Women'S Euro 2022

Their 8-0 demolition of Norway at the Amex Stadium on Monday did more than just extend the longest unbeaten run in their history. It made a statement that England are ready to challenge for the Women's Euros on their own turf.

When they went seven ahead, England became the first team in European Championship history – women or men – to score so many in a single game.

Sarina Wiegman has made an immediate impact with the Lionesses since taking charge in September, with the Dutch coach having now won 14 and drawn two of her first 16 outings, scoring a remarkable 93 goals while conceding only three.

There had been some big wins already in the tournament that seemed ominous for the rest, with Spain and Germany hitting four in their opening matches while France became the first team to ever score five goals in the first half of a game at the Women's Euros when they trounced Italy 5-1 on Sunday.

England beat that record a day later, with a ruthless display seeing them lead 6-0 at the break.

An early penalty from Georgia Stanway after Ellen White had been felled got them going, and from there it seemed like every attack ended up in the Norway net.

Lauren Hemp made it two from close range despite being initially judged offside, before a brace each from Beth Mead and White gave the crowd in Brighton quite a first half to witness.

This was the first Women's Euros encounter between England and Norway, and it was one Gresshoppene boss Martin Sjogren will want to forget in a hurry.

The visitors stemmed the flow of goals in the second half, although their opponents seemed to use the opportunity to rest their legs.

Wiegman did just that as she took off White, Rachel Daly and the impressive Fran Kirby, who registered two assists, before the hour.

England had another on 65 minutes, though, as Alessia Russo, who replaced White, headed home a Lucy Bronze cross.

Mead completed her hat-trick with nine minutes remaining, tapping home after Guro Pettersen had spilled a Kiera Walsh strike from just outside the box.

Mead, who netted the only goal of the game against Austria, has now been directly involved in 29 goals for England under Wiegman (18 goals, 11 assists), with Hemp nine behind after her goal and assist took her to 20 involvements (eight goals, 12 assists).

The crowd of 28,847 were in their element, with no hostility, no jibes, just support for their team, and the familiar tune of 'Three Lions' having more than one vociferous airing.

It would be too simple to put this down to an energised showing because they were in front of their own fans, though. England played some outstanding football and earned their goal bonanza.

They look like a completely different side under Wiegman and dismantled a team only three places below them in the FIFA rankings, having 25 shots in all, hitting the target with an impressive 15.

Norway, ranked 11th in the world, looked like a deer caught in the headlights at times, but the pace and accuracy of the passing and movement was on point from their tormentors throughout.

The Lionesses are through to the quarter-finals already as group winners and can afford to rest plenty in their final Group A game against Northern Ireland before returning to Brighton on July 20 for the last-eight clash, likely to be against Germany or Spain.

England went into the tournament as one of the favourites, despite not having won it before. Their improvement under Wiegman coupled with home advantage means they are fancied by many.

Of course, we have been here before with England. Flattering to deceive, raising hopes only to have them extinguished. We all know that England expects, often in vain.

It is too early to say this feels different, but ripping apart a relatively strong opponent in such fashion has to impress even the most stubborn doubter.

Their fans certainly believe, anyway.

The news emerged just 13 hours after Groenen played the full 90 minutes against Sweden in the Netherlands' opener, a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United's Bramall Lane stadium.

In a statement on Twitter, Oranje team officials stated: "Jackie Groenen has unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore be in isolation for the next few days. When she is free of complaints and tests negative, she can rejoin the selection."

After the draw with a Sweden team who are strongly fancied to advance alongside the Dutch to the quarter-final stage, the Netherlands play their next game against Portugal on Wednesday in Leigh, before returning to Bramall Lane next Sunday to tackle Switzerland.

Groenen plays club football for Manchester United, with the 27-year-old having played for the Women's Super League side since the 2019-20 season.

She became the team's first-ever overseas recruit, arriving following United's promotion to the English top flight.

Playing in front of a crowd of 68,871 at Old Trafford – a new record for a match in this competition – much-fancied England failed to sparkle but got the job done.

