I begin with an apology.
An apology to anyone who is offended by this clip which I was sent a few days ago.
However, I found it fitting to share because it does highlight the mockery in which women’s football was once held.
That is no longer the case and Women’s Euro 2022 is a case in point.
For here is a football tournament which is truly capturing the imagination and thrilling a new generation of spectators and potential players of the future.
So far, there’s been plenty of Women’s Euro 2022 highlights, including one of the games of the tournament so far as the defending champions were given a major test.
Where does that leave us? Well, with eight teams in the quarter-finals and the first tie up is pits hosts England with a dangerous Spanish national team.
Certainly, England are favourites with the SBOTOP Women’s Euro 2022 betting odds – and so they should be on home soil and following a group stage which has resulted in three straight wins with 14 goals scored and a rearguard which is yet to be breached.
Spain, by contrast, have suffered misfortune, particularly when the Barcelona midfielder and last season’s Champions League scorer Alexia Putellas, suffered a serious injury on the eve of the tournament.
The reigning Ballon d’Or winner, who has since undergone surgery, sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury in training three days before their opening match against Finland – one which means she is likely to miss all of the 2022-23 season and could also keep her out of the 2023 World Cup in July and August in Australia and New Zealand.
A massive blow, Putellas’ injury was the second setback Spain faced before the tournament started with record goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso also suffering a knee injury last month.
They still will be no pushovers, however, and in the words of former international Karen Carney, ‘Spain are incredibly dangerous in wide areas and have the players to provide the delivery demanded by those in the box’.
If they have enough firepower in the absence of Putellas and Hermoso remains to be seen.
Spain hit four against Finland but struggled in front of goal in the loss to Germany and only scored late on against Denmark with the opponents chasing the game in their final group match.
They are not as clinical as they would like given their possession stats; they are the best team between the two 18-yard boxes thanks to their style, build-up play, ability to receive the ball under pressure and how they can dribble through in central areas but are lacking something in the opposition box.
England are yet to concede a goal in the Euros though and have rarely looked like doing so since Sarina Wiegman took over as head coach, making the prospect even more daunting for Spain’s attackers.
Germany meet near neighbours Austria in the second quarter-final and, similarly to England, should have the edge in what could be a close fought encounter.
The Germans have been European champions on eight of the 12 occasions the tournament has been staged, including winning the competition six times in a row between 1995 and 2013.
And while they went out in the quarter-finals five years ago, head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburghave’s team have been in scintillating form so far and are my tip to reach the final. They very much look capable of adding to their success tally too.
Sweden face Belgium in the third match and the nation ranked second in the world should have too much for their opponents.
To win their group on goal difference from defending champions Holland was a fine achievement and they could receive a boost on Friday if long-serving midfielder Caroline Seger is fit enough to return.
She was not deemed fit enough to start the final group match against Portugal – the first time she had missed a match at the European Women’s Championship since 2005.
The fourth and final quarter-final on Saturday evening has the potential to be a cracker with France meeting the Dutch.
The strength of the French forward play is arguably their biggest strength but will it be enough?
Holland will start as favourites, yet will need to step up the levels of performance from last time out.
Yes, they emerged 4-1 winners over Switzerland but it took three goals in the final six minutes to see them emerge victorious.
In their defence, they have been without their star player, Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema, who has not played since the opener against Sweden after testing positive for Covid.
In her absence, the Netherlands have lacked a creative spark, and against the Swiss they struggled to create notable chances for some time before coming alive when Switzerland’s players tired in the heat.
If she returns against the French, I will back the Dutch. If not, and if Marie-Antoinette Katotocan return, the holders could bow out.
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