Sid Lowe’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. And if you’re near London tomorrow, why not join Sid and Phil Kitromilides for their Spanish Football Podcast live show?
Thanks for your company tonight, bye!
Denmark go out with honour, having produced their best performance of the tournament. They defended heroically and threatened as best they could on the break, with Pernille Harder outstanding.
Ultimately, Spain were just too good. Mariona and Bonmati were influential throughout, while the half-time substitutes Carmona and Cardona had a big impact even before they combined for the winning goal.
Updated
Full time: Denmark 0-1 Spain
Peep peep! Spain will play England in Brighton on Wednesday after a nervy but ultimately deserved victory at the Brentford Community Stadium. They kept Denmark at arm’s length for most of the match, passing the ball with their usual style and precision, and Marta Cardona’s last-minute goal confirmed their place in the last eight.
Updated
Mariona kept possession on the left and waited for the overlapping Carmona, who has been such a threat since coming on at half-time. She arrowed a deep cross to Cardona, who guided an accomplished header back across Christensen.
Updated
GOAL! Denmark 0-1 Spain (Cardona 90)
Spain are into the quarter-finals!
89 min Stine Larsen is booked for dissent.
88 min Spain are a few minutes away from the quarter-finals. In truth, for all their endeavour, Denmark haven’t really looked like scoring in the second half.
86 min Sanne Troelsgaard shoots over from 30 yards. That was a poor decision at a time when Denmark still had a number of players in the Spain area following a long throw.
84 min Maria Leon’s free-kick is headed wide by Aleixandri, though it must have deflected off Ballisager because Spain have a corner. Leon takes it, Christensen pushes clear and Carmona’s vicious half-volley is blocked by Sara Holmgaard.
The ball hit her hand, and there was a VAR check for a penalty, but the game continues. She was right on the edge of the area so it might haven been outside anyway.
Updated
82 min Nadim commits a needless foul on Maria Leon, which allows Spain to waste another 30 seconds.
80 min Sara Holmgaard immediately takes out Cardona and is a bit fortunate to avoid a yellow card.
80 min Spain bring on Laia Aleixandri for Athenea. Denmark replace Katrine Veje with Sara Holmgaard.
79 min From the resulting corner, Holmgaard loops a header back across goal and wide.
78 min: Good save from Panos! Harder runs onto a long ball forward from Holmgaard, holds off Paredes in the area and squares the ball to the supporting Nadim. She shifts it away from Maria Leon and hits a rising drive that is pushed over by the stretching Panos. It was close enough to Panos for it to be a relatively comfortable save.
Updated
77 min At the other end, Bonmati’s snapshot from 18 yards is blocked.
76 min Maria Leon loses concentration and allows the ball to run across her body. Nadim takes it off her but then tries a very ambitious chip from 40 yards. It drifts well wide.
Updated
75 min Mariona’s deep corner is headed back across goal by Paredes, but Athenea can’t control an awkward ball under pressure.
74 min Two more changes for Denmark: Nadia Nadim and Stine Larsen and replace Rikke Madsen and the excellent Janni Thomsen. It looks like they have switched to 4-3-3 as well.
Updated
72 min Harder shoots over from 25 yards after an excellent run. She was on her own against five Spain defenders, but still managed to keep the ball and eventually get her shot away.
Updated
71 min The left-back Carmona hits a good long-range drive that is pushed away by Christensen, diving low to her left. Carmona has been very enterprising in attack since she came on.
69 min Athenea wriggles away from Ballisager in the area but Boye comes across to make an excellent challenge.
67 min Athenea’s snapshot from the edge of the area is well blocked by Ballisager (I think). It feels like a Spain goal is coming.
66 min Christensen is smartly off her line to beat Esther Gonzalez to a deflected through ball.
65 min Spain have controlled the game much better in the second half, with Denmark offering little threat on the break. It might just be that they are knackered after chasing the ball for over an hour.