The decisive moment arrived in the 16th minute when Arsenal forward Mead controlled Fran Kirby's lofted pass and lifted the ball over club-mate Manuela Zinsberger.

Austria defender Carina Wenninger appeared to hook the ball off the line and against the crossbar, but goal-line technology awarded it to give the host nation lift-off.

England spent much of the game on top without extending their lead, which almost came back to haunt them when Mary Earps was called into action to deny Barbara Dunst.

The Lionesses, aiming to win their first major tournament, are now unbeaten in 15 matches and top Group A ahead of Northern Ireland's meeting with Norway on Thursday.

Miedema scored 14 goals in 22 Women's Super League appearances for runners-up Arsenal last season, a tally only bettered by Chelsea's Sam Kerr (20).

The 25-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best players in the women's game, has also netted an incredible 94 goals in 112 international appearances, making her the Netherlands' all-time leading scorer.

Miedema started her country's Euro 2022 opener on Saturday, a 1-1 draw with Sweden, but coronavirus will prevent her facing Portugal.

An update from the Oranje's Twitter account read: "Vivianne Miedema has unfortunately tested positive for COVID-19 and will therefore be in isolation for the next few days. 

"When she no longer has any symptoms and tests negative, she can re-join the selection."

Miedema has scored 11 goals for the Netherlands since head coach Mark Parsons took charge last year – no Dutch player has more – and netted four times as the side won the last edition of the Women's Euros in 2017, including a brace in a 4-2 final win over Denmark.

It remains unclear whether the Arsenal forward will be back in action by the time the Netherlands finish their Group C campaign against Switzerland at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

After a goalless first half, Spain snatched the lead in the 54th minute when Esther Gonzalez found space in the penalty area and finished low and hard across Mary Earps in the English goal.

With their tournament hanging in the balance, Ella Toone was subbed on with half an hour to play, and she proved to be the hero when she got on the end of Alessia Russo's squaring head to stab in the equalising volley from the edge of the six-yard box in the 84th minute.

Locked at 1-1, extra time was needed, and England made sure their fans would head home happy after Georgia Stanway found what would turn out to be the match-winner in the 96th minute, firing a rocket across the Spanish keeper into the top-left of the goal from well outside the penalty area.

Speaking to the media after the result, Bright talked about finding a different way to win, knowing it would be a very different contest than their recent drubbings of Northern Ireland (5-0) and Norway (8-0).

"It's all part of the game, and you're gonna come up against different challenges," she said. "Again, we knew that they were going to have a lot of the ball. 

"We were gonna have to find that different way of winning, and having been in games where, like I said, we scored a lot of goals. But it's about being clinical when you get those chances. I thought the players that were on and the players that came on did that excellently.

"I think, obviously, we were dealing with not having the ball a lot, and having to stay really tight defensively. Then knowing when we got the ball, it's how we use it, and how we can punish them and work towards their weaknesses.

"But yeah, it was just a matter of trying to rush a little bit without kind of turning it over and making mistakes, and obviously, we knew we had that pressure. 

"I think everyone is aware of the clock in the game and the score line. But yeah, I think for us, we stuck together as a team, knew what we needed to do, and executed it."

Bright also touched on the atmosphere inside Amex Stadium, saying they feel the pressure, but are "loving every minute".

"[It was] probably one of the biggest [nights of my career] to be honest," she said. "Just with it being our home Euros and, you know, having all the fans there and the atmosphere is incredible. 

"Everyone keeps talking about the pressure that's on us, but we embrace every moment, we're embracing the fans.

"There's always pressure in football at the highest level, so we've all dealt with that in the past, and yeah, we're just loving every minute."

La Roja beat Denmark 1-0 at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday through a late Marta Cardona goal to set up a last-eight showdown with a much-fancied England side on Wednesday.

England won all three of their group matches, scoring 14 times and conceding none, while they have netted at an average of 5.8 goals per game in their 17 matches under Sarina Wiegman (98 goals in total).

