This is all the teams at the women's Euros this summer in Switzerland, like those who have historically done well, what each team's secret weapons are, and what crucial pieces of the winning puzzle will be missing this summer.
The groups are as follows
Group A:
🇨🇭First, let's start with the hosts conducting an inquest scavenger hunt for their fans in the countries surrounding the squad announcement ahead of hosting the EUROs. In the 2023 World Cup, they topped their group, which included the likes of Norway, but were knocked out in the round of 16. While they have not had the best successes at the EUROS, their best results came in 2017 and 2022 when they exited the group stage. They hope that the home support will push them further this time around. Their captain and midfield whizz, Lia Walti of Arsenal, has returned from a high of winning the Champions League and probably hopes to bring that energy to the Euros. Their manager, Pia Sundahage, is a three-time major championship winner, so she knows what it takes.
🇳🇴Next up are two-time Euro champions from 1987 and 1993 Norway. This time, they did not qualify in the traditional format and had to go through the playoffs, but that did not deter them with a 14-0 win over Albania on aggregate and then 7-0 vs Northern Ireland. This ream rarely misses the semifinals and only failed in 1997, 2017 and 2022. The crucial players on the side are Caroline Graham Hansen, Frida Maanum, Ada Hegerberg, and my favourite, Guro Reiten.
🇮🇸Iceland is on a roll. This is their fifth consecutive EURO qualification. However, they are most famous for being the first team to beat Germany by a three-goal margin in a competitive match since the 2008 Olympic semi-final, which ended 3-0. So, they are not afraid to be the underdogs and prove everyone wrong. Their best performance in this competition was in the quarter-finals in 2013.
🇫🇮Another time, Finland had to earn qualification through the playoffs after being promoted from Nations League B.
Group B
🇪🇸Let's start with the front runners who will go to Spain. They were World Cup and Nations League holders but had an underwhelming performance at the Olympics in Paris. Montse Tomé kept ten Barcelona-based players in the squad—Bonmatí, Putellas, and Guijarro. Two of which are Ballon d’Or winners in the last three seasons. However, a big shock was excluding their all-time top scorer, Jenni Hermosillo. They also have a Champions League winner, Arsenal Mariona Caledentey, in their squad. They have performed well against teams like England in the past, but their best EURO finish was in the semi-final in 1997. Last time out, England knocked them out in the quarter-finals after going into extra time.
🇵🇹Portugal made their first ever FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023. This EUROS will be their third consecutive appearance in the competition. Diana Silva was their top scorer in the qualifier, though they have a lot of work to do after a 5-0 loss to England in the Nations League just one month before the Euros.
🇧🇪Belgium is a staple in the competition and has performed well against big teams, for example, beating England 4-3 at home. Their all-time top scorer, Tessa Wullaert, has matched her male counterpart's record of 92 goals during this EUROS qualification, so let's see if she breaks the boundaries set by Romelu Lukaku. She had five goals in qualifying and is marking herself as one of Europe's most prolific forwards.
🇮🇹Italy automatically qualified as a League A group winner. They were two-time EURO runners-up in 1993 and 1997, and they hope to recapture their past form and greatest but to go one step closer to winning it all. Their top goal in qualifying was Manuela Giugliano, who scored three goals.
Group C-
🇩🇪The most decorated team in Germany is the one that won 8 EUROs from 1989-2013. However, they have not reached number one recently, winning bronze at the Paris Olympics and second to England at the EUROs final at Wembley. They are in a transitional phase: out with the old and in with the new. With Areached Opp retiring, this new German squad under Christian Wück is on the up.
🇵🇱Poland is one of two countries making the EURO debut after earning a spot in playoffs and has now been promoted to League A. Their primary talent machine and a player to watch at this competition is Ewa Pajor, a scoring machine at Barca
🇩🇰Denmark has been a consistent country in these EUROS since the format changed in 1997, qualifying for eight tournaments in a row. Their greatest success was finishing runners-up in 2017 but losing in the final to the Netherlands. Their crucial players on the pitch will be Pernille Harder and Signe Bruun.
🇸🇪Sweden, which has historically been a consistent, strong, and traditional contender in this competition, had to go through the playoffs but proved they belonged on the big stage with a 12-0 aggregate win. They won silver at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and then bronze at the World Cup in 2023, but without goalkeeper Zecira Muscovic, who is currently pregnant. However, they do not lack great players like Magdalene Eriksson and Stina Blacksrenius.
Group D -
🇫🇷France was a EUROS semi-finalist in 2022 but was beaten by Germany. They are among the top three European nations, but with them already announcing their squad heading to the EUROs, there have been some unprecedented exclusions, Wendy Renard and Kadidiatou Diani.
🏴Sarina Wiegman has held this trophy since 2017; however, she has only won it with the host nation. England does come in as a favourite even though they have dropped in the FIFA world rankings to 5th from 4th and had some losses in the Nations League. They have some emerging talent, Grace Clinton, Michelle Agyemang, and Aggie Beever-Jones. This will be Lucy Bronzes' seventh major tournament. Notably, 22 of the 23-player squad have been capped for the young lionesses at the development team level.
🏴The mighty Welsh dragons are the second debutants in this EURO, and this is their first major women’s tournament appearance. They hope to get Sophie Ingles, their previous captain, back fit in time to go as she did her ACL in pre-season last year. Jess Fishlock is their record cap-scorer for the small but mighty country. They are ranked 30th globally and are the lowest-ranked team at the EUROs.
🇳🇱Last but by no means least, the Strands started the journey as EURO champions as the host nation in 2017 and then were runners-up at the World Cup runners-up in 2019 under Sarina Wiegman. Does this story sound familiar? It happened to England under the same manager in the next international cycle.
Here’s how it works.
There are 16 teams, and the top two per group reach the quarter-finals; there is no round of 16 in this competition, unlike the male counterpart.
Prize fund boosted to £34M, with 30–40% paid directly to players.
Some have described the group of death to be group D with England, France, Netherlands and Wales.
Opening match: Iceland vs Finland in Thun, July 2; final to be held at St. Jakob-Park, Basel, July 27
Beth Mead co-top all-time EURO scorer with six goals.
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