn't far off their group stage rate.

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But while they still put five goals past Croatia in 120 minutes, Luis Enrique's side will hope for greater efficiency in their conversion. Alvaro Morata scored brilliantly in extra-time but the jury is still out on his ability to put away gilt-edged opportunities with consistency and he missed a presentable headed opportunity in normal time.

Meanwhile, as the most box-to-box of the midfield trio containing holder Sergio Busquets and the clever Barcelona youngster Pedri, Atletico Madrid captain Koke has made some great runs into the opposition area.

But like the last-16 game where he missed an inviting opportunity to score a first ever international goal despite having more than 50 caps to his name, Koke has yet to make the most of the goal chances that have fallen his way. Chelsea right-back Cesar Azpilicueta did show him the way when he headed in his first international goal on Monday with a late run to the far post.

Those late runs into the box will be especially crucial against a Swiss team that fit into their back three shape like an old pair of gloves and will feel capable of hurting Spain.

Secondly, Spain's centre-backs were troubled somewhat in the air by Croatia late on and Haris Seferovic showed his strengths in that department as he netted a brace of headers against France, while Enrique's team were all over the place on the occasions when Croatia were able to get behind the press and work the ball into the box.

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The Swiss also offer a threat on the counter, particularly through the pace and power of Breel Embolo.

But they will miss the leadership qualities of captain Granit Xhaka with the Arsenal midfielder suspended after picking up a second booking of the tournament against France.

Their last meetings were in the UEFA Nations League last year and the aggregate score was 2-1 to Spain which suggests there will be little to separate the sides.

I watched the first of those live - Spain's 1-0 win in Madrid last October - and although La Roja dominated possession and goal chances (the Swiss only had one effort on target), Vladimir Petkovic's side hung in there after going down to Mikel Oyarzabal's 14th minute goal.

Spain will be favourites to advance to the semi-finals on the tough side of the draw but would you be surprised if they came unstuck against the Swiss?

Belgium v Italy, Munich, 8pm

This is the tie of the round on paper, although one could have said that about the Belgians' head-to-head with Portugal, which ended up being cagey and decided by the one bit of quality offered by Thorgan Hazard's excellent goal.

Italy looked less assured in their extra-time win over Austria in the last 16 compared to their exploits in swatting away Turkey, Switzerland and Wales in Group A in the home comforts of Rome.

But they are still the best drilled side at this tournament on and off the ball, especially in defence and midfield, whilst offering a potent threat in transition via their full-backs and inside-forwards.

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They also have depth which is what got them out of jail against Austria as Juventus wide-forward Federico Chiesa came on to good effect and fellow sub, Atalanta midfielder Matteo Pessina, netted his second of the tournament and just his fourth from eight caps for the Azzurri.

The main issue for them as pointed out by many pre-tournament is whether Ciro Immobile can bring his prolific Serie A strike rate into a major tournament. He managed it in the group stage but didn't have the same impact against Austria before Chiesa replaced him shortly before extra-time.

Belgium, on the other hand, do have a striker of elite class in Romelu Lukaku who is very familiar with Italian defenders after a prolific title-winning season with Inter Milan.

But the Red Devils' big question mark is whether those most capable of loading the ammunition will be available.

That of course is in reference to Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard, who had to be withdrawn after they picked up ankle and muscular issues against Portugal.

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Neither has been ruled out of the tournament at large but manager Roberto Martinez did not sound particularly optimistic in regards to their chances of featuring in the quarter-final, admitting that they won't be 100% even if they make it.

"Eden and Kevin have no structural damage. They will remain with the squad," said the former Everton and Wigan boss.

"We won't get them fully fit for Friday. In the next phase they will be fit to play. We take it day by day."

Yannick Carrasco and Dries Mertens came on for the duo on Monday and are quality options, although the former can be erratic with his final-ball decision-making as seen against Portugal while the latter is 34, although his knowledge of Italian players could be an added string to the bow after a brilliant eight-year spell with Napoli.

Lukaku and Mertens have found Italian football to their liking

Their creaking three-man defence has held firm so far, with a couple of wobbles here and there, although the 30-something trio of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Thomas Vermaelen have been ably protected by the wily Axel Witsel who has done the screening work as a midfield partner to Youri Tielemans, and backed up by the elite goalkeeping of Thibaut Courtois.

With Belgium's 3-4-3 up against the 4-3-3 of Italy, Italy should shade the battle for control in midfield but whether it will be Roberto Mancini's side who find holes in the Belgian's back-three/five or if Lukaku can be isolated against one of Italy's experienced but ageing centre-backs could be decisive in tipping the scales. And there is always extra-time and penalties to cast a final judgement if there is no definitive answer in the 90 minutes.

