Women’s Euro 2022 quarterfinal preview

The 2022 Women’s European Championship in England (LIVE throughout July across ESPN networks in the United States) is in full swing, following a brilliant group stage that had tons of goals — with no 0-0 draws at all — and plenty of talking points. Now, the field has been cut in half, and we’re left with the quarterfinal qualifiers.

Can hosts England roll past a Spain side that’s found form and confidence in the wake of Alexia Putellas’ serious knee injury? Will red-hot France have enough to get past the Netherlands after losing Marie-Antoinette Katoto to a torn ACL? And is the tournament setting up nicely for Germany to make a deep run to the final? Sophie Lawson, Tom Hamilton and Julien Laurens preview and predict the four games.

Jump to: England-Spain | Germany-Austria | Sweden-Belgium | Netherlands-France

England (Group A winner) vs. Spain (Group B runner-up): Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN2

England had as close to a perfect group stage as possible. After a nervy 1-0 opening-round win over Austria in front of a record crowd at Old Trafford, England demolished Norway 8-0 and closed out the group with a 5-0 over Northern Ireland. Beth Mead has been in ruthless form with five goals in three games, while Georgia Stanway, Fran Kirby and Lauren Hemp also have impressed. But their tournament has been disrupted, with coach Sarina Wiegman testing positive for COVID-19.

Spain have had to battle a growing injury list, having lost Jennifer Hermoso and Putellas before their tournament began. Despite their tag as one of the tournament’s favourites, they were pretty mediocre through Group B: having opened with a comfortable 4-1 win over Finland, they were outclassed by Germany 2-0 then needed a last-gasp winner from Marta Cardona to edge past Denmark. The weird thing? Four of their goals have been headers.

– Euro 2022: Daily guide to coverage, fixtures, more
– Every Euros game LIVE on ESPN: Navigate the schedule

Why England will win/lose: The host nation are flying right now. They…