Just as remarkably, the Lionesses have conceded just three goals across those 17 games under Wiegman and never more than once in a single contest, keeping 14 clean sheets in the process.

Spain are ranked one place above England in the latest FIFA rankings, however, and Bonmati does not see any reason for her side to fear the rampant hosts in Brighton next week.

"It's motivating," said Bonmati, who plies her club trade for Barcelona. "I'm not scared and I think my team-mates aren't scared either.

"We played against England in the Arnold Clark Cup. We know that they are a good team and they have had many good performances.

"We have seen their three group games and they did very well. But we think we can beat them if we improve our style and play better [than against Denmark]."

England and Spain have faced each other on 15 previous occasions, with the Lionesses (six) winning twice as many games as La Roja (three) across all their meetings.

However, Spain are unbeaten in the past two of those meetings, beating England 1-0 in the SheBelieves Cup in 2020 (1-0) and drawing 0-0 against them in the Arnold Clark Cup in February. 

Only once previously have Spain gone three in a row without defeat against England, doing so between 1993 and 1996 (four games).

Echoing the views of team-mate Bonmati, Ona Batlle is optimistic of advancing to the semi-finals, where a showdown with one of Sweden or the Netherlands may await.

"We've seen a lot of their games and I think they play really well, really good. They have a really good squad and it is not just the starting players. Everyone there is a good player," she said.

"They are very strong and they are playing in England, so they have that [home advantage]. But that's going to be a boost for us because we know everything [about them] and we are ready for them. I think we can do it."

The two pool favourites would have considered their meeting last week the toughest test of the first stage of the tournament, but Portugal and Switzerland were no pushovers on Wednesday.

Those two had played out their own entertaining draw, and Portugal repeated the two-goal comeback that rescued that point.

The Netherlands were coasting after a pair of headed goals through Damaris Egurrola and Stefanie van der Gragt, but the VAR spotted a foul on Diana Silva late in the first half that allowed Carole Costa to pull a goal back.

And Silva's header from Costa's cross had Portugal level, before the Oranje were again frustrated by a video review when Jill Roord's effort was struck off following a four-minute delay.

The defending European champions finally got their act together, though, and Danielle van de Donk arrowed into the top-right corner to earn a 3-2 Netherlands win.

It had been a similar story in the early game as Sweden beat Switzerland 2-1.

Sweden were the beneficiaries of a VAR review when Noelle Maritz went down easily and a penalty award was overturned, before Fridolina Rolfo steered the world's second-ranked side in front.

However, a fine Ramona Bachmann finish only 92 seconds later had Switzerland back on terms.

Teenage Sweden substitute Hanna Bennison restored the advantage with a 20-yard drive, yet her side were never in real comfort as they saw two late goals ruled out for offside.

The 32-year-old sustained the injury during the reigning champions' opening Group C match against Sweden on Saturday, which finished in a 1-1 draw.

Netherlands head coach Mark Parsons said at the time that the injury "does not look good", and it was confirmed on Monday that Van Veenendaal will return home for treatment.

"It's terrible news," Parsons said. "First of all for Sari, of course, but also for our entire team. 

"Sari is much more than a player of our selection. She is our captain and a very important leader. We will miss her very much."

PSV goalkeeper Van Veenendaal will be replaced in the squad by Feyenoord's Jacintha Weimar, who was named on the Netherlands' standby list.

It is the second blow in as many days for the Oranje after announcing on Sunday that midfielder Jackie Groenen is isolating after testing positive for coronavirus.

Parsons' side are back in action against Portugal at Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday.

The former Barcelona winger, who has just joined Paris Saint-Germain, was the Player of the Tournament in the previous Women's Euros.

The Netherlands won that tournament in surely the highlight of an outstanding year for Martens, who was also the UEFA Women's Player of the Year and The Best FIFA Women's Player.

And the 29-year-old had appeared set to play a key role for the Netherlands again in England, creating a joint-high seven Oranje chances in the group stage – including assisting Danielle van de Donk's winner against Portugal – and attempting six shots herself.