Saturday, 3 July

Czech Republic v Denmark, Baku, 5pm

Both these sides beat opponents reduced to 10-men in their last-16 games. But for the Czech Republic, Matthijs De Ligt's red card was a turning point as the Dutch caved in the second half, whereas Wales' sending off came as frustration boiled over towards the end of a game when the Danish had already outclassed them beyond doubt.

There is no need to repeat what has already been said about the admirable way Denmark have responded to adversity since the distressing minutes that unfolded in their opening game. In any case, midfielder Thomas Delaney says it best below in his post-match comments after the last-16 win.

They also showed a capacity to adjust against Wales as they made tweaks to their approach to counter a decent Welsh start to the game before establishing control last Saturday after the opening 20 minutes had elapsed.

And the Danes have also been timely in finding a goalscorer in the shape of Kasper Dolberg who had made substitute appearances previously before scoring an excellent brace as a starter against the Welsh.

He had started in Yussuf Poulsen's injury absence and while the RB Leipzig forward offers good work-rate and has scored major tournament goals before including against Belgium in the group stages, Dolberg's confidence is likely to be sky high.

Similarly for Czech Republic, Patrik Schick will be feeling confident after netting his fourth goal of Euro 2020 to seal the win over Netherlands.

Captain Vladimir Darida and left-back Jan Boril could potentially slot back into the team after returning to training after injury kept them out of Saturday's 2-0 win.

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Denmark come into this having streamrolled their last two opponents, netting four goals against both the Welsh and the Russians, and have been the most prolific chance creators at the Euros as they play with a sense of purpose and determination.

But they are facing a well-marshalled outfit in the shape of the Czechs who have proved resolute in all four of their matches so far with their 4-2-3-1 shape.

Ukraine v England, Rome, 8pm

Would it be a surprise if England were to finally prevail against Germany when it mattered most only to come unstuck against Ukraine? Not at all.

But the one trump card they have above all is their manager Gareth Southgate who has calmly stuck to his guns when it comes to team selection and tactics regardless of the advocacy on behalf of certain fan favourites or for more off-the-cuff approaches that has emanated from some quarters of the English media.

It has not been impressive to watch but even though it's a cliche, tournament football is about results and England can point to no goals conceded and three wins from four.

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RTÉ Soccer panelist Karen Duggan put it best on our Euro 2020 Podcast when she said: "It's certainly not the matches that are making England interesting. England are highly functional and are plodding their way through. They have been nothing to write home about so far."

Their more maligned players have carried them through in the crucial moments. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford is prone to making errors in an Everton shirt but always looks transformed at international level and made crucial saves against Scotland and Germany.

While the oft-under-appreciated Raheem Sterling, who it's safe to say has not been a tabloid darling, has developed a knack of springing into goalscoring form when it matters most at the tournament even if overall performances throughout the 90 minutes haven't necessarily hit his peak levels. But that is reflective of most of the individual displays of players further up the pitch.

Harry Kane, who still appeared lethargic at times against the Germans, also helped himself to a goal which could spark him back into form.

They face a tricky task against Ukraine though who will relish their underdog status having snuck through to the last-16 as the worst of the four best third-placed group sides before capitalising on a red card for Sweden's Marcus Danielson in extra-time on Tuesday night to the pave the way for a dramatic late winner from Artem Dovbyk.

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Their shape against Sweden was interesting too. While listed as 4-3-3 on paper, at times it looked more like a 3-4-3 when attacking with Oleksandr Zinchenko, who usually plays left-back for Manchester City, drifted quite wide to the left and to good effect, with his well-taken opening goal and the pinpoint cross for the extra-time winner. The other Oleksandr - Karavaev - offered plenty of width from right back on the other flank.

How England look to counteract Ukraine will be interesting, given the flexibility Southgate has developed, having started the tournament with a back four before switching to a three against Germany.

With the potential that Ukraine will look to sit in and frustrate in Rome - England's first and only fixture outside Wembley - he may be tempted to bring in an extra attacking player further up the field, while the fact that Kalvin Philips and Declan Rice are on yellow cards could lead to further selection changes with a possible semi-final in mind.

If this was a qualifier, you would tip England to ease to victory as they have had the tendency to do in that phase of competition but tournament football is, needless to say, a different animal.

The way Southgate has gone about it bodes well for them, but there is a strong possibility that it will be low-scoring whichever way the apple falls on the banks of the Tiber.

Watch every game of Euro 2020 live and watch nightly highlights on RTÉ2 or RTÉ Player | 11 June to 11 July