Overtaken by Germany, assured of finishing first even before this day, the Spaniards will have the formidable privilege of challenging England, host and favorite of the event, in the quarter-finals, next Wednesday, in Brighton.

Faced with Lionesses (Lionesses) who flew over group A with 9 points, 14 goals scored and 0 conceded, they will really not be favored by the forecasts.

Tied on points before this match with the Danes, with a largely favorable goal difference which made a draw sufficient, they still played without calculation.

"We are happy to be in the quarter-finals (...) We were hampered in the circulation of the ball in the first period, but we improved in the second, we also controlled their transitions better", commented, after the match, coach Jorge Vilda.

"It's a collective success and a success of the players who fought to the end on the pitch," he added.

They had, as usual, two-thirds of the possession, and made the match look like an attack-defense in sequence, before being rewarded for their incessant efforts on a header from Marta Cardona (1-0, 90th).

Spain striker Marta Cardona scores the only goal of the game against Denmark in their Euro group stage match on July 16, 2022 at Brentford Community Stadium in west London JUSTIN TALLIS AFP

Finalists of the last edition, the Danes can regret the 4 goals conceded against Germany in the first match and not having beaten Finland more than 1-0.

Their goalkeeper, Lene Christensen, was irreproachable by stopping with a reflex a recovery from Athenea del Castillo (25th) or on a long shot from Olga Carmona (71st).

In the 36th minute, a ball she dropped could have benefited Lucia Garcia, but the danger was finally averted.

One of the disappointments of the first round of this Euro will remain the discretion of Pernille Harder, one of the best players in the world, but who, in a thankless leading role a little isolated, was not enough to compensate for a collective too just.

She could have been decisive, however, taking a ball too high in depth when the Spanish goalkeeper had come out of her area (13th) or ideally serving back Nadia Nadim, whose shot was unfortunately too centered (78th).

But the Spanish qualification is most logical and they will not present themselves as expiatory victims in Brighton.

"I think this quarter-final will be our toughest game, given the level at which England are playing and their status as hosts. They will have the supporters behind them, but that motivates us. We like a challenge, we are can't wait to play this match", assured Vilda.

© 2022 AFP