But the Netherlands announced on Tuesday the injury Martens had sustained in their third match against Switzerland would rule her out for the remainder of the finals.

"Lieke Martens suffered a foot injury during the match against Switzerland," a post on the team's Twitter page read.

"Further investigation has shown that it is no longer possible for her to take action during this European Championship. Lots of luck, Lieke."

The Netherlands face highly fancied France in the quarter-finals in Rotherham on Saturday.

The two-time champions launched their quest for a third European title in a commanding manner, with Julie Blakstad, Frida Maanum, Caroline Graham Hansen and Guro Reiten all getting on the scoresheet.

Norway failed to find the net in three matches at Euro 2017 but took just 10 minutes to open their account this time around; Reiten releasing Blakstad to drill past Jacqueline Burns at her near post.

Their lead was doubled just three minutes later. Maanum dispossessed Chloe McCarron high up the field, before receiving Ada Hegerberg's return pass and slotting into the empty net.

Hansen made it three from the penalty spot in the 31st minute after Nadene Caldwell was penalised for handball.

The lowest-ranked team in the competition, Kenny Shiels' side produced a spirited response after the break and pulled a goal back within four minutes of the restart when Julie Nelson headed in from close range.

But Martin Sjogren's team had the final word and thwarted any potential comeback five minutes later when Reiten beat Burns with a delicious 20-yard free-kick.

Much was expected of two-time European champions Norway after Ada Hegerberg ended her international exile to join an exciting attacking line-up.

But after a 4-1 opening win over Northern Ireland, they suffered a remarkable, record-breaking 8-0 reverse at the hands of hosts England.

Norway could still have qualified for the quarter-finals but instead lost 1-0 to Austria and exited the tournament.

The Norwegian Football Federation confirmed on Tuesday that Sjogren, who had been in charge since 2016, and assistant Anders Jacobson were leaving their roles.

"Having the opportunity to lead Norway's national team for five and a half years, including three tournaments, has been a special time in my coaching career," Sjogren said, "and I take with me many good and developing experiences from my time in Norway.

"The conditions before this championship were clear, and we had high ambitions. When the results did not match expectations, it was a natural solution that we now go our separate ways."

The Lionesses put a run of three straight semi-final defeats at major tournaments behind them to reach a showpiece match for the first time since 2009. 

England are now unbeaten in 19 matches since Wiegman took charge and head into Sunday's final against Germany or France on an 11-game winning streak. 

Stina Blackstenius hit the bar early on for Sweden but Beth Mead put England in front in the 34th minute and Lucy Bronze doubled their lead shortly after the restart. 

Alessia Russo's brilliant backheel put the Lionesses out of reach and Fran Kirby capped a magnificent team display by chipping Hedvig Lindahl in the 76th minute. 

"The second half we did really well. I thought in the first half we struggled a little bit. The second half we had total control of the game and got some more space," Wiegman, who became the first coach to lead two different nations to a Women's Euros final, told the BBC. 

"We'll celebrate now a little bit. But as I said before the tournament, we have a dream. We've come very far, but now we want to take it away. 

"In the second half we played so much better. I think it was such a good performance that everyone will talk about it. 

"I think we have shown a couple of times that we're very resilient. I thought we didn't start well so we had a hard time. But the players found a way in the game to get out of their pressure, and I'm so, so incredibly proud of them." 

Mead's goal was her sixth of the competition – the most an England player has managed in a single edition of the Euros – and moved her one shy of the record tally set by Inka Grings in the 2009 tournament. 

The Arsenal forward also set up Bronze and Kirby, taking her total goal involvements at Euro 2022 to 10. 

"At the full-time whistle we didn't really know what to do! We’re ecstatic to be in the final," said Mead. 

"I enjoyed my goal – I think it came at a good time, as they’d had chances and there was pressure on us. I'm happy to help the team again." 

Lina Magull's tidy 25th-minute finish and Popp's late second kept Germany's bid for a ninth European title alive, though Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's team were pushed all the way by a lively Austria side.

