France to dump holders Netherlands out of QFs
On Saturday night at the New York Stadium in Rotherham, France and Netherlands meet in the last of the quarter final matches at Euro 2022, with the winners facing Germany in the last four. Oranje will seek to retain their championship crown, but will know that their opponents, even without Marie-Antoinette Katoto, have threats all over the field. Read our preview here:
Malard the wizard
The loss of Katoto is a blow to Corinne Diacre's plans, but her squad is stacked much like the men's senior side in every department. She had the luxury of resting several players in the final group game against Iceland, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Katoto's replacement is set to be Lyon forward Melvine Malard, who netted in that fixture. Elsewhere, Griedge Mbock and Grace Geyoro are set for recalls.
Pelova's just desserts
After testing positive for Covid-19 earlier in the tournament, the irrepressible Vivienne Miedema will be back in the starting XI. Midfielder Victoria Pelova, who scored in the 4-1 rout of Switzerland, will balance her duties in the middle of the park. Aniek Nouwen is set to retain her berth in the heart of defence where she will need to keep Malard and the rest of the front three quiet.
Betting tip
This is probably the most difficult of the quarter finals to call on paper, but given that both France and Netherlands have conceded in every game so far, Parimatch have odds of 3.60 for Les Blueus to edge it in normal time with both teams scoring.
