This was a quarter final match up that never looked to be on the cards when the draw for the group stage was made. France were expected to win their group, but they didn’t as Austria came from nowhere to beat them to the punch. So Austria on their debut, not only made huge waves in winning their group against the odds, they get the chance to make further strides as they are catching Spain at a good time it would seem.
Spain finished runners up to England in their group but suffered losses in their last two group stage games. So it hasn’t been happening for the Spaniards who were one of the strongest dark horses going into the tournament. They have misfired at bit but because of the quality that they have in their line up, they are going as 10/11 favourites at Ladbrokes to win the match. But with Austria full of confidence, punters can’t miss the appeal of them pulling out a huge surprise at a price of 3/1.
Austria Form
The Austrians, on their debut in the Finals remember, went W2 D1 in the group stage. They took a 1-0 win over Switzerland to open with before earning a great point in a draw with France (after having taken the lead in the match). They then showed great composure and quality to hammer Iceland 3-0 in their final game. So that is just the one goal conceded in three games and frankly as they head into this quarter final match with no expectations on them, they really have nothing to lose in the game and leading from the front, enigmatic captain Nina Burger will keep them fired up.
Spain Form
Spain just haven’t produced. It is as simple as that. They have collected a lot of possession in games but they have just not got things together in front of goal. It all started well enough for them with a 2-0 win over Portugal, but then back to back defeats against England and Scotland, without scoring in either game has raised huge concerns about them. They will, more likely than not, control most of the game, but will their quality forwards like Mari Paz Vilas or Jennifer Hermoso be able to get them the goals? They aren’t running into the final eight with form and Spain lost at this stage four years ago against Norway.
News
There is not much history between the two nations. They met twice in 2009 during the 2011 World Cup qualifiers and Spain won both of those games to nil. They met for the third time in a friendly in 2012 which Spain won 4-1 and then their most recent meeting was a 2015 friendly which ended in a 2-2 draw.
Top Betting Tips
You could see Spain’s frustration in their defeats against England and notably Scotland. Their heads dropped a bit and they lost their way. They are very good on the ball but Austria will have some blueprints from England and Scotland to work on and there’s no reason, with Spain out of sorts, that the underdogs can’t have their day. Austria to qualify at 6/4 it just too tempting to pass up