UEFA Women's EURO: Players to watch in the quarter-finals

The UEFA Women's EURO 2022 quarter-finals run from Wednesday, meaning big games, instant knockouts, and the looming prospect of penalty shoot-outs.

Goalkeepers are likely to come to the fore and we pick four who could star: some new to this level, some with decades of experience.

Mary Earps (England)

The group stage could not have gone much better for England and certainly Earps, becoming only the second goalkeeper after Germany's Silke Rottenberg in 2005 to keep three clean sheets in the round (the third was another German, Merle Frohms, a day later). But Spain on Wednesday might well mean a busier night for Earps; no team has had a higher possession percentage than Jorge Vilda's side, and only the hosts themselves have managed more shots on goal.

Having been in the training squad for EURO 2017, third choice at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, and then out of the England reckoning altogether for nearly two years, Earps was recalled and installed as starter when Sarina Wiegman took charge; she has kept 12 clean sheets in 14 appearances since. That is some rise for a 29-year-old, who early in 2021 was considering retirement and certainly assumed her international career was over.

Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden)

Lindahl, by contrast, is not getting her first taste of keeping goal at a major tournament. That came in the last Women's EURO in England 17 years ago (in fact Lindahl had already played at the 2002 Women's U19 finals and been unused in the 2003 World Cup squad). Lindahl is now at her 15th senior final tournament, and first choice at her 12th, but one thing is still missing.

Lindahl has two Olympic silver medals, and a pair of World Cup bronzes, but is yet to lift a major trophy and reach a Women's EURO final. Sweden have high ambitions of ending their 38-year title wait in England and Lindahl remains an inspirational presence: her move to Djurgården, announced last week, shows she has every intention of carrying on towards 200 caps and even the 2023 World Cup. Belgium on Friday at Leigh Sports Village is the next hurdle.

Daphne van Domselaar (Netherlands)

At the start of 2022, despite the occasional squad call, Van Domselaar had never played at senior level for the Netherlands. She made her debut in the 3-0 Tournoi win against Finland in February but still went into these finals very much as an understudy for Sari van Veenendaal.

That all changed 22 minutes into the holders' opener against Sweden, when Van Veenendaal was injured and Van Domselaar steppped up. She has proved worthy of the role, earning praise from Lindahl after the Sweden games and producing heroics at 1-1 against Switzerland on Sunday when the Netherlands' title defence looked in real peril. France will be a stern test in Rotherham on Saturday but Van Domselaar is up for the challenge, having watched the 2017 triumph from the stands as a fan.

Manuela Zinsberger (Austria)

Austria are not heavily tipped to beat Germany in London on Thursday it is fair to say. But neither were they expected to emerge from Group A and they did just that, holding subsequently free-scoring England to 1-0 at Old Trafford, beating Northern Ireland 2-0 then pipping Norway 1-0 to clinch second place ahead of the two-time champions.

Zinsberger now has two clean sheets to add to the four she kept in Austria's even more surprising run to the 2017 semi-finals on debut. That included two penalty shoot-outs, with Zinsberger the hero in the quarter-final against Spain. Don't rule out her doing so again against a Germany side containing several of her former Bayern club-mates, in her adopted home city where she has played for Arsenal since 2019.