A clash of favourites and a rebellion of underdogs as the battle for Wembley begins at the Women’s Euro

Compared to the men’s tournament, it has significantly fewer participants, which, together with the narrowing of the performance gap between the national teams, should guarantee more interesting battles in the group stage at the Women’s Euro 2022. And although many of the matches confirmed that it is not a question of who wins but how many goals the favourite scores, the groups also offered some surprising moments.

Even looking at the quarter-final pairings, it is obvious that everything did not go “according to plan”. Italy, for example, did not qualify for the knockout rounds and even remained at the bottom of a balanced Group D. Norway, on the other hand, provided the most curious moment of the tournament.

The Nordic women were anointed as a clear play-off participant, albeit as the second qualifier after home team England. But it was the match against the tournament favourites that went wrong for the Norwegians. Anyone who came to Brighton’s Amex Stadium expecting an evenly-matched match for top spot in the group was disappointed.

At half-time, the scoreboard read an appalling 6-0. England added two more goals after the change of sides, Bethany Mead completed her hat-trick and striker Ellen White scored two goals.

England’s home pressure and an Austrian fairy tale

Along with England, it was Austria who finally advanced, as the scalded Norwegians managed to sensationally beat them in the last round. In only their second appearance at the European Championship, they also made their second appearance in the play-offs.

However, they will face Germany, the eight-time European champions. It also left the favoured Spain behind in the group, with goalkeeper Merle Frohms still not scoring.

The Austrians won bronze at the Dutch Euro 2017, but must succeed in the German-language derby for the first time in history to defend the precious metal. They enter the match as an underdog, but they have used this role perfectly in the group stage and the Germans will not have it easy.

At home, England will take on Spain and it will be interesting to see how ‘The Lionesses’ deal with the pressure of a home tournament. Their opponents are still hot contenders for the title despite coming from second place and have a lot to prove after stumbling in the group stage.

With a 14-0 record and the tournament’s top scorer Bethany Mead in the line-up, the English women, like their male counterparts a year ago, face huge expectations from the British press and society.

Coupled with full stands, which have never been commonplace in women’s football before, the English women have a huge task ahead of them. Only tomorrow’s quarter-final match will tell how they will cope with the expectations and whether, unlike in 2021, England will celebrate the European title.

Belgium advanced from Group D at the expense of relegated Italy, just four points shy of their first play-off appearance. In addition to the team from the Apennine Peninsula, they left Iceland behind. The latter managed to draw with the otherwise sovereign French, but failed to achieve more than a share of the points in three games and missed out on qualification by one point.

In the quarter-finals, the Belgians will face the Swedes, the best European team according to the FIFA rankings, the second best in the world. They dominated the duels against outsiders Switzerland and Portugal after the opening draw with the Netherlands and won the group on score just ahead of the “Oranjes”. A duel with a clear favourite in which the Swedes should have no problems, the Belgians can only surprise.

The last semi-finalist will be decided in Brentford on 23 July, when France and the Netherlands will face each other. The word from the experts is that the two teams are on opposite trajectories and while the Dutch are receding from the limelight, the French aspire to replace them.

The Benelux representatives didn’t just win the group on score, they have an offensive threat spread all over the field, with six different players hitting so far. They also have the experience of major tournaments to fall back on, the French women, for example, never made it out of the quarter-finals at the Euros.

In addition, they have to do without star Marie-Antoinette Katoto due to injury. They now rely mainly on her PSG teammate Grace Geyoro, the second top scorer of the tournament with three goals. Although the bookmakers are heavily favouring France, the reigning European champions and world runners-up should not be underestimated.

As well as the group matches, Uefa.tv is broadcasting the knockout fights, including the final.

Programme:

ČF1 20.7. 21:00 England – Spain (Amex Stadium, Brighton)

CF2 21.7. 21::00 Germany – Austria (Brentford Community Stadium, London)

22.7. 21:00 Sweden – Belgium (Leigh Sports Village, Leigh)

23.7. 21:00 France – Netherlands (Aesseal New York Stadium, Rotherham)

SF1 26.7. 21::00 CF1 – CF3 (Bramall Lane, Sheffield)

SF2 27.7. 21:00 ČF2 – ČF4 (Stadium MK, Milton Keynes)

