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How the quarter-finalists will be decided

Six teams have booked their place in the quarter-finals and any two of Denmark, England, Russia or Spain will join them. UEFA.com looks at permutations and the possible third-place draw.

Denmark must wait until Thursday to see if they remain in the tournament
Denmark must wait until Thursday to see if they remain in the tournament ©Getty Images

Six teams have booked their place in the UEFA Women's EURO 20123 quarter-finals and any two of Denmark, England, Russia or Spain will join them on Thursday night.

England, Russia and Spain all conclude their Group C campaigns on Thursday night with Denmark, third in Group A, anxiously awaiting their outcomes. UEFA.com evaluates the different permutations depending on potential results.

The top two teams from each section progress along with the two third-placed teams with the highest number of points. If points are not enough to determine both the best third-placed teams, a draw will be held between the two or three teams level on points (see amendment to Article 8.06 on p75 of the official competition regulations).

In case a draw would be necessary to determine the last team qualified for the quarter-finals, it would take place on Thursday at 23.30CET at the Nya Parken stadium, Norrkoping, in the press conference room. The draw would be conducted by Karen Espelund, UEFA Executive Committee member and chairwoman of the UEFA Women’s Football Committee.

This guide is for information only. The official decisions will be communicated by the UEFA administration.

Group A, completed
1 Sweden 7 pts (qualified)
2 Italy 4 (qualified)
3 Denmark 2
4 Finland 2 (eliminated)

• Denmark will be through to play France if both England and Russia lose on Thursday. If England draw and Russia fail to win, Denmark will be in the third-placed draw alongside the third-placed team in Group C, and will face Les Bleues if picked out.

• Denmark will be out if either England or Russia win.

Group B, completed
1 Norway 7(qualified)
2 Germany 4 (qualified)
3 Iceland 4 (qualified)
4 Netherlands 1 (eliminated)

• If Denmark finish as the other best third-placed team, Iceland would play Sweden on Sunday in Halmstad. If the third-placed team from Group C go through, Iceland meet France in Linkoping on Monday.

Group C, Thursday 20.30CET
France (6) v England (1), Russia (1) v Spain (3)
• France have won the group.

• Spain will clinch second place, and a quarter-final with Norway, with a draw or win. They can only finish bottom and be eliminated if they lose and England win. If Spain lose and England fail to win, Spain meet Sweden as one of the best third-placed teams.

• Russia will be through with a win. They finish second if they win and England do not beat France by enough to match them on goals difference and goals scored (if both finish level, England will be second due to their coefficient as per Article 8.05 of the official competition regulations).

• England will be through with a win and will finish second only if they and Russia win, and only if the latter fail to do enough to match England's goal difference or goals scored.

• If both Russia and England lose, neither could go through as the best third-placed team. If England draw and Russia fail to win, England go into the best third-placed draw with Denmark. Russia would be in that lottery if they draw and England lose.

Knockout schedule (all times in CET)
Quarter-finals
21 July: Sweden v Third-place Group B or C (QF1, Halmstad, 15.00)
21 July: Italy v Germany (QF4, Vaxjo, 18.00)
22 July: Norway v Runner-up Group C (QF2, Kalmar, 18.00)
22 July: France v Third-place Group A or B (QF3, Linkoping, 20.45)

Semi-finals
24 July: QF1 v QF4 (SF1, Gothenburg, 20.30)
25 July: QF2 v QF3 (SF2, Norrkoping, 20.30)

Final
28 July: SF1 v SF2 (Solna, 16.00)

Article 8.05:
If two or more teams are equal on points on completion of all the matches in their group, the following criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine
the rankings:
a) higher number of points obtained in the matches between the teams in question;
b) superior goal difference in the matches between the teams in question;
c) higher number of goals scored in the matches between the teams in
question (if more than two teams finish equal on points).
If, after having applied criteria a) to c) to all teams on equal points, two or more teams still have an equal ranking, criteria a) to c) are reapplied to determine the ranking of these teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria d) and e) apply.
d) Results of all group matches:
1. superior goal difference;
2. higher number of goals scored;
e) position in the UEFA women’s national team coefficient ranking used for the final draw.

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