As the Women's World Cup 2023 enters the business end of the tournament, Spain Women will go head-to-head with the Netherlands Women in Friday's quarter-final tie.
La Roja cruised to victory in their last-16 meeting with Switzerland, while the Netherlands got the better of South Africa.
Match preview
Spain began their third Women's World Cup appearance in fine form, winning their first two games against Costa Rica and Zambia by a combined 8-0 scoreline.
However, Jorge Vilda's side were given a reality check in their final group game when they were picked apart by Japan's incisive counter-attacks and their failure to stop their opponents from implementing their game plan resulted in a disappointing 4-0 defeat.
After seeing their eight-game winning run come to an end, Spain picked themselves up for their last-16 meeting with Switzerland and produced a dominant display to cruise to a 5-1 victory courtesy of an Aitana Bonmati brace and goals from Jenni Hermoso, Alba Redondo and Laia Codina.
The impressive result represented the first time that Spain had claimed a victory in the knockout rounds of a Women's World Cup.
They are now looking to reach the semi-finals of a major tournament for just the second time after previously appearing in the last four of Euro 1997, and they will look to draw inspiration from their recent head-to-head record against the Netherlands, with their last three meetings all resulting in victories.
The Netherlands have been in impressive form at the 2023 Women's World Cup, finding the net in all four games and keeping three clean sheets.
After their campaign got off to a winning start against Portugal, the Dutch played out a hard-earned 1-1 draw against the record winners USA, before they rounded off the group stage with a commanding 7-0 victory over Vietnam.
The African champions awaited them in the last 16, and while they were given a tough test by South Africa, goals from Jill Roord and Lineth Beerensteyn guided the Dutch to a 2-0 victory.
Impressively, the Netherlands have extended their unbeaten run to six matches, and they are still in the hunt for their first Women's World Cup trophy after finishing as runners-up in France four years ago.
They claimed a relatively comfortable 2-0 win against Italy in their only previous Women's World Cup quarter-final appearance in 2019, and they will be looking to use that experience to their advantage on Friday.
Team News
Spain are hoping that centre-back Ivana Andres will be fit to start after missing the last two matches with an injury issue.
After replacing Misa Rodriguez in between the posts for the last-16 tie, Barcelona's Catalina Coll is set to retain her place in goal for Friday's contest.
Oihane Hernandez, Esther Gonzalez and Redondo are also expected to retain their places in the side after being brought into the lineup for the win over Switzerland.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the services of Atletico Madrid defender Merel van Dongen, who suffered an ankle injury in Monday's training sessions.
Danielle van de Donk will serve a one-match suspension after picking up her second yellow card of the tournament against South Africa, and her absence could result in Damaris Egurrola being presented with a starting opportunity.
Having found the net on four occasions at the 2023 Women's World Cup, Roord will continue to provide a goal threat from midfield for the Netherlands.
Spain Women possible starting lineup:
Coll; Hernandez, Paredes, Ivana, Batlle; Bonmati, Abelleira, Hermoso; Redondo, Paralluelo, Gonzalez
Netherlands Women possible starting lineup:
Van Domselaar; Spitse, Van der Gragt, Janssen; Pelova, Roord, Groenen, Egurrola, Brugts; Beerensteyn, Martens
We say: Spain Women 2-1 Netherlands Women
The first quarter-final tie looks set to be a close-fought affair, and both teams will be looking for their key players to make a difference.
Bonmati has been one of the standout individuals in the Spain squad, and if she can produce another solid performance on Friday, we think that she could help her country get over the line against the Netherlands.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
