MY ACCOUNT
England qualified for the Women’s Euro 2022 quarter-finals in style — but Spain will provide their toughest test yet.
La Roja were seventh in the FIFA rankings ahead of this summer’s tournament, though Jorge Vilda’s outfit only finished second in Group B after Germany claimed top spot.
That has left them facing a tricky tie against the Lionesses, who will be desperate to reach the semi-finals on home soil.
Ahead of tonight’s crunch clash in Brighton, we take a look where the game could be won and lost.
Record-breaking England
England did not just top Group A, they demolished it.
The Lionesses scored a record-breaking 14 group stage goals without reply and registered a perfect three wins out of three. Germany were the only other side to triumph in all of their fixtures without conceding.
England’s opening 1-0 victory over Austria prompted claims that they needed to be more ruthless in the penalty area — and the hosts certainly delivered.
A shock 8-0 mauling of Norway followed before a 5-0 drubbing of Northern Ireland added gloss to their campaign so far.
Sarina Wiegman’s unbeaten run as England boss now stretches to 17 games and they need just three more victories to secure Euro 2022 glory.
Creative Kirby
Beth Mead has stolen the headlines so far with her goals but Fran Kirby has been a key source of creativity from midfield.
The 29-year-old scored once herself — netting the opener in Friday’s win over Northern Ireland — but also has an impressive three assists to her name.
Chelsea’s midfield star set up Mead for the only goal of the game against Austria before creating two more in the record-breaking demolition of Norway.
Stopping Kirby from supplying England’s forward line with chances could be key to blunting the Lionesses’ fearsome attack.
Wiegman’s ‘massive influence’
England manager Wiegman missed the Northern Ireland match after testing positive for coronavirus.
It remains unclear whether or not the Lionesses boss will be in the dugout for this evening’s quarter-final clash with Spain — but winger Lauren Hemp insists the head coach’s influence remains undiminished, even from a distance.
She said: “She [Wiegman] still does the same thing and she is still connected.
“It’s a frustrating thing and it’s unfortunate that she’s got it, but we’ve practised for so long for these scenarios and what would happen.
“She’s still involved in the sessions remotely, so that’s good to have. We still have fantastic technical staff who have carried on supporting us, so it doesn’t feel much different.
“She has a massive influence [on matchdays], but the whole of the technical staff do.”
Solid Spain
Spain may have failed to top their group — but they are certainly no pushovers.
La Roja have lost just one of their last 26 games and were widely tipped to challenge for this year’s trophy.
They are masterful with the ball and England will not be expecting an easy encounter, as Hemp has asserted.
She said: “[Spain] will be fantastic. I’ve got a lot of respect for them, as do the rest of the team. They will have a lot of possession and we’re ready for that.
“We know they have a lot of threats but we also know there are a lot of opportunities to exploit them, so we’ll definitely try to do that.
“They’re a great side, but we know that on our day we can beat anyone so that’s what we’ll try to do.”
La Roja lacking ruthlessness
Despite all their possession, Spain have been unable to demonstrate the same ruthlessness as their quarter-final opponents.
La Roja netted five times in the group stage but four came in one match against Finland — after conceding the earliest-ever goal in the competition’s history — and three were from set-pieces.
Spain boss Vilda is without key forwards Jennifer Hermoso and Alexia Putellas, so has chopped and changed his front line in search of a solution.
He will need to find one soon if his side are to beat the hosts on the South Coast.
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