Women’s Euros: Should England overcome France in quarter-final, Germany loom large

Having finished the group stages with an 100 per cent record, England’s path to Women’s European Championship glory has become clearer, but they must overcome some familiar rivals if they are to seal a maiden crown.

It could not have gone any better for Mark Sampson’s side so far. The Lionesses did not go easy on Scotland on their Euro bow, hammering their great rivals 6-0, to make an emphatic early statement of intent in the group opener.

Fran Kirby then inspired England to another success over Spain in Breda, before a much-changed side defeated Portugal in the final group clash to finish with three wins from three.
Hope has been turned into expectation in many quarters as a result. Could England go all the way and secure a first European Championship title? Here we look at who stands in their way.

Quarter-final – France

England haven’t beaten France since 1974. Not a great omen ahead of their quarter-final clash in Deventer on Sunday, but rarely have England looked in such good shape going into a clash with their rivals from across the Channel.

France, ranked third in the world, two places above England, are joint-second favourites with Sampson’s side after the Lionesses’ impressive start to the tournament.
Les Bleues’ 1-0 victory over Iceland and two draws saw them scrape through their group, finishing second behind Austria, which has only added to the confident feeling in the England camp.

„Without a doubt we have improved a great deal as a side,“ Sampson told Sky Sports News. „I am very proud of the work that this staff have put in over the past two years. Four years ago we finished last in this event, and now people are telling us we are favourites to beat France. Our goal is to be the best in the world.“

Semi-final – The Netherlands or Sweden
England weren’t the only side to finish the group stages with a 100 per cent record. The Netherlands haven’t showed any sign of nerves being the host nation to date, winning all three of their group matches to cruise into the last eight – a stage they have reached three times in the competition’s history.

Like England, the Dutch have conceded just one goal en route to the last eight. Such solidity has seen the hosts installed as third favourites to take home a maiden European title.

A team with even greater pedigree at this level are Sweden. The Scandinavians are aiming to reach a ninth semi-final, which before this tournament was a record shared by Germany and Norway.

Sweden opened Group B by holding Germany 0-0 and then crucially beat Russia 2-0. That meant they could afford a 3-2 loss to Italy and still finish second.

Final – Germany loom large
It is hard to ignore the potential clash with Germany in the final. The superpower of women’s football in Europe, Germany have won the European Championships a record eight times – six more than their nearest competitor Norway.

The reigning champions didn’t get off to the best of starts this time around, as they were held by Sweden, but won their next two games to finish top of their group.

Germany beat England in the last meeting between the sides in March, but the Lionesses can take heart from a first victory over their old foes in 31 years to finish third at the 2015 World Cup.

Another meeting with Spain, or a clash with Austria or Denmark are the other potential final match ups.Euro Soccer Bonus

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