Spain vs Netherlands Prediction: A clash of the titans

It’s the Quarter Final of the Womens World Cup and two familiar names in the competition will be going against each other to earn their place in the semi-final. Spain ended their knockout stage with an incredible 5-1 win over Switzerland, while Netherlands edged out debutants South Africa by 2-0. Spain and Netherlands are among the most experienced teams in the tournament, which makes this match quite interesting for football lovers all over the world.

There were worries after Spain lost 4-0 to Japan in the final group game, but the team managed to put those worries to bed with a very emphatic win over Switzerland in the knockout stage of the competition. The 5-1 win over Switzerland means they have scored 13 goals in 4 matches in the tournament and they have conceded 5 in that time. They score an average of 3.3 goals per game and they have a conversion rate of 13%. Currently Aitana Bonmati, Jennifer Hermoso and Alba Redondo all have 3 goals in the tournament so far.

In the win against Switzerland, Aitana Bonmati scored the first goal to put Spain ahead in the 5th minute and 6 minutes later, Laia Codina scored an own goal to put both sides level. But Spain responded with 3 extra goals from Alba Redondo, Aitana Bonmati and Laia Codina in the 17th, 36th and 45th minute. Spain’s dominance continued in the second half as they pushed for an extra goal that came in the 70th minute by Jennifer Hermoso to end the game 5-1 at full time. According to the game statistics, Spain had 70% possession, 10 shots on target and 11 corner kicks.

Team streak: More than 2.5 goals (5/5), first to score (9/10), first half winner (9/10), less than 4.5 cards (10/10), more than 10.5 corners (4/5).

Starting XI

Catalina Coll, Ona Batlle, Laia Codina, Irene Paredes, Oihane Hernandez, Jennifer Hermoso, Teressa Abelleira, Aitana Bonmato, Salma Paralluelo, Esther Gonzalez, Alba Redondo.

The Netherlands are certainly living up to expectations in this tournament. They maintained an almost perfect record in the group stages and they won their Knockout game against South Africa 2-0. Their current statistics shows they have scored 11 goals and conceded only 1 goal in all 4 matches in the tournament. They score an average of 2.8 goals per game and have a 15% conversion rate. Jill Roord leads the goals chart in the Netherlands team with 4 goals in the tournament.

Netherlands proved too strong for the South Africans in their knockout game. Jill Roord scored the first goal to put them ahead in the 9th minute and then the second goal came in the 68th minute from Lineth Beerensteyn. The Netherlands went on to win the game by 2 goals at the end of full time. They also dominated the statistics charts, as they had 70% possession, 6 shots on target and 6 corner kicks in the game.

Team streak: no losses (6), first to score (5/5), first half winner (5/5), less than 4.5 cards (10/10).

Starting XI

Daphne van Domselaar, Sherida Spitse, Stefanie van der Gragt, Dominique Janssen, Jackie Groenen, Victoria Pelova, Jill Roord, Danielle van de Donk, Esmee Brugts, Lineth Beerensteyn, Lieke Martens.

Spain and Netherlands have faced each other 3 times in the past and Spain won all 3 games against the Dutch side. 

Spain and Netherlands are among the strongest teams remaining in the tournament and at this stage everything matters for a team to progress to the next round. Netherlands have never beaten Spain in all 3 encounters in the past, but there is a feeling the Netherlands might just pull off a shocker in this match. Both sides look equally motivated and evenly matched for this stage considering their style of play and quality of the teams. This could go either way, but we can expect both sides to go all out for a win here.

• Over 8.5 Corners at 1.6 Odds
• Both Teams to Score at 1.88 Odds
• Away (1) Handicap at 1.83 Odds