Germany began nervously at the Brentford Community Stadium, and survived a significant early scare when Marina Georgieva headed a 13th-minute corner against Merle Frohms' right-hand post.

After withstanding a period of Austrian pressure, Germany hit the front when Magull diverted Klara Buhl's neat left-wing cut-back into the bottom-right corner, netting her second goal of the tournament.

Germany went close to a second 14 seconds into the second half when Giulia Gwinn side-footed against the upright, before Austria twice hit the woodwork at the other end; Sarah Puntigam striking the foot of the post after Barbara Dunst had clipped the crossbar with a terrific 35-yard lob.  

The eight-time European champions almost killed the tie when Buhl rattled the bar with a tremendous long-range strike 12 minutes from time, before the winger fluffed her lines from just eight yards five minutes later.

But Austria were ultimately masters of their own downfall as Die Nationalelf added a 90th-minute second, goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger smashing a clearance against Popp and in as Germany set up a clash with the Netherlands or France.

Popp appears to be in a straight shoot-out with England's Beth Mead for the top goalscorer prize, with both players having netted six goals from five games.

Having returned from a long knee injury lay-off to make her mark, the 31-year-old Germany captain instinctively ranks winning the tournament far above the prospect of an individual accolade.

She converted two crosses from Svenja Huth, one with a smart volley and the other with a powerful header, as Germany beat France 2-1 in Wednesday's semi-final.

Mead was among the scorers as England crushed Sweden 4-0 on Tuesday to become the first team into the Wembley showpiece match.

Popp spoke after Germany's win of why it was not all about her.

"I have to disappoint you. I have to put the team in the foreground again, because if I don't get balls like that into the box, I can't score the goals. And that's where I benefit immensely from the girls," Popp said.

"Of course it makes me very happy and very proud that I get these balls and that I have the opportunity to score and that I have managed, together with the coaching team, with the team, to get back to being a goal-scoring threat like I used to be, when I didn't play for a long time.

"That makes me very, very proud. And it's not my first goal to say that I absolutely want to be the top scorer. The first goal is clearly to win the European Championship.

"If the icing on the cake is then added and I have the opportunity, then of course it would be nice. But if that doesn't happen and three other goals are scored by us and we end up as European champions, then I'll be happy too."

Popp's first-half opener made her the first player in the history of the Women's Euros to score in five successive games, having also netted in each of Germany's four previous victories.

That was Germany's 100th goal in the history of the tournament, making them the first side to reach a century of goals.

Germany have now reached the final of the Women's Euros in nine of their 11 appearances in the tournament, only failing to do so in 1993 and 2017.

Head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said she felt "pure pride" at the achievement, saying the semi-final game had been "super exhausting".

It opens up the possibility of another Wembley triumph for Germany.

The men's team were crowned European champions at England's national stadium in 1996, when Oliver Bierhoff was the two-goal hero in a 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

Former striker Bierhoff is now managing director of Germany's national teams and saluted the achievements of the women's team.

"We are overjoyed, also because of the way the team performs here," Bierhoff said. "You can feel the conviction and the fun of achieving something. You can also feel that they now want to take this final step."

Popp went into the final as joint-top goalscorer in the tournament with six (with England's Beth Mead).

She was aiming to become just the second player to score in every match from the group stages to the final at a single edition of a European Championship (men's and women's), after Michel Platini in 1984.

However, she was denied a chance to do so and was replaced by Lea Schuller in the starting line-up, while Svenja Huth took over as captain.

Barcelona and Spain superstar Putellas has been ruled out of the Women's Euro 2022 following the injury on the eve of the tournament.

The setback deals a huge blow to both Putellas and Spain, but she is expected to make a full recovery.

And professor Adrian Wilson, a leading consultant orthopaedic and specialist knee surgeon, has no doubts the Barca captain will be back to her best following her rehabilitation, even suggesting she could improve her game.

"Absolutely, absolutely – she's got a really good chance of making it all the way back to the same level," Wilson told Stats Perform.

"And the great thing about treating any athlete is they're so determined that they just do so well.

