Greg . 1 day ago

What to look out for in the Women's European Championship quarter-finals

From Wednesday through to Saturday, the quarter-finals of the Women's European Championship are set to take place, and what a set of games we have in store!First up is Norway vs Italy, and history favours Gemma Grainger's side.

In five of their previous six meetings, the Norwegians have appeared triumphant, and in their last meeting at the Euros (2005/06), Norway edged an eight-goal thriller 5-3.

History favours Norway ahead of clash with ItalyThe two teams have met at this stage of the tournament before, albeit when it was a two-legged affair (in 1995/96).

A 7-3 aggregate win again spoke of Norway's dominance.

Norway Women vs Italy Women recent resultsBetopickArianna Caruso's goal for Italy against Belgium in this year's Group B opener set them on their way to complete as runners-up, and, with the likes of Elisabetta Oliviero, they could cause the Norwegians more problems than they would like.

Particularly as Marit Lund will be missing from the defence after receiving a red card against Iceland last time out.

A game that was also notable for Signe Gaupset's brace of goals and assists.

Lionesses building momentumFollowing their 6-1 tanking of Wales to see them into the knockout stages, England's Lionesses take on Sweden, who terminated their group stage with a dominant 4-1 win over Germany, and who were the opponents in the 2022 semi-final that England won 4-0.

Sarina Wiegman's side might not obtain things all their own way this time around, however.

England's rigid 4-3-3 system will be put under intense pressure from the likes of Stina Blackstenius and Fridolina Rolfo, and a 4-2-3-1 formation gives the Swedes the ability to overload the attacking areas of the pitch.

The Lionesses have begun to construct up a lead of steam, though, and in tournament football it's never over how you start - in their case, a 2-1 beat to France - but how you complete.

Sweden Women vs England Women recent resultsBetopickLauren James remains England's talisman, and her ability to hand over others into play is going to be vital in this game.

As will the raiding of both Lucy Bronze and Alex Greenwood, in order to keep Jonna Anderson and Smilla Holmberg from overlapping down the channels and stretching the play.

Spain looking to lengthen unbeaten runSpain will be hoping to continue their 100 per cent record in the competition when they confront Switzerland on Friday.

Only the bravest Swiss supporter would offer their side any chance of progression to the semi-finals, despite home advantage and what's anticipated to be a partisan crowd at the Wankdorf Stadium, the second-largest all-seater stadium in the country.

That's because the Spaniards are unbeaten in the last eight games, scoring 35 goals in the process.

At least four goals scored in five of those matches show a team at the very pinnacle of their powers.

By contrast, the Swiss have lost five of their last nine games in all competitions, including the tournament opener against Norway.

A sketch against Finland and a 3-1 win over Italy meant they made the knockout rounds by the barest of margins.

After seeing the quarter-final sketch, manager Pia Sundhage would probably have wondered why the football Gods weren't shining down on her squad, who have lost the last four games against the Spanish by a ridiculously one-sided 19 goals to two.

Spain Women vs Switzerland Women recent resultsBetopickWith Alexia Putellas, Esther Gonzalez, Aitana Bonmati, Claudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey all at the top of their game, it would be the surprise of the tournament to see Montse Tome's team dumped out at this stage.

France vs Germany a precursor to Nations League battleSaturday sees the curtain close on the quarter-finals when France, who breezed through the group stage despite some pre-tournament upheaval, take on the Germans.

It's a precursor to the two-legged Nations League semi-final later in the year, and could well be the closest of the four quarter-finals, given that the last three times they've met, each game has terminated 2-1 (two wins in favour of Germany and one for France).

In the 16 matches they've played to date in all competitions, it's the Germans who also have the edge with eight wins to France's five, with three drawn.

France Women vs Germany Women recent resultsBetopick​Both will be confident of progression at this point, too, given that they've won five of the six games played between them at the tournament so far.

The player to watch would seem to be Marie-Antoinette Katoto, who has three goals in her last four matches for France, who are also unbeaten in the last 11 games in all competitions.

German coach, Christian Wuck, will understand that with an inexperienced defence, who conceded four against Sweden last time out, that all of the pressure will be on his side.

AuthorBetopickPursue the 2025 Women's Euros with Betopick.