face neighbours Austria in next Euro 2022 quarter-final

Thu, 21 Jul, 2022 - 07:08

PA Sport Staff

take on Austria in the next Euro 2022 quarter-final after England sealed their place in the semi-finals.

The Lionesses came from behind to beat Spain on Wednesday night as Georgia Stanway’s sensational extra-time strike secured a 2-1 win.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what lies ahead.

Lionesses roar into final four

Ella Toone levelled for England with just six minutes remaining. — Ella Toone levelled for England with just six minutes remaining (Adam Davy/PA)

England are still without a major honour in the women’s game and it looked like another tournament was about to them by. Having scored 14 goals and not conceding once in the group, this was their sternest test by far. Spain – who had not shown their best up until this point – turned on the style and duly took the lead through Esther Gonzalez. England’s hopes appeared to be sliding away only for Ella Toone to come off the bench and level from a knockdown from her Manchester United team-mate Alessia Russo. That took the game into extra-time where Stanway settled the contest with a superb strike which tees England up for a semi-final against either Sweden or Belgium in Sheffield on Tuesday.

Pain for Spain

Spain head coach Jorge Vilda could not see the nation beyond the quarter-finals. — Spain head coach Jorge Vilda could not lead the nation beyond the quarter-finals (Gareth Fuller/PA)

One of the pre-tournament favourites, Spain once again fell at the quarter-final stage. It is the third Women’s Euros in a row in which they have not been able to get beyond the last eight. Spain dominated the majority of the 90 minutes but they could not find a way back into the game after Toone’s equaliser and will now have to regroup before a crack at next year’s World Cup. Star player Alexia Putellas should be back and firing on all cylinders by then having been ruled out of the Euros with a knee injury.

No extra motivation for

head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg insists facing neighbours Austria in the quarter-final has no impact on the occasion. Eight-time winners are aiming to better their shock last-eight exit five years ago. She said: “It makes no difference to us. We could be facing Norway, Sweden, Austria or the Netherlands, who are all neighbours of ours as well. It’s a quarter-final at the Euros, and every opponent is deservedly here…it has no impact on us.”

Austrian sensation

Austria’s manager Irene Fuhrmann (centre) leads her country into a quarter-final clash with . — Austria’s manager Irene Fuhrmann, centre, leads her country into a quarter-final with (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Austria are the lowest-ranked nation left in the tournament. Head coach Irene Fuhrmann said: “It’s a sensation that we are among the top eight teams in Europe again. We have another chance to go up against one of the best teams in this tournament. , like England, have proven how consistent they are. They haven’t yet conceded a goal – it will be an incredible challenge.”