July 07, (THEWILL) — Spain booked their place in the UEFA Women’s European Championship quarter-finals with a thrilling 6-2 victory over Belgium, though the world champions endured a far more challenging evening than their commanding scoreline suggests. After taking an early lead through Alexia Putellas, who found the far corner with the outside of her boot from a wide position, Spain watched their advantage evaporate within two minutes when Justine Vanhaevermaet equalised with a towering header from Tessa Wullaert’s corner.
The match transformed into an absorbing contest of momentum shifts, with captain Irene Paredes restoring Spain’s lead through a bullet header before Belgium struck back once more. Hannah Eurlings levelled the score at 2-2 after initially being flagged offside, only for VAR to confirm she had timed her run perfectly to clip the ball home clinically. The equaliser lasted mere minutes before Esther Gonzalez, picked out expertly by Putellas, beat the offside trap to slot across Lisa Lichtfus and restore Spain’s advantage.
Spain finally established breathing space when Mariona Caldentey capitalised on penalty area chaos to sweep home from six yards, making it 4-2 and providing the platform for a commanding finish. The world champions had squandered several clear opportunities throughout the match, including a sensational goal-line clearance by Jill Janssens that denied Vicky Lopez on the stroke of half-time, whilst Aitana Bonmati hooked wide from distance after the restart.
The final stages belonged entirely to Spain, with substitute Pina adding gloss to the scoreline by shifting the ball onto her right foot before curling home from 22 yards. Putellas capped her impressive individual performance with a beautiful flick for her second goal of the evening, though Belgium thought they had grabbed a late consolation when Wullaert found the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for a narrow offside earlier in the move.
This victory represents Spain’s fourth consecutive European Championship quarter-final appearance, with their six goals equalling the total they managed in an entire previous tournament. Belgium now face an anxious wait, requiring Italy to lose against Portugal in the evening’s late fixture to maintain their hopes of progressing beyond the group stage.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