"They're the best people to treat, because they've got great opportunities in terms of rehabilitation with physiotherapists, et cetera, and the determination is there, so they tend to do brilliantly.

"So, she'll be back. She'll be back playing better than she did. In fact, she could strengthen her knee to the point where she likes that one more than the normal one."

Putellas will have to stay patient, however, as Wilson warns a player of her age should expect up to a year out of action.

"You need focus for these things. Elite athletes are extremely focused individuals," he said. "And she'll be made aware of the fact that she shouldn't overdo it.

"So, she'll be pushing herself to the right limit every day. And the nice thing about recovering from an ACL is you see very rapid improvements, particularly in the early phase. And there are set phases of rehabilitation that she will go through.

"And then at the end, she'll have a return-to-play assessment performed on a regular basis to assess how well she's bending it, how strong, how good her balance is, and how prepared she is in bouncing around. There's lots of different tests we can do.

"And if she ticks all the boxes, she may get back at six months, if she's already at that point. But for somebody of her age, it's normally nine to 12 months before we're happy for them to return."

Barcelona Femeni packed out Camp Nou twice for Champions League games in the season just ended, in what was the most eye-catching sign of years of steady growth.

Many players who a decade ago would have needed part-time work to supplement their playing wages are now enjoying the trappings of being full-time professionals.

It means these players are physically sharper, more tactically astute, and skill levels are soaring skywards, making Euro 2022 an unmissable prospect.

Here, Stats Perform looks at seven players who could emerge as dominant stars of the tournament.

Alexia Putellas, Spain and Barcelona

Generally considered to be the world's best player, Putellas became the first Spain women's international to reach 100 caps on Friday when she played and scored in a 1-1 friendly draw against Italy. She runs the show for Barcelona, captaining the team, and delivered a flood of goals from midfield. She hit 34 goals across all competitions last season, including a four-minute hat-trick against Valencia, and in the Champions League she was named player of the season, despite her team's 3-1 defeat to Lyon in the final.

Irene Paredes, Spain and Barcelona

If Putellas pulls the strings in the opposition half, it will likely fall to Paredes to organise at the other end of the field, as favourites Spain look to keep it tight at the back. The Barcelona centre-back is set to captain Spain, who are seeking their first European Championship title. After joining last year from Paris Saint-Germain, Paredes helped Barcelona to a polished Primera Division campaign of 30 wins from 30 games, with only 11 goals conceded. Almost 11 years since making her debut in Euro 2013 qualifying, Spain will look for Paredes to lead by example.

Pernille Harder, Denmark and Chelsea

Harder is a serial winner at club level, having won four consecutive league and cup doubles with Wolfsburg before joining Chelsea for a reported world-record fee in September 2020 and adding back-to-back WSL and FA Cup doubles. The classy forward will create chances for others but is also a deadly finisher, scoring 68 goals in 134 internationals. Runners-up last time, Denmark will look to Harder to ensure they are in the mix again this month.

Ada Hegerberg, Norway and Lyon

Hegerberg is the returning Norway heroine, coming back into the fold in March after almost five years in self-imposed exile, having previously been upset by the national federation's treatment of the women's game. A true superstar of the game, the Lyon striker and former Ballon d'Or Feminin winner suffered an ACL injury in early 2020 that kept her sidelined for 20 months, but she is emphatically back now, as she proved when scoring in the Champions League final win over Barcelona – a 59th European club competition goal in her 60th such game.

Beth Mead, England and Arsenal

Once a teenage revelation at Sunderland, now at Arsenal, Mead had to wait until just before her 23rd birthday before earning a first England cap. In the four years since that debut, she has floated in and out of the team, with the Lionesses having serious riches with their attacking options. This could be the Whitby-born player's tournament, with Sarina Wiegman expected to include her in an attacking three behind a main striker. Mead has hit three hat-tricks for England in the last nine months and is also a highly creative player from the flanks. She is one of a handful of England attackers who could light up the tournament.

