Germany has crashed out of its own tournament after losing to Spain in extra time, while France saw off Portugal on penalties after a wasteful goalless quarterfinal.
Elsewhere, a diplomatic stoush threatens to overshadow Türkiye vs the Netherlands, and England star Jude Bellingham is free to play against Switzerland.
Here's the five quick hits from the European Championships.
1. Germany out after late Spain show
A Mikel Merino goal in the last moments of extra time gave Spain a dramatic 2-1 win over hosts Germany in Friday's quarterfinal in Stuttgart.
The game was into the 119th minute and looked set for a penalty shootout when substitute Merino rose to head home the winner from Dani Olmo's cross.
Spain were the better side for the first hour and wasted several opportunities before Olmo gave them a deserved lead six minutes after the break, drilling home a first-time shot into the bottom corner.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann made five substitutions in a desperate attempt to find the equaliser which paid dividends in the 89th minute as substitute Florian Wirtz, the Bundesliga's player of the year for champions Bayer Leverkusen, hammered home a shot from Joshua Kimmich's header to force extra time.
It was Spain, however, who found an extra gear when it mattered most to leave the German fans inside the stadium heartbroken after the hosts' gritty display fell short by the narrowest of margins.
Germany pushed hard for a late leveller and fullback Dani Carvajal was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Jamal Musiala as he sought to avoid a counterattack.
He and centre back Robin Le Normand will now miss the semifinal.
Carvajal's red card was a fitting conclusion to an ill-tempered and nerve-racking encounter between two of the most impressive sides at Euro 2024. There were 38 fouls in the match and 16 bookings as referee Anthony Taylor flashed cards in an attempt to calm the situation.
Tensions were high from the first minutes following a nasty challenge by Germany midfielder Toni Kroos on Pedri who left the pitch in tears after sustaining what the Spanish FA said was a ligament injury to his left knee.
However, Pedri's injury forced Spain manager Luis de la Fuente into an early change, bringing Olmo, who was subsequently named player of the match with a goal and an assist.
"I'm so proud. What a great team! What a joy! But it's not about me, it's truly everyone's tournament. The group is the most important thing," Olmo told TVE.
"Let's hope that Pedri's injury is just a blow because he is very important. This victory is for him. I hurt my calf but I took a gamble and kept on playing. The heart is always more important than the legs."
2. France limp through, beating Portugal
France converted all their kicks in a shootout to edge Portugal 5-3 on penalties after a goalless stalemate in their quarterfinal on Friday, likely bringing the curtain down on Cristiano Ronaldo's international career.
Théo Hernández stroked home the winning kick for a perfect sequence after João Félix's effort, the third for Portugal, hit the post.
Defeat for Portugal is set to spell the end of the 21-year international career of 39-year-old Ronaldo, who converted their first kick in the shootout but was also responsible for one of the night's many glaring misses.
Three minutes into extra time, Francisco Conceição cut in on the byline and pull the ball back for his captain to deliver a fairytale finish, but Ronaldo badly fluffed his lines, having done little hitherto.
France now find themselves in the semis without scoring in open play at the tournament, having benefited from two own goals and a penalty in their previous four games.
But the French have also not conceded in open play at Euro 2024 with goalkeeper Mike Maignan making two key saves in Friday's match that proved key for his side.
Ousmane Dembélé, Youssouf Fofana, Jules Koundé and Bradley Barcola all netted their spot kicks for victorious France.
A game that was slow in firing up ended with a myriad of missed opportunities at either end, with clear chances for both sides in 90 minutes as well as the half hour of extra time.
Kylian Mbappé was virtually anonymous before he was substituted after a blow to his masked face.
3. Life father, like son
After Mikel Merino scored Spain's late winner, he ran around the corner flag with a broad smile on his face before putting his head back and letting out a yell of pure joy into the Stuttgart sky.
The 28-year-old had replicated his father, Miguel Merino's celebration after he too scored a goal in the same stadium more than three decades ago.
That goal came in a UEFA Cup match between Miguel Merino's Osasuna and Stuttgart in November 1991.
"This stadium must have something that gives us luck," the younger Merino said.
"My father scored here. It is a special stadium for us."
Merino senior told Spanish radio Cadena SER he felt "enormous" pride when his son scored and imitated his celebration.
"The point was to make me look bad," joked Miguel Merino, who never played for Spain.
"If he had already surpassed me, now I don't have the exclusivity of the Stuttgart goal, either. Now I just have to be quiet and give him a big kiss, because he deserves it."
Miguel Merino put Osasuna 2-0 up and his team went on to win the return leg of the second round 3-2.
In another coincidence, it was the same television commentator on TVE for both goals.
4. England star Jude Bellingham escapes ban for crotch-grabbing gesture
Jude Bellingham has escaped a ban and is free to play in England's Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Switzerland on Saturday.
The 21-year-old was given a one-match suspended ban and fine for a gesture he made in the last-16 win over Slovakia.
The Read Madrid star's ban is suspended for a year and he has also been fined 30,000 Euros ($48,000).
The midfielder grabbed his crotch and appeared to direct himself towards the Slovakian bench after scoring a spectacular overhead kick as England equalised late on in the 2-1 victory.
Bellingham, who has made the gesture while playing for his club side Real Madrid, denied that it was aimed at England's opponents, saying it was "an inside-joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game".
He added that he had "nothing but respect for how Slovakia played".
England manager Gareth Southgate said UEFA's ruling was "a common sense decision.".
"Clearly when you score a goal of the quality that he did at the moment that he did at the age that he is you are going to have an incredible rush of adrenaline."
5. Türkiye defender's ban raises tensions
Türkiye defender Merih Demiral was less fortunate though, after he was suspended for making a hand gesture.
The move from UEFA has led to the build up ahead of the European Championship quarterfinal between Türkiye and the Netherlands to be overshadowed by a diplomatic row.
Demiral scored both goals against Austria, and celebrated with a 'wolf salute'.
The gesture, which is banned in Austria and France, is associated with the far-right extremist group Grey Wolves and Türkiye nationalists.
It led to condemnation from German authorities and strong pushback from Turkish counterparts, who accused the hosts of xenophobia.
The row prompted Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to change his plans and attend the match on Saturday in Berlin's Olympiastadion, where Türkiye can likely count on significant support from the estimated 200,000 Berliners with Tukrish roots.
Wires/ABC
Sports content to make you think... or allow you not to. A newsletter delivered each Saturday.