England vs Spain LIVE: Euro 2022 result and final score as Georgia Stanway screamer settles thriller

For a team who started Euro 2022 with such high hopes, progress to the knockout stages was not secured until the very end. Spain were already scraping through to the quarter-finals when Marta Cardona’s 90th-minute header finally put an end to Denmark’s fight, but only after a tense evening at the Brentford Community Stadium that suggested that England should take confidence into their meeting down in Brighton. Spain only needed to draw to advance at the expense of Denmark, who required a victory - and for large parts of the evening they looked the side most likely of securing the result that was required.

Spain and England was a popular pre-tournament pick for the Wembley final - it will instead arrive earlier than that but, after losing to Germany and edging past Denmark here, it is clear this is not the same Spain. There are understandable reasons for that, the absence of Alexia Putellas and Jennifer Hermoso to begin with, but a team who until five days ago were unbeaten in 24 matches are suffering a crisis of confidence in attack, while displaying glaring vulnerabilities in defence. The prospect of facing an England team who scored 14 goals in finishing top of Group A should be a frightening prospect.

England captain Leah Williamson has insisted England are relishing their winners-takes-all clash with Spain.

The Spaniards are ranked seventh by FIFA, one position higher than the tournament hosts, who have been hugely impressive to date.

Williamson said: “Obviously it’s knockout football, the game changes once you get through the group, the nature of the game is different. There will be one winner and that’s it.

“We know the situation, but we choose to look at it as an opportunity and we’re confident. We’re in good form, and hopefully we can do what we have been doing in this tournament tomorrow night.”

England and Spain have faced each other on 15 previous occasions, with the Lionesses (six) winning twice as many games as La Roja (three) across all their meetings (six draws).

But, Spain are unbeaten in their last two meetings with England, beating them in the SheBelieves Cup in 2010 (1-0) and drawing against them in the Arnold Clark Cup (0-0) in Fenruary.

Only once previously have they gone three in a row without defeat against England, doing so between 1993 and 1996 (four games).

England forward Lauren Hemp has had a sharp rise to the top of the game.

In June she became the most decorated PFA player of all time when she won her fourth Women’s Young Player of the Year Award and she’s still only 21.

She has pace, dribbling skills, and an accurate end product which has made her one of the most dynamic wingers in the world but Hemp admits she does not usually celebrate her own success.

“It’s incredible to think the last few years have been such a whirlwind. I’ve gone from playing back in Norfolk to playing now on the biggest stage possible.” she said ahead of the Euro 2022 tournamen, “It’s important to take a step back and realise how far I’ve come. I don’t think I do that enough. I don’t think I celebrate my individual awards and things like that as much as I should. I think it’s time to do that and recognise how far I’ve come.

“It’ll only give me confidence going into the Euros because I think for me having belief and confidence is what’s going to bring out the best in me.

“I think it’s important to put yourself under pressure because that’s what the best players do and how they reach the top levels – and one day I’d love to be one of the best.

“I know the way to get there and I know that I’m far from it. But like I said, I think it is important to look back at how far you’ve come. I am doing that more often and I think it’s important to keep doing it because I enjoy the ride.”

Alessia Russo believes England still need to improve in a number of areas ahead of their Euro 2022 quarter-final despite having finished top of their group with a 100 per cent record.

The Lionesses brushed aside Northern Ireland 5-0 in Friday’s final Group A game in Southampton and reached the knock-out stages without conceding a goal while scoring 14 at the other end.

Russo has netted three times in as many games, including twice against Northern Ireland just minutes after being brought on at half-time, but despite England’s impressive performance she is striving for better.

“I think obviously the group stages have gone very well. I think we’ve grown in our performances, but also there are lots of things that we still need to improve on and still need to work on,” Russo said.

Learn more

Ellen White dropped by the diary room at St. George’s Park to chat all things Women’s Euros including training in heatwave temperature’s, playing at Old Trafford and how she expects the quarter-final against Sapin to go tonight.

Have a watch at her interview:

Lioness Fran Kirby broke the deadlock against Northern Ireland with her brilliant strike just before half-time which opened the floodgates for England allowing them to rack up another four goals.

Kirby spoke about the feeling of winning the game and whether her team mates are ready for the knockout stages.

“Overall, really happy with the result and the win,” said Kirby. “We wanted to make sure we had a positive start and I thought we did that, even if the goal didn’t come straight away. We had a really aggressive start and we’re really happy with the win.

“They [Northern Ireland] always make it difficult. They have a strong team, they know their setup, they know their game plan. It’s a massive credit to them for getting here, getting qualified and showing an amazing account of themselves – not just them but their fans as well who I think were incredible. They made it tough for us but we know we’re going to get chances and if we can put them in the back of the net then we’re in a good place.

“It [the feeling] never changes, scoring in a major tournament. Luckily for me, I’ve scored in every tournament I’ve played for England so far, so that’s a really special memory for me now. I’ve been getting myself in decent positions in previous games but maybe it hasn’t quite fallen for me, so I thought put your foot through it and see what happens and luckily it went in the back of the net.

“I think we’re really ready [for the knockouts]. The way everyone has handled themselves in this tournament so far has been amazing, everyone has put a shift in when they needed to, subs have come in off the bench and made a massive impact on games.

“This is what we need in order to get to these places. Tournament football is so different, it’s a case of who can be the freshest for longest and who can take their chances. We need to get over this win, get our recovery right, and get ready for the next game.”

England have won all three of the group games, scoring a tournament high 14 goals without conceding. The defeated Austria 1-0 at Old Trafford in the opening match of the tournament before barnstorming victories over Norway (8-0) and Northern Ireland (5-0).

Spain were put in Group B with Finland, Germany and Denmark. They cruised through their opening fixture with a 4-1 win over Finland before losing 2-0 to Germany at Brentford four days later.

That result set up a one-game shootout against Denmark to see which team would reach the quarter-finals. A closely-fought affair fell in Spain’s favour after Marta Cardona’s 90th minute winner.

Jordan Nobbs has spoken of her belief in England’s chances of going all the way in this summer’s home European Championship as she works towards another comeback after the heartbreak of being ruled of the tournament by injury.

The Arsenal midfielder, who is recovering from a knee problem sustained in May, was in the crowd at the Amex Stadium on Monday when England secured a place in the Euro 2022 quarter-finals with a 8-0 demolishing of Norway, the biggest win in the competition’s history.

The Lionesses, Euros runners-up in 1984 and 2009, are bidding to secure their first major piece of silverware, after making semi-final exits at each of their last three major tournaments.

It’s been five days since the Lionesses last group match but there’s a relaxed atmosphere in the training camp.

England have scored 14 goals in this campaign so far without conceding, their unbeaten run under head coach Sarina Wiegman continues and they come into tonight’s clash with Spain full of confidence.

Can they become the first team to reach the final four?