England face their toughest test yet when they face Spain in the quarter-finals of Euro 2022 on Wednesday, neither team has had the best preparation.
The UK has been hit by an unprecedented heatwave that has noticed temperatures topping 40°C, while head coach Sarina Wiegman has just tested negative for Covid-19 after being absent from England’s last match against Northern Ireland.
While temperatures are expected to drop particularly when either group leaves Amex Stadium at 8 p. m. On Wednesday night, England replaced their schedules and implemented more cooling measures to keep players in shape.
While Spain will be used to the heat and humidity, it has not experienced the ideal tournament so far. A few days before her debut against Finland, Alexia Putellas ruled with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, joining Jennifer Hermoso, already absent.
The omission of its two most sensible scorers has manifested itself for Spain in the organization phase, which is in the hunt to qualify for the semifinals after being eliminated in the quarterfinals in the last two tournaments.
Spain are a new rival for England – they faced them in the Arnold Clark Cup in February, which ended in a draw and a blank – and Wiegman is convinced that the Lionesses can reveal La Roja’s weaknesses.
“They’re missing two key players in (Jennifer) Hermoso and (Alexia) Putellas, but I still think it’s a very smart team,” he said. latest games that have secure vulnerabilities.
“I look forward to the game they’ve played all the time, they’re probably going to have a lot of the ball, so are we. We played against them before and they had a little more ball, but he’s going through certain problems in the game. “. I think we’re pretty sure of ourselves with the ball, so I’m looking ahead to see what it will look like.
“It’s about using our strengths and exploiting their weaknesses. We know that if we are a little deeper on the field, there will be a lot of area for his taste of offensive play. We are aware of that.
“Absolutely, it will be a high-level adjustment and I hope we succeed. “
Williamson added: “This is a team we respect enormously. They play, it’s fun to watch and they’re all products of the same style, all the players are on the same wavelength.
“They have a lot of threats, but I think we are a team that, despite our classification, has compatibility and has compatibility. I hope our threats will be enough tomorrow. “
“It’s knockout football. The game changes once you go through the organization and the nature of the game is different. At the end of the day, there will be a winner and that’s it. “
“We know the situation, once again, we decided to see it as an opportunity. We are confident in ourselves and look forward to doing what we did on this tournament night. “
Anton Toloui of Sky Sports on the Sky Sports Women’s Euros podcast:
“England overcame and Spain did the opposite.
“Spain has a coach with a tactical problem. He has 3 deep games and is on his way to the playoffs and still does not know his most productive team. Who is your most productive left-back?What are your top 3?Game, there is a debate about who deserves to be the starting nine or if they want it. They have young players on their bench who don’t get along at a time when they want inspiration.
“Jorge Vilda has been given a new contract over this, which is a wonder given there have been complaints that that has been the challenge with Spain for a few years now. In preparation for this tournament they are getting bigger and bigger if one Still you are playing with your education and your players in a tournament, so what are you ready for?
“There deserves to be a plan in place if your most productive players come out and there isn’t. We all love watching Putellas play, but there was a threat that she would be injured, suspended or infected with Covid at any point in the tournament. “and there was no plan.
“I think that’s Spain’s biggest challenge: not to bet against England, but to find out who or what they are.
“They have replaced their central midfield in each and every match and many players from this team do not play in their club positions. I don’t know what they’re looking to do, but at the same time you can’t score them because they’re a ridiculously good technical team and if they have 60-70% ownership of the ball, it will be a danger and England may not need it. Three of his 4 full-backs are also perfect, it’s just a matter of who plays left back.
“If Spain dominates the ball, England can get into trouble. “
Tom Garry of the Telegraph on the Sky Sports Women’s Euros podcast:
“If you had told me six months ago that England were going to face Spain in the quarter-finals of that European Championship, I would have thought it was a disaster, too early to face them. They were the favorites of many other people to win this Euro. tournament, and they were the favorites of the bookmakers until a week before their start.
“But I think so far they’ve been disappointed and I know they miss Putellas, who is the most productive player in the world, everyone would miss her. They also miss Hermoso, but I think he’s missing some things. , whether tactically, there just don’t seem to be the right things in the kitchen.
“I know it’s risky to say, but rarely have I been so sure of myself that England will have a knockout match, which is ridiculous because Spain have incredible talent and will have a lot of possession.
“They want the ball, but we have noticed weaknesses in the Spanish defence. We saw Finland move between centre-backs 3 or 4 times in the first half. If Denmark had had a little more composure, Pernille Harder could have given 4 assists. “, created many occasions.
