Euro 2022: What to look out for in the quarter-finals

 

Euro 2022 is already proving to be a memorable tournament and we have only reached the quarter-final stage.

The crowds have turned out like never before for a European Women's Championship, with the total attendance record broken when there were still 15 games left to play.

On the pitch, there have been goals galore - never before have there been so many in the group stage of a women's Euros.

BBC Sport has picked out five things to keep an eye on as the knockout stages get under way.

Can anyone beat England?

Hosts England were one of the pre-tournament favourites and they have shown exactly why.

The Lionesses started slowly by edging a 1-0 victory over Austria in the opening game in front of a record crowd at Old Trafford, before getting into their stride by thrashing two-time winners Norway 8-0.

They rounded off Group A with another hefty win, trouncing Northern Ireland 5-0.

The 14 goals scored by England is the most by a team in the group stages, beating Germany's record of 11 from 21 years ago. And they were one of only two teams to get through the group stage at Euro 2022 without conceding a goal - the other being Germany.

England have sent a message to the rest of Europe that, on home turf, they are the ones to beat.

Eight-time champions Germany came into the Euros under the radar a little but have once again showed their tournament pedigree, winning all three group games without conceding, while France have also been in impressive form.

Before the start of the tournament, data company Nielsen Gracenote forecasted England and Sweden as the favourites but described it as a "wide open competition".

Following the group stages, Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis at Nielsen Gracenote, said: "England and Sweden remain the top two favourites but they are now in the same half of the draw.

"Germany have overtaken both France and the Netherlands and are now third favourites due to the latter two facing each other in the quarter-finals."

The Golden Boot race

If England take home the trophy, one of their players will surely claim the Golden Boot award too.

At the last Euros in the Netherlands in 2017, England were beaten by the hosts in the semi-finals but striker Jodie Taylor ended as top scorer with five goals.

Arsenal's in-form Beth Mead leads the charts this time around, having scored five in the opening three games, which included a hat-trick against Norway. She also has three assists to her name.

Manchester United striker Alessia Russo has played just 110 minutes, all off the bench, but has netted three goals, while France's Grace Geyoro has the same number after her hat-trick against Italy.

Germany's Alexandra Popp, who missed the past two Euros through injury, only returned from a serious knee problem towards the end of the domestic season but scored a goal in each of the group games to also put her on three.

Who have been the surprise packages?

The biggest surprise in the tournament came for the wrong reasons when two-time winners Norway failed to make it out of the group stages.

Martin Sjogren's side, who had been boosted by the return to international football of the inaugural Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg, suffered a humiliating 8-0 defeat by England.

They still had an opportunity to advance, but were beaten by Austria in the final group game - with Sjogren resigning after the tournament.

Austria, who lost narrowly to England in the first game of the tournament, were surprise semi-finalists in 2017 and have once again shown they should not be underestimated despite their Fifa world ranking of 21.

Another team who defied pre-tournament predictions to make it past the group stages were Belgium, ranked 19 in the world.

Nielsen Gracenote had given them a 27% chance of making it out of Group D, compared to their rivals Italy, on 57%, and Iceland on 38%.