64 min Mariona’s left-wing corner is met ahead of the near post by Maria Leon, who tries a clever but exceedingly difficult half-volley on the turn. It hits the side netting.
63 min Free-kick to Spain on the right. Maria Leon fails to beat the first woman, an unusually poor delivery from her.
60 min Denmark have barely had a kick in the second half. But it’s still 0-0, and Spain still aren’t creating too many chances.
59 min “It’s impossible not to feel heartbroken for Putellas, such a wonderful player missing a tournament,” says Matt Dony. “ But it’s also heartbreaking for the team as a whole. It’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t have finished one of these moves if she’d been on the pitch. See also: the Germany match. I can’t stand Barcelona, but I do love watching a Spanish team tiki taka their way through a game. (I’m also drinking a Spanish red, which is as good a reason to support them as any.) Just a shame it’s not quite coming together in front of goal.”
They really miss Jenni Hermoso too, even though she’s slightly past her magnificent peak.
58 min A change for Denmark: Sanne Troelsgaard replaces Kathrine Kuhl.
Updated
55 min Harder has done so much good work in wide areas. She beats Paredes again on the left, but there isn’t much support in the middle and her cross is cleared.
54 min: Chance for Spain! Cardona’s deep cross is palmed away unconvincingly by the stretching Christensen. Carmona runs onto the loose ball, eight yards out, and smashes a half-volley into the side netting.
53 min Batlle fizzes a square pass to Bonmati in the area. She turns superbly but then turns again, back into a crowd, and is eventually dispossessed.
52 min Madsen tries to chase down Panos and seems to be tripped by Carmona. The referee disagrees.
50 min Thomsen’s precise cutback finds Madsen, whose first-time shot is well blocked by Paredes. Madsen caught that sweetly and I think it was going on target.
48 min The substitute Cardona has a speculative cross shot kicked away by Sevecke in the six-yard box. The longer this stays 0-0, the more Spain will think the unthinkable.
47 min “Verticalidad is all well and good,” says Peter Oh, “but I fear that there are many young fans watching out there whose old man has had one too many beers and is in danger of becoming horizontaldad.”
Honk!
46 min Peep peep! Denmark begin the second half.
Spain are making three half-time changes: Esther Gonzalez, Marta Cardona and Olga Carmona replace Leila Ouahabi, Lucia Garcia and Sheila Garcia.
“According to the Spanish press, Vilda claimed that replacing Laia with Athenea would give more ‘verticalidad’,” says Charles Antaki. “Not really much in evidence, more the usual horizontal horseshoe, but a Danish goal might change that.”
What they really need is a velocista.
Half-time reading
Half time: Denmark 0-0 Spain
The end of an intriguing half, and for once that’s not a euphemism. The pattern of the game - counter-attack vs tiki-taka - was exactly as expected, and both teams had decent chances. A shock could yet be on.
Updated
45+2 min Paredes heads wide from Ouahabi’s deep cross. It wasn’t an easy header, with Sevecke (I think) ensuring she couldn’t get a clear run at the ball.
45 min: Off the line by Boye! Mariona drives a deep corner towards Paredes, whose powerful header beats Christensen and is headed clear by Simone Boye.
44 min The increasingly dangerous Athenea beats Thomsen, forcing Ballisager to come across and concede a corner.
43 min Kuhl beats Batlle three times in about five seconds before finding the overlapping Veje. Her cross is too close to Panos.
41 min Athenea’s wobbling long-range shot is comfortably held by Christensen.
38 min This is Spain’s best spell of the game, and Boye has to make an important lunging tackle on Athenea in the area.
36 min A big let off for Christensen! She dropped a deep cross at the feet of Athenea, whose close-range shot was blocked by Thomsen. In Christensen’s defence, she reacted quickly to her error and might have saved Athenea’s shot herself; Thomsen made sure that wasn’t necessary.
Updated
35 min Patri drags well wide from long range.