“It’s a very difficult match, it’s going to be close, but England have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals. “
Vilda believes that the quarter-finals of the Euro 2022 of his Spanish team in England are an “opportunity to make history”.
Spain has reached the semi-finals since Euro 1997 and has been eliminated in the quarter-finals in the last two primary competitions.
England entered the game as favourites, as host countries and after going through their team emphatically without conceding a single goal, but the Spanish coach insisted that his team look for it.
“We know it’s a very exciting Array game, players have been waiting for it for a long time, the next game is at all times the maximum vital and even more so because it is a possibility to make history,” said Vilda.
“We know how complicated it will be because of our opponents’ point, but we are ready to be there and have a chance to succeed in the semi-finals for the first time. “
Vilda’s team ended up in its organization Germany after beating Finland and Denmark.
Spain went through their organisation dominating the ball, but struggled to convert opportunities, especially against Denmark where they had 74% of the ball. Captain Irene Paredes insisted they would replace their technique against the host country.
“I don’t think we want to adapt our game to England and we won’t,” he said. defense for us.
“We are full of envy, we are in the quarter-finals of the hosts, the stadium will be full, it will be a special match.
“Any player would love to be worried here tomorrow, we’re going to give it our all. We haven’t stopped talking about it in the last few days. “
Lauren Hemp believes she has yet to show her most productive form at Euro 2022 for England and has revealed that Lego and numbers help her in her spare time.
The 21-year-old winger started each and every match of the tournament and scored his first goal in euros in the 8-0 takedown. In Norway against Brighton last week, Hemp says he has yet to triumph at the top of his competitions.
“It takes time,” he told a news conference ahead of Spain. “It’s my first primary tournament with England, in front of so many enthusiasts and it’s scary, I’m not going to lie. It’s also being consistent. “
“Personally, I don’t think you’ve noticed the most productive yet, it takes time and will take some time. I’m still learning and I have to be so young still. I take it all in stride. “
“I have a great organization around me that supports me and also does wonders. It’s that we continue with this momentum, everyone has gained confidence in the last few games and we took that out for the quarter-finals. “
England settled at the Lensbury beach hotel in southwest London, and while there was plenty of concentration and training, there was also enough downtime for the players to relax.
Hemp has revealed appeals beyond the moments she uses to keep busy.
“I like to be busy, I love my Legos, so I do this in my room and I paint through numbers, things like that just to keep me busy because I don’t like to sit there and watch TV, I like to play with things.
“Right now, I’m making a typewriter [in Lego]. It’s random, but I was the first one I noticed and sent it to Lensbury.
“I like to play table tennis, things like that. . . I don’t like to think too much about the game, I like to keep it undeniable as a player. As soon as game day comes, I’m focused. “. “
Stay up to date with Euro 2022 news on Sky Sports and Sky Sports News this summer.
The canopy will be anchored through Sky Sports WSL presenter Caroline Barker along with Jessica Creighton and Kyle Walker. Meanwhile, Karen Carney, Sue Smith, Courtney Sweetman-Kirk and Laura Bassett will investigate the tournament.
They will be joined by experienced England goalkeeper Karen Bardsley and Manchester City defender Esme Morgan.
Experts and presenters will paint from the Sky Sports Women’s Euro 2022 cellular presentation bus, which will join the Sky Sports News team across the country to the stadiums where the matches take place.
In addition, Sky Sports’ Essential Football podcast will change its name for the tournament to a Sky Sports Women’s Euros podcast from 21 June. Hosted by Charlotte Marsh and Anton Toloui, it will feature exclusive news and player interviews, plus an alternative program about the tournament.
Quarterfinals
Wednesday, July 20
Quarter Final 1: England v Spain – 8pm kick-off, Brighton and Hove Community Stadium
Thursday, July 21
Quarterfinals 2: Germany v Austria – start at 8:00 p. m. m. , London Community Stadium
Friday, July 22
Quarterfinals 3: Sweden vs Belgium – start at 8 p. m. , Leigh Sports Village
Saturday, July 23
Quarterfinals 4: France – Netherlands – start 20:00 h, New York Stadium
Semifinals
Tuesday, July 26
Semi-final 1: Winner quarter-final 1 Winner quarter-finals 3 – start 20h, Bramall Lane
Wednesday, July 27
Semifinal 2: Winner quarterfinals 2 vs. Winner quarterfinals – start 20h, MK Stadium
Final
Sunday, July 31
Winners Semi-final 1 vs. Winners Semi-final 2 – start 5pm, Wembley