The group stages of the Women’s Euro 2022 will begin to come to a conclusion this evening, with plenty of places still up for grabs in the quarter-finals.
The final round of group games are well underway, with just four fixtures of the opening stage remaining. The Lionesses have of course already secured their spot in the knockout stages, and will find out over the next few days who will be joining them.
Here is the state of play in each group heading into the final round of games at the Women's Euros.
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Group A
England secured their spot in the quarter-finals with a game to spare following their 8-0 thrashing of Norway on Monday. They closed out the group stages in style with a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland at St Mary's.
Austria will join them in the last eight, having beaten Norway 1-0 in their final game. They finish second in the group, and will face Germany in the quarter-finals.
Group B
Like England, Germany had their place in the last eight sewn up after their win over Spain in their second group game. That left the Spanish to battle it out with Denmark to join them.
And it was Spain who claimed a narrow 1-0 win to progress into the knockout stages. They'll now face England in Brighton on Wednesday.
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Group C
Remaining fixtures: Switzerland vs Netherlands; Sweden vs Portugal (Sunday, July 17)
It’s much more open in Group C, where all four sides still have a chance of making it through to the quarter-finals. The Netherlands and Sweden are in pole position to go through as they sit on four points each, but Portugal or Switzerland could still sneak through.
The equation is simple for the top two sides – get at least a draw and go through to the knockout stages. Things are more complicated for the other two sides.
For Portugal to stand any chance of reaching the quarter-finals, they must beat Sweden and hope the Netherlands lose to Switzerland. Even then, they need at least a two-goal swing to go in their favour – if the Dutch were to lose 2-1, Portugal must win by any score other than 1-0.
As for Switzerland, they of course need to beat the Netherlands, but things are slightly simpler for them in the fact that they will go through if Sweden also get a result against Portugal. If Portugal win, Switzerland either need to win by 2+ goals to be certain of going through, or match the same one-goal scoreline (i.e. both Portugal and Switzerland win 1-0).
Group D
Remaining fixtures: Iceland vs France; Italy vs Belgium (Monday, July 18)
France secured their place in the quarter-finals on Thursday after beating Belgium 2-1, and will go through as group winners. It’s anyone’s guess who will be joining them in the knockout stages though.
Iceland currently sit second on two points, while Belgium and Italy have a point each. For Iceland, it’s a simple case of winning against France in their final group game, although that is easier said than done.
A draw would be enough for them if Italy vs Belgium also finishes as a draw. Even a defeat could send them through, and there is the potential for things to get extremely complicated.
If Italy and Belgium draw 1-1 and Iceland lose 2-1, Belgium and Iceland would have identical records, meaning it will go down to whoever has the lower disciplinary points, and potentially the highest UEFA coefficient ranking. Given Iceland’s opponents, Belgium and Italy will go into their game knowing a win is likely be enough to see one of them through.