33 min: Good save from Christensen! That was better from Spain. They kept the ball for an age until Paredes (I think) fed a lovely pass into Batlle in the area. She squared it to Mariona, whose low shot was well saved to her left by Christensen. Mariona didn’t connect with the shot as well as she would have liked.
Updated
32 min Before the game I suspect Denmark would have been happy to keep it 0-0 for as long as possible, and let the pressure build on Spain. But they’ve had so many decent openings on the break that they are probably frustrated not to be ahead.
30 min Ouahabi is booked for dissent. She isn’t on a yellow card so will still be available for the quarter-final if Spain get there, unless she’s sent off.
29 min “Hey Rob, I’m also in the Canadian televisual desert,” says Billy Ditchburn. “We are blindly dependent on the quality of your commentary! No pressure! Enjoy!”
MBM pressure is a privilege, or something.
28 min Another chance on the break for Denmark! Harder charges into space down the left, gets to the byline and lays the ball back to the onrushing Holmgaard (I think). She can’t control it on the stretch and the danger passes.
Harder has been brilliant so far.
Updated
26 min Athenea tries a roulette just inside the Denmark penalty area and is well challenged by Ballisager.
25 min: Chance for Spain! They’ve worked Christensen now! After a patient passing move, Batlle whips a brilliant cross that hits both Ballisager and Athenea and ends up in the hands of Christensen.
At first it looked like a bad miss, but it was actually brilliant defending from Ballisager, who stooped in front of Athenea to get the first contact on the ball. Had Athenea got there first she would surely have scored.
24 min This is a really intriguing game. Spain continue to dominate possession, of course they do, but they haven’t really worked Lene Christensen.
21 min Mariona loops a header over the bar from 12 yards. A decent effort.
20 min It was a really risky tackle from Athenea. I think it probably was a foul - she got the ball but it looked like she went through Thomsen to get it - but you couldn’t call it a clear and obvious error. The ball then ran to Kuhl, who had a close-range shot blocked. Denmark have certainly had the better chances.
Updated
20 min Athenea came on the wrong side of Thomsen, who was about to shoot following a low cross from the left. We haven’t seen a replay, but it doesn’t look like VAR is going to get involved.
19 min Denmark have a penalty appeal turned down when Athenea makes a clumsy tackle on Thomsen. I’d like to see that again.
19 min The first ten minutes looked a bit ominous for Denmark, but Lars Sondergaard will be really pleased with how it has gone since then. Denmark look really dangerous on the counter-attack.
17 min “After the disappointment against Germany,” says Peter Oh, “I suspect that today the pain of Spain stays mainly with the Danes.”
What is this, 1984, and 1986, and 1988, and 1993, and men’s football?
16 min Harder looks bang up for this. She gallops onto a return ball from Madsen, on the right-hand side of the area, and hammers a shot from a tight angle that is held at the second attempt by Panos.
Updated
14 min: Another chance for Denmark! Harder runs onto a long, angled pass, beats the outrushing Panos to the ball and lobs over from 20 yards. Panos caught her after the ball had gone, and Denmark wanted a foul, but Rebecca Welch wasn’t interested.
That was a decent chance for Harder, though she had to take it early and with Panos flying towards her.
Updated
12 min: Chance for Denmark! Harder picks up a loose ball in the centre circle and surges away from Maria Leon. She angles a pass to Karen Holmgaard, who miscontrols it on the edge of the area. A better first touch would have set her up for a shot.
Updated
11 min It’s a sultry night in west London, not the ideal conditions in which to be chasing the ball for 90 minutes. At this stage, Denmark are struggling to do much more than that.
10 min Possession percentage so far: Denmark 29-71 Spain.
9 min “I am out here and looking forward to the match, none of us in Canada has a broadcaster for this competition!” says Rupert Downing. “So we rely on your text commentary, which is great but not live TV :) I fancy Spain on this one.”
With the qualifier that I know the square root of bugger all about Canadian TV, I’m slightly surprised to hear that.
