Spain seal quarter-final spot from Group B after Portugal hold Italy. Belgium eliminated.
Striker Alexia Putellas scored twice for World champions Spain as they shook off a slow start to beat Belgium 6-2 in their Women's Euros Group B clash on Monday.
Spain are guaranteed a quarter-final spot after Portugal drew with Italy 1-1 in a later Group B match in Geneva.
On a chilly, windswept evening far removed from the recent Swiss heatwave, Putellas blasted Spain into the lead, picking up the ball after some deft one-touch passing and lashing it into the net in the 22nd minute with a characteristically powerful left-foot shot.
The lead lasted only a couple of minutes as the Belgians went up the field and won a corner, which Justine Vanhaevermaet headed home at the near post but, despite struggling to maintain a consistent rhythm, Spain managed to take a lead into the break after Irene Paredes scored with a towering header from a corner in the 39th minute.
Recently returned from a health scare, Aitana Bonmati came on for Vicky Lopez at halftime and almost scored four minutes later but instead Belgium levelled again in the 50th minute, with Hannah Eurlings running on to a long ball and slotting home.
The goal was initially ruled out for offside but after a lengthy VAR review Eurlings was found to have been onside when the ball was played.
Belgium's joy was short-lived as Esther Gonzalez restored Spain’s lead a minute later, with Spain finally beginning to show their class.
Mariona Caldentey’s fourth goal for Spain in the 61st minute put them at ease and they began to toy with the Belgians, with a brilliant curled effort from Claudia Pina in the 81st minute effectively ending the contest.
There was still time for Putellas to net her second goal four minutes from time to put Spain top of the group on six points and leave the Belgians, who lost their opening game against Italy 1-0, on the brink of elimination.
Despite the sluggish start and the concession of two goals, Spain coach Montserrat Tome was pleased with how her players managed to solve the problems posed by the Belgians, especially the substitutes who were brought on in the second half.
Portugal hold Italy with late goal
A last-gasp equaliser by Portugal's Diana Gomes against Italy in a thrilling 1-1 draw kept alive her country's Women's Euro campaign. Her strike cancelled out a stunning second-half goal by Cristiana Girelli.
Le Azzurre thought they were through to the quarter-finals after Girelli scored in the 70th minute, shifting the ball to her right foot at the edge of the box before unleashing a curling shot into the top right corner that goalkeeper Patricia Morais had little chance of stopping.
The 35-year-old Girelli fought back tears after the goal.
But Gomes brought Portugal level in the 89th when a corner hit the bar and the team worked the ball back into the box for her to fire into the roof of the net, sending their raucous fans, who chanted and banged drums throughout the night, into utter delirium.
The draw spoiled Italy's chance of clinching a berth in the knockout round on Monday, with Spain the only Group B team to have so far guaranteed a quarter-final spot with their 6-2 win over Belgium in the earlier match. Belgium are eliminated.
Italy take on World champions Spain in their final group-stage game, while Portugal play Belgium.
The Portuguese were considerably better at the back than they were in their 5-0 thrashing by world champions Spain in their opening game, digging deep to withstand a barrage of Italian attacks in a breathless back and forth affair in pouring rain at Stade de Geneve.
Italy, who defeated Belgium 1-0 in their opener, celebrated what they thought was their opening goal late in the first half when Morais mishandled Girelli's header and Emma Severini bundled in the ball, but elation turned to dejection when the offside flag went up.
Portugal experienced a similar roller-coaster of emotions when Diana Silva thought she had scored in the 80th minute but the goal was chalked off for offside after a VAR check.
The Portugal women warmed up in "Diogo J" shirts, in memory of Portugal and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota who died with his brother in a car crash on Thursday.
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