The most competitive Women’s European Championship to date is expected when England start Euro 2022 against Austria on Wednesday in front of the sold-out stadium at Old Trafford.
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Here’s a look at what to expect from the group stage:
Group A (England, Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland)
The hosts must weigh in on a nation’s hopes of winning a women’s tournament for the first time since reaching the semi-finals of their previous three major competitions.
As England scale new heights since Sarina Wigman took charge just a year ago, expectations are high.
Lioness is unbeaten in 14 games under the Dutch coach, who led her native country to Euro glory on home soil five years ago.
Including robbing 68 goals without answering in eight World Cup qualifiers in a group that also includes Austria and Northern Ireland will both meet in Group A.
England will have a wave of crowd support with all three group games, with the first match of the tournament against Austria at Old Trafford sold out.
Two-time winners Norway posed the biggest threat with former Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg coming to the fore after five years of self-exile from international duty.
Austria was a penalty shootout away from reaching the final five years ago and only lost 1–0 to England in World Cup qualifying in November.
Northern Ireland are the only tournament debutants and Kenny Shiels’ side face an uphill task to take a point from their three matches at Southampton.
Group B (Spain, Germany, Denmark, Finland)
The toughest tournament in the four groups sees favorites Spain, eight-time winners Germany and 2017 finalist Denmark battling for two places in the last eight.
Spain have yet to shine in a major tournament, but Barcelona are blessed with the side’s core that swept them in recent seasons until their Champions League final loss to Lyon in May.
The injury of all-time top goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso is a major blow to La Rosa’s prospects, but all eyes will be on Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas to make her mark in the tournament.
Germany is far from the force they once were in the women’s game.
Martina Vos-Tecklenburg’s team lost a World Cup qualifier for the first time since 1998 and lost 3-2 to Serbia in April and finished bottom in the four-team Arnold Clark Cup after England, Spain and Canada two months earlier.
Denmark boasted one of the world’s deadliest strikers in Chelsea’s Pernil Harder and registered an impressive 2-1 win over Brazil earlier this month in preparation for the tournament.
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Group C (Sweden, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland)
Defending champions Netherlands will take on Olympic silver medalist Sweden in a repeat of the 2019 World Cup semi-final won by the Dutch in one of the blockbuster clashes of the group stage.
The holders’ preparations suffered a 5–1 loss at the hands of England, but they found the best array of attacking talent in the tournament, led by Arsenal’s Vivian Miedema and Paris Saint-Kelke Martens. -Germain.
Sweden is the highest ranked team in the tournament and there is depth throughout the squad with Chelsea’s Magdalena Ericsson, AC Milan’s Kosovar Aslani and Barcelona’s Fridolina Rolfo forming the team’s strong backbone.
Portugal would not even be in the Euros if Russia had not been ousted by Ukraine’s invasion, and they and the Swiss would be in trouble to reach the last eight.
Group D (France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland)
Lyon is back on top of the European club game after toppling Barcelona as Champions League winners, but it has been hard for France to find success at the international level.
Les Blues have yet to make the last four of Euros, but will start what should be a competitive group as favourites.
Italian women’s football is on the rise as they try to score a run in the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup, but the Iceland tournament could prove to be a dark horse.
They have been seriously challenging the Netherlands in World Cup qualifying and were runners-up to world champions USA in the prestigious Shebilievs Cup earlier this year.
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