7 min Ouahabi’s cross from the left just evades Bonmati in the middle. Moments later, Maria Leon’s excellent cross is headed behind well by Sevecke, with Lucia Garcia waiting behind her.
5 min Spain have settled quickly into their pass-and-move groove. Denmark’s shape is more 5-4-1 than 3-4-3 at this stage, though they are springing quickly on the counter-attack.
3 min Bonmati picks the pocket of Junge in the centre circle, makes 30 yards and finds Athenea on the left edge of the area. She tries to cut inside and is dispossessed.
Updated
1 min A dangerous ball from Mariona on the left flashes across the face of the Denmark goal.
1 min Peep peep! Denmark v Spain is under way. There’s a kit clash, so Spain are wearing their pale blue change strip.
The Danish coach Lars Sondergaard speaks
We know it’s going to be very difficult. We will have to defend more than we are used to, but we believe that we can surprise them. [To go through] would be exceptional. It would be a dream come true to beat one of the best teams in Europe. If we do it, with the self-confidence we would gain, and I don’t know what would stop us.
As we’ve said two or three gazillion times, one of these teams will play England in the quarter-final on Wednesday. Here are a couple of freshly baked features on a team who have got the country singing Sweet Caroline.
Updated
The ladies: not for turning
There was some criticism of Spain’s approach after their 2-0 defeat to Germany, when they had around 70 per cent of the possession but only a couple of shots on target.
Anyone who has followed Spanish football over the past 15 years won’t be surprised to hear that they will be sticking to plan A, now and probably forever.
Finland v Germany is the other game tonight. You can follow that one with Will Unwin.
Team news
There are four changes for Denmark from the 1-0 win over Finland, with Nadia Nadim and Signe Bruun among those left out. Simone Boye Sorensen, Karen Holmgaard, Rikke Marie Madsen and the brilliant teenager Kathrine Kuhl come in for Sara Thrige, Sanne Troelsgaard, Nadim and Bruun.
Just the one change for Spain – Athenea del Castillo replaces Laia Aleixandri. That will mean a slight rejig, with Mariona Caldentey probably dropping into midfield.
Denmark (possible 3-4-3) Christensen; Ballisager, Boye, Sevecke; Thomsen, K Holmgaard, Junge, Veje; Madsen, Harder, Kuhl.
Substitutes: Svane, Nielsen, Thrige, S Troelsgaard, S Holmgaard, Nadim, Larsen, Bredgaard, Gevitz, Bruun, Gejl, Svava.
Spain (possible 4-1-2-3) Panos; Batlle, Paredes, Leon, Ouahabi; Bonmati, Patri, Mariona; S Garcia, L Garcia, Athenea.
Substitutes: Gallardo, Rodriguez, Aleixandri, Andres, Guerrero, Gonzalez, Cardona, Sarriegi, Abelleira, Carmona, Pereira, Pina.
Referee Rebecca Welch (Britain)
Updated
Preamble
The knockout phase of Euro 2022 officially begins on Wednesday. In reality, it’s well under way. Austria beat Norway in a Group A eliminator last night, and now Spain play Denmark for the right to meet England in the quarter-finals.
Both teams have beaten Finland and lost to Germany, but Spain’s goal difference is superior so they only need a draw tonight. That makes them very strong favourites to go through. While they are clearly missing the injured Alexia Putellas and Jenni Hermoso, they remain a formidable side who keep the ball better than anyone in the tournament. Spain can be shot-shy at the best of times; tonight, at least while it remains 0-0, they can tiki-taka to their heart’s content.
Denmark, runners up in 2017, have struggled in what is a fiendishly difficult group. They were hammered by Germany and needed a brilliant late save from Lene Christensen to beat Finland in Milton Keynes on Tuesday. But they have a proud record in this competition – one final, five semi-finals – so I’d be loath to write them off. This would be a very good night for Pernille Harder to remind the world of her greatness.
Kick off 8pm.
