Powell's England and Quereda's Spain meet again

After some tight qualifying matches over the last few years, England and Spain begin UEFA Women's EURO 2013 with their first ever finals meeting.

Head-to-head record
• All but one of England and Spain's previous eight official fixtures have come in qualifiers. England have three wins, including the sole friendly, and Spain one with five draws, England scoring 12 goals to Spain's nine.

• Their first two meetings in 1995 qualifying set the tone with both games ending 0-0, England topping the group by a point. Current England manager Hope Powell played against a Spain team coached, as now, by Ignacio Quereda.

• In September 1996 they were matched again in the play-offs for the following year's finals. Despite Powell's goal, Spain won 2-1 in Montilla for what remains their sole defeat of England, a 1-1 draw in Tranmere confirming their only qualification to date and England's one failure. A 17-year-old Kelly Smith also appeared for England.

• Powell was in charge when Spain visited Luton for a friendly on 22 March 2001, England winning 4-2 with Sue Smith scoring a hat-trick.

• In 2009 qualifying, England won 1-0 in Shrewsbury on 25 November 2007 with a Karen Carney goal. Rachel Brown, Alex Scott, Casey Stoney, Jill Scott, Anita Asante, Carney, Fara Williams, Eniola Aluko, Smith and Rachel Yankey featured, as did Ainhoa Tirapu, Marta Torrejón, Melis and Erika Vázquez.

• In the return in Zamora, Spain needed a two-goal win to pip England to automatic qualification and goals from Verónica Boquete and Sonia put them 2-0 up at half-time. However, Carney pulled one back on 54 minutes and Smith levelled with 14 minutes to go. While Spain lost in the play-offs, England went on to finish runners-up in Sweden.

• Spain fielded Tirapu, Adriana, Erika, Torrejón, Sonia and Silvia Meseguer; England's team included Brown, Alex Scott, Stoney, Jill Scott, Carney, Asante, Fara Williams, Yankey, Smith and Aluko.

Selected previous meetings
1 April 2010: England 1-0 Spain (Chapman 30) – The Den, London, FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying
England: Brown, A Scott, Unitt, Chapman, F White, Stoney, Clarke, F Williams, Aluko (E White 69), K Smith (J Scott 59), Yankey (S Smith 84).
Spain: Tirapu, Torrejón, Vesga, Ruth García, Sonia (Perez 66), Boquete, Adriana, Sandra (Meseguer 80), Ana Maria, Olabarrieta, Ibarra (Willy 74).

19 June 2010: Spain 2-2 England (Adriana 16, Sonia 67; Unitt 78, F White 88) – El Montecillo, Aranda de Duero, FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying
Spain: Tirapu, Torrejón (Olabarrieta 46), Vesga, Miriam, Ruth García, Sonia (Losada 81), Boquete, Adriana, Sandra, Ibarra, Erika (Meseguer 63).
England: Brown, A Scott, Unitt, Chapman, F White, Stoney, Carney, F Williams, Aluko (E White 74), K Smith, Yankey (J Scott 46)

• Drawn together again in 2011 World Cup qualifying, the outcome was identical to the previous campaign: a single goal England home win and then, with Spain needing a two-goal victory, an away comeback from two down to draw. It was not the last qualifier this time but England again topped the group; both they and Spain only dropped points against each other.

• Both Quereda and Powell used to combine their senior roles with leading the youth squads. In the 2000 UEFA European Women's Under-18 Championship third qualifying round, eventual runners-up Spain won 2-0 in San Fernando, Elisabeth Ibarra lining up against Stoney and Williams.

• A year later at the same stage it was 2-2 in Gap, France, with England twice losing the lead; Spain eventually qualified on goals scored. Spain's team included Erika against Stoney and goalscorer Williams.

• In the 2003 second qualifying round of the new U19 event, a 1-1 draw in Hitchin helped both teams to the finals, Adriana's seventh-minute opener being cancelled out in added time. Adriana, Ruth García and Priscilla Borja lined up against Alex Scott, Asante and Aluko with Powell having stepped down as England youth coach.

