The UEFA Women’s Championship is getting into the serious phase of now, after an entertaining first round in the group stages. The biggest shock from the group stages was Denmark being dumped out but then again in a group that had Spain and Germany, not much was expected from them.
England and Germany were a cut above the rest in the group stage; they advanced to the quarters without conceding a goal. These two are the top favorites going into the knockout stages and it all goes to plan for them, they will meet in the final.
From this point onwards, and for obvious reasons, a lot of focus will be on the hosts, England. They scored the most goals in the group stages; 14 goals and none conceded, with Bethany Mead currently the leading scorer.
The confidence levels in the Lionesses camp are high and the same is the feeling among their fans. Wincomparator’s real time football odds will definitely have the Lionesses as favorites in their matches going forward, based on the strength of their group stage performances.
The big question remains though; can England go all the way and lift the crown? Sarina Wiegman’s side will be up against Spain in the first quarter final, which will be staged at Brighton’s AMEX Stadium on Wednesday. This should not be a match to trouble England; Spain are a strong side but that hasn’t come out very clearly in this competition. The Spaniards haven’t been scoring a lot but they have also had some tough matches, compared to England. For the Lionesses, this is going to be their toughest game so far but they should be able to cope.
If England wins this game, they will be up against the winner between Sweden and Belgium in the semi finals. The two sides face off in the other quarter final. A win in the semis will see the Lionesses replicate their men’s side’s achievement of getting to the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.
This far, they will meet the toughest of the teams to face at this competition, should Germany get there, but it is also important to mention that France, who topped Group D are tough opponents to face, while the Netherlands, and Austria are also still in contention.
The full list of the quarter finalists has England and Austria, who finished first and second in Group A; Germany and Spain, who occupied the top two slots in Group B; Sweden and the Netherlands, who finished first and second respectively in Group C, and France and Belgium, the top two teams coming from Group D.
The Netherlands are the current European champions, they may have been overshadowed in the group stages, but they are a formidable side. They face France in the fourth quarter final match at the New York Stadium. The other quarter final matches will see Germany face off with Austria at the London Community Stadium and Sweden taking on Belgium at Leigh Sports Village.
