Tottenham Hotspur’s route to the final of the Europa League is now much clearer after the quarterfinal lineup of the competition was confirmed on the back of Thursday’s results.
Spurs desperately needed to overcome Alkmaar to keep their season alive and there was understandably some nervous energy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the start, given that the Lilywhites came into the second leg 1-0 down.
However, the Tottenham players put in a professional performance, with a brace from Wilson Odobert and another goal from James Maddison seeing them emerge 3-1 winners.
Spurs already knew who they would play in the quarterfinal before taking to the field against Alkmaar as Eintracht Frankfurt sealed progression to the final eight at the expense of Ajax earlier on Thursday evening.
Who will Tottenham face in the semifinals of the Europa League?
Getting past Frankfurt will not be an easy challenge for Spurs, particularly given that they are set to play the second leg in Germany.
However, Ange Postecoglou’s men will undoubtedly believe that they can go all the way, and they have now learned what they will have to do to book a place in the final in Bilbao if they do manage to overcome the Bundesliga side.
If Spurs do make it to the final four of the competition, they will face the winner of the quarterfinal between Lazio and Bodo/Glimt in the semifinal.
The Serie A club overcame FC Viktoria Plzen 3-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 stage while the Norwegian club progressed at the expense of Olympiakos.
Tottenham have to beat the best to win the Europa League
Spurs have what is a potentially extremely difficult route to the final, with their next opponent, Frankfurt, sitting in fourth place in the Bundesliga table. Their potential semifinal opponents, Lazio, are currently in fifth place in the Serie A, just a point behind Juventus.
Ange Postecoglou’s men thus have to defeat two Champions League quality teams to make the final, and they would very likely face either the home side, Athletic Club Bilbao, or Man Utd in the final if they get there.
While that seems very difficult on paper, the reality is that there are no easy ties at this stage of the competition and Spurs will believe they can overcome these sides if they play at their best.
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