Vivianne Miedema, Netherlands and Arsenal

Mead's club-mate has enjoyed a stunning five-year spell in the English top flight, hitting a record 74 Women's Super League goals in 89 games. In May, the former Bayern Munich player agreed a new deal with the Gunners, and now she will spearhead the Netherlands' European title defence. Described by team-mate Jill Roord as "an absolute killer", Miedema helped the Netherlands reach the 2019 World Cup final and scored a record 10 goals at the Tokyo Olympics, despite the Dutch campaign ending with a quarter-final penalty shoot-out loss to the United States. Miedema surprisingly missed from the spot, so she is not perfect, but defences will fear her presence over the coming weeks.

Marie-Antoinette Katoto, France and Paris Saint-Germain

The PSG and France men's teams have Kylian Mbappe, and the women have Marie-Antoinette Katoto, a record-breaking superstar in her own right. Both are 23 years old, both have over 100 goals for PSG, and both could lead their country to trophy glory this year. Katoto became PSG's record scorer in the women's game last season, and last week agreed a new contract tying her to the capital club until 2025. There lies another Mbappe parallel, with PSG determined to keep the striker out of the clutches of rival clubs, knowing she is the sort of talent that could make an explosive impact on Euro 2022.

Barcelona star Putellas, who has scored 27 goals in 100 international appearances, will miss Euro 2022 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in training on Tuesday.

Putellas' absence is a huge blow for Spain, with the 28-year-old, who top-scored in the Champions League with 11 goals last season, considered one of the best players in the women's game.

But Guijarro, another part of an all-conquering Barcelona team which won all 30 domestic league games in 2021-22, says Putellas simply being present will give Spain a boost.

"We are not going to deny that yesterday it was a really hard day," she said in a media conference. "It hit us, because we know that Alexia is fundamental inside of the pitch, as is shown, but also outside of it. 

"Obviously we will be very close to cheer her up, to give her energy, to motivate her in any sense, but she has been the first one motivating us. 

"She was here today and will be present in our first match. This will give us even more energy to compete and to win. 

"Regarding the roles, as [fellow forward] Mariona [Caldentey] said, we all have to accept our responsibility to try to replace her between all of us, all the good things that she makes, with a plus from everyone."

Spain, who are also without record goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso after she suffered a ligament injury of her own, begin their Group B campaign against Finland on Friday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Barcelona president Joan Laporta used the unveiling of Franck Kessie to wish Putellas well in her recovery.

"She had injured herself, and from here I send all the support from the club, from all the people that love her," he said.

"We want her to recover as soon as possible, and we are all here to help her."

The second Euro 2022 semi-final takes place at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes and offers the winner a shot at Sunday's Wembley final.

A crowd of close to 90,000 is expected for the weekend's showpiece match, and France will hope to make it through to that stage for the first time while Germany are eyeing a ninth title.

France centre-back Renard is captain of her side, while striker Popp skippers Germany and has scored in all four of her team's games so far.

Renard and Popp have gone head-to-head many times, with their national teams and at club level with Lyon and Wolfsburg, facing each other in four Women's Champions League finals.

"It's true that she is a great player, with a lot of qualities," Renard said of Popp on Tuesday.

"We know the German mentality in a general way – it is true that we are used to playing against each other in clubs and with our national team.

"There is not only Alex Popp in this team, but it is true that she is a natural leader. She has shown it at club and international level."

Renard remarked on Popp's "difficult" last year, which has seen the 31-year-old striker sidelined for long stretches with a knee injury that recurred.

It has been to the striker's credit that she has been able to make such an impact already at this tournament, but now 32-year-old Renard is plotting how she might keep Popp in her pocket for 90 minutes.

"Since the beginning of this tournament, she is answering for her country, and it will be up to us collectively to be strong to simply prevent her from continuing her good run," Renard said.

Germany suffered a blow on the eve of the game when forward Klara Buhl was ruled out after a positive COVID-19 test.

Buhl had created the most chances of all players at Euro 2022 heading into the semi-final stage by forging 14 opportunities for others. That total put her one ahead of France's Clara Mateo.

