Last-8: Spain vs Netherlands – Match preview, live stream, kick-off time, prediction, team news, lineups
The 2023 Women’s World Cup has been truly the best edition yet. And here we are, at the quarter-finals – with the first two matches taking place today, Friday 11 August.Â
Spain take on the Netherlands first, kicking off at 02:00 BST.Â
Spain’s last-16 match saw them cruise to victory over Switzerland, winning 5-1. Whilst the Netherlands comfortably beat South Africa 2-0.Â
- World Cup: What is the Round of 8? Fixtures, TV schedule
- Match 57: Spain vs Netherlands (02:00) – ITV
Match Preview
This won’t be a clear-cut match. It’ll be tough and we can’t imagine Spain will be able to get many goals on the scoresheet. There is a real chance the winner will be within a one-goal margin – or might find itself heading to penalties.Â
Spain preview
Spain’s 2023 Women’s World Cup campaign kicked off in fine form – winning their first two games against Costa Rica and Zambia, managing to rack up a combined 8-0 scoreline.Â
But the last group stage match against Japan saw them suffer a 4-0 defeat. Made even worse by the fact Japan had only 22% possession the entire game. Japan’s incredible counter-attacks and Spain’s inability to stop them, led to Spain coming in second place in the groups.
Their loss to Japan also marked the end of their eight-game winning run. But Spain were able to pick themselves up for their last-16 meeting with Switzerland and were able to produce a dominant performance, winning 5-1 thanks to Aitana Bonmati’s brace and goals from Jenni Hermoso, Alba Redondo and Laia Codina.Â
It marked the first time Spain had claimed a victory in the knockout rounds of the women’s world cup.
Netherlands previewÂ
The Netherlands have been equally impressive at the world cup, finding the net in all four games so far and keeping a clean sheet in three.Â
Their first group game saw a win over Portugal, followed by a 1-1 draw against record winners USA, before knocking out a 7-0 win over Vietnam.
They met South Africa – the African champions – in the Round of 16 and faced a tough test, but goals from Jill Roord and Lineth Beerensteyn guided the Dutch to a 2-0 victory.
The Netherlands have extended their unbeaten run to six matches and are still in the hunt for their first Women’s World Cup trophy – they finished as runners-up in France four years ago.
The last quarter-final appearance – in the 2019 World Cup – saw them win fairly comfortably against Italy, and they will want to be taking that experience into the Friday game.
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 possible starting lineup:
Coll; Hernandez, Paredes, Ivana, Batlle; Bonmati, Abelleira, Hermoso; Redondo, Paralluelo, Gonzalez
Netherlands possible starting lineup:
Van Domselaar; Spitse, Van der Gragt, Janssen; Pelova, Roord, Groenen, Egurrola, Brugts; Beerensteyn, Martens
WTX Sport predicts Spain will win on penalties.Â
