The second quarter final of the women’s European Championships had to be delayed overnight after torrential rain made the pitch unplayable.

Germany were due to face Denmark in Rotterdam for the right to reach the last four of Euro 2017, but the weather made football impossible.

The 7.45pm kick-off was initially delayed by 15 minutes then indefinitely at 8pm, before almost an hour later the game was abandoned entirely.

The fixture will now be played at noon on Sunday local time, with the winner going through to face either Austria or Spain, who play their game later the same day.

The heavy rain had fallen throughout Saturday and was only getting worse when the postponement was announced, with ground staff facing a difficult task to make the surface at the Sparta Stadium suitable by then.

Credit: Getty Images

UEFA confirmed on their website that tickets from Saturday’s match remain valid on Sunday, and the stadium ticket office will be open for anyone wishing to attend.

The players attempted to warm up on the pitch, as volunteers swept massive quantities of water away with brooms and tipped it out of the dugouts with buckets.

It was soon clear that the ball was not running at all smoothly, and the referee made the decision after discussion with UEFA and team officials to call the game off.

There was some entertainment for the crowd when a volunteer attempted to shoot a ball at goal but slipped flat on their back – they were OK to get up and bow to the spectators afterwards.

Culled from Mail Sport