• In the 2007 finals in Iceland, Danielle Buet's goal gave England a 1-0 win and a semi-final place at Spain's expense. Also in the team were Sophie Bradley, Jessica Clarke and Ellen White while Quereda's Spain fielded Torrejón, Silvia Meseguer and Jennifer Hermoso.

• The next season it was 0-0 in the first qualifying round in Vilnius. Meseguer weas still involved as were Clarke, Bradley and Ellen White.

Form guide
• England began qualifying with a surprise 2-2 draw in Serbia, having been two up, and although they were held 0-0 in the Netherlands, beat the Dutch 1-0 in Manchester to end up top.

• Most of the England team were in Powell's Great Britain Olympic squad that reached the quarter-finals on home soil, having made the same stage at the 2011 World Cup before a penalty shoot-out defeat by France.

• England's run to the 2009 final, which they lost 6-2 to Germany, was their best since reaching the inaugural two-legged 1984 decider. Then Powell was part of a team that lost 1-0 to Sweden in Gothenburg and won the return 1-0 in Luton only to be defeated on penalties.

• On 24 November 2011 Spain came back from two down with goals by Boquete and Willy to hold Germany 2-2 in Motril. That ended Germany's run of 38 straight Women's EURO, and 36 consecutive qualifying, wins dating back to November 1999.

• On 5 April 2012, María Paz's seven goals in a 13-0 defeat of Kazakhstan in Madrid was the most scored by an individual in a Women's EURO game.

• However that came a few days after a 5-0 loss in Germany and a subsequent 4-3 defeat in Switzerland meant Spain had to settle for a play-off.

• They drew the first leg with Scotland 1-1 at Hampden Park, Adriana equalising but missing a penalty, and had to come from behind in the Madrid return to force extra time. There they fell behind on 98 minutes and although Meseguer (113) levelled on the night Spain remained behind on away goals. When Boquete had a 119th-minute penalty saved it seemed all over but deep in added time she found the target to clinch a remarkable victory.

• Spain are the only one of the 2013 finalists not to have competed in Finland four years ago. Their only previous qualification was in 1997 when they reached the semi-finals. However, their Women's U17s (2010 and 2011) and U19s (2004) have both won European titles and this is the only UEFA national-team competition (including men, women, youth and futsal) Spain have never won.

Team ties
• Quereda (in charge since 1988) and Powell (appointed 1998) are the two longest-serving coaches in the finals; Silvia Neid, who took charge of Germany in 2005, is third.

• Adriana spent part of the 2012 season at Chelsea LFC alongside Dunia Susi. She was also a team-mate of Asante and Aluko at New Jersey's Sky Blue FC in 2011.

• Boquete played with Carney for Chicago Red Stars in 2010.

• England's perennial UEFA Women's Champions League/UEFA Women's Cup contenders Arsenal LFC have played several different Spanish opponents, including a 2-2 draw with Athletic Club BFKEB in Stockholm on their way to topping their 2004/05 second qualifying round group. Asante lined up against Erika and Elisabeth Ibarra.

• Arsenal took on Rayo Vallecano de Madrid in the 2010/11 round of 16. Rayo won the first leg 2-0, Sonia scoring the second, but Arsenal went through with a 4-1 home win. Yankey scored their third goal, Adriana briefly putting Rayo ahead on away goals.

• The Gunners lined up with Stephanie Houghton, Yankey and Ellen White while Rayo had Sonia, Hermoso and Miriam Diéguez.

• They met again at the same stage a year later. It was 1-1 in Spain but Arsenal won 5-1 at home, Yankey again scoring. The same players were involved with the exception of Sonia and Miriam.

• In 2012/13 an Arsenal team including Houghton, Yankey, Ellen White, Alex Scott and Kelly Smith faced debutants FC Barcelona in the round of 32. Arsenal won 3-0 away and 4-0 at home against a team for who and Sonia featured.