Women's Euro 2017: Austria beat Spain to reach semi-finals

Austria, ranked 24th in the world, are the surprise package of this European Championship

Austria will face Denmark in the Women's Euro 2017 semi-finals after they beat Spain in a penalty shootout.

The Austrians, in their first European Championship, won the shootout 5-3 after the game had finished goalless.

Spain, who did not score in three matches after their opening fixture, were favourites to progress but created little, despite dominating possession.

And when Sarah Puntigam scored after Silvia Meseguer's miss, their underwhelming tournament was over.

The Austrians have emerged as the surprise package of this Euros, having topped a group featuring the world's third-best side, France.

And their path to the final looks a little easier than it might have done after Germany, winners of the past six European Championships, were stunned by Denmark earlier on Sunday.

They will now meet the Danes in their semi-final on Thursday, while hosts Netherlands will face England in the other last-four match after the Lionesses beat France 1-0.

Spain, in contrast, head home having endured a miserable campaign.

After winning their opener against Portugal, defeats against England and Scotland meant they only qualified for the last eight on goal difference.

And although they had most of the ball in the quarter-final, the lack of creativity evident throughout the competition proved costly as Austria resisted with ease before forcing the shootout.