Suffice to say the return to Brighton to face Spain in the last eight was a more difficult encounter for Sarina Wiegman's side, but they showed true grit and determination to advance to the semi-finals at the Women’s European Championships.

Spain had been the last team to stop England from winning, with their 0-0 draw in February being the final result before the Lionesses went on a nine-game winning streak (now 10). They were also the only side that England had failed to score against in their first 17 games under Wiegman.

However, a hard-working performance from the hosts saw them come from behind to secure a 2-1 extra-time victory, eliminating one of the other pre-tournament favourites.

Prior to the game, La Roja boss Jorge Vilda appeared to be playing mind games, aiming to put pressure on his opponents.

"If I imagine Spain playing a quarter-final against England, in a home Euros they had organised, a Spain team playing in a big Spanish stadium, I imagine this would weigh on us. I think this could take away more than it gives," he said at his pre-match news conference.

He appeared to be correct as England struggled to find anything like the fluency they enjoyed in recent games for much of normal time, whether it was nerves or a well-executed Spain gameplan.

It was a tentative start on the English south coast, clear immediately that Spain would be a tougher proposition than Norway. They had lost only one game (v Germany in the group stage) in their previous 26 international matches (W21 D4), so were always going to be a hard nut for England to crack.

Mariona Caldentey was causing problems for Lucy Bronze down the Spain left and had the first shot on target after 16 mins as the visitors started to impose their possession game, giving England a problem they were yet to face in the tournament so far.

Olga Carmona was tasked with keeping tournament top scorer Beth Mead quiet and achieved just that as the England star was unable to exert any authority on the game.

Despite being largely on the back foot, the hosts thought they had taken the lead in the 37th minute when a free-kick was headed down into the path of Ellen White, who fired home, only for an offside flag to correctly go up, with White denied the chance to equal Wayne Rooney's England record of 53 goals.

Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas was an obvious miss for Vilda's side. The Barcelona captain finished as the Champions League's top goalscorer with 11 goals last season and ended her domestic campaign with 18.

Spain's most capped player (100), who also won the FIFA Best Women's Player award in 2021, will miss the next 10-12 months with an ACL injury, and would have likely been a key factor in this one as La Roja dominated the ball for large spells but struggled to find their way through Wiegman's team.

England, who were 6-0 up at half-time when they played Norway, managed just the one shot in the opening 45 minutes here, and that did not arrive until the 40th minute, with Spain having six.

The Lionesses started the second half brightly, though, noticeably pressing higher up the pitch and with more fervour.

However, it was half-time Spain substitute, Athenea del Castillo, who produced a bit of magic to open the scoring, jinking inside Rachel Daly from the right before cutting back to Esther Gonzalez, who turned and finished well past Mary Earps in the 54th minute.

Wiegman responded by making her own substitutions, surprisingly removing Mead and White for Alessia Russo and Chloe Kelly.

It almost made a difference straight away as Russo flicked a ball on for Lauren Hemp, who was brought down in the penalty area, but referee Stephanie Frappart waved away the claims much to the annoyance of the vocal home fans.

It appeared England had given all they had, until another substitute made the difference as Ella Toone ran onto a Russo knockdown to prod the ball past Sandra Panos and equalise with six minutes remaining.

That forced extra-time and momentum swung in England's favour as Georgia Stanway went on a run through the middle before unleashing a ferocious strike past Panos from 25 yards to send the home fans into raptures.

Stanway's effort was the 100th goal England have scored under Wiegman in just her 18th game in charge, and the 11th from outside the penalty area.

It was now Spain who looked like they had run out of ideas, and despite a couple of minor scares, England held on to seal their place in the final four and show they may not always need to dominate games to get the job done.

A great roar went up from the 28,994 in attendance in Brighton, enough to frighten the local seagulls, as England celebrated a hard-fought victory.

If the thrashing of Norway had shown what England were capable of when at full flow, this win displayed another weapon in the arsenal that the hosts will likely have to call on again if they are to go all the way.