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The euro 2022 quarter-finals are set with all the very popular pre-tournament favourites.
England, Germany, Sweden and France have ruled their teams as expected, but the Lionesses and Blues specifically will be their last 8 opponents.
England will face Spain at the Amex Stadium in Brighton, scene of the demolition 8-0 Norway on Wednesday, while the French will face defending champions The Netherlands on Saturday.
Eight-time champions Germany and highly-rated Sweden have ties on paper, with the Germans facing Austria, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, on Thursday and the Swedes facing Belgium, quarter-finals for the first time, on Friday.
Here, the PA news agency analyzes the data of each match.
The first quarter is one of statistical titans.
England head to the back 8 as favourites for the title, having qualified at the level with 3 wins out of 3 and scoring 14 unanswered goals.
Spain have been far less impressive in key measures, with five goals scored and three conceded, but their underlying numbers are comparable to those of Sarina Wiegman.
England and Spain lead the tournament in attacks (157 and 169), shots (25 and 20) and ownership percentage (63% and 66%).
They were separated in their definition, with England’s Beth Mead having five goals and 3 assists, to more or less fit into Spain’s attacking production on their own.
While Wiegman can draw on a full-fledged attacking line, the Spanish team obviously lacks the scoring influence of Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Alexia Putellas, who was excluded from Euro 2022 for a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
In the absence of Putellas, Spain has focused so much of its efforts on large areas, having achieved a record 36 centers. Four of his five goals came from balls in the box.
It would be a good match for the Lionesses, whose full-backs Rachel Daly and Lucy Bronze have allowed just two successful centres in 24 attempts, the most productive ratio of any team.
The last time the two organisations met in a European Championship was in 2017, when England were eliminated by a maximum of 2-0. That day, as Germany did last Tuesday in the organization phase, the Lionesses allowed Spain to dominate the ball. (74%) but in the end provided a greater advantage.
Germany’s encounter with its Austrian neighbors may be tighter than the modest Austrian rating of 21 suggests, with both organizations in defensive form at the organizational stage.
Germany have yet to concede a goal, while the Austrian defensive line has been crossed once (by England in a defeat by the minimum on the first day of the tournament).
The players also know club football well: 35 of the 46 members of both groups play in the German Bundesliga.
The German team of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg undisciplined in the organization phase, committing the maximum number of fouls (36) and accumulating the maximum number of yellow cards (five) of all the remaining organizations of the tournament.
Austria struggled to keep the ball and relied on their power reserves to keep their warring parties at bay, with their players covering 344 kilometres, a tournament record, in 3 games. Austrians had the lowest rate of good luck of any quarter-finalist, at just 76%.
It is in attack that Germany probably has the upper hand.
Both groups recorded 18 shots on goal in the group, however, Austria only discovered the net 3 times against nine for Germany. The Germans also hit the wood another 3 times.
Sweden is the heavy favourite in their eighth final against Belgium and may host a semi-final with England or Spain.
The Swedes, currently qualified in the World Cup in the United States, got in shape in their last game of the organization by crushing a Portuguese team that had pushed the Dutch to the end on the last day.
Sweden, which recorded the third highest number of attacks (152), England and Spain, deserve to create many opportunities against a porous Belgian defence.
Belgium allowed 69 goal attempts and 3 clear chances in the initial phase, the two of all the quarterfinalists.
The Belgians also presented limited risk in the future, with their number of shots on target (10) and attacks (60) comfortably the lowest among the remainder in the tournament.
France’s opposition to the Netherlands is arguably the best quarter-final option on paper, with third and fourth place respectively through FIFA.
However, anyone’s form has been asymmetrical so far.
France won the tournament in dazzling fashion, scoring five goals in forty-five minutes against a stunned Italy, but have only uncovered the net three times since then.
The Dutch matched the Blues’ production with 8 goals on 18 shots, but did so on just 107 attacks, the third lowest overall among the rest in the tournament (ahead of Belgium and Austria).
France can take credit in this match thanks to their greater control. At 59%, they enjoyed the third highest percentage of ball ownership in the organising phase, while the Dutch chased the ball after attack in the entries (47) and ball recoveries (147).
The Netherlands’ hopes rest in part on the return of star forward Vivianne Miedema, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week. At just 26 years old, Miedema is her country’s smartest goalscorer with 94 goals in 112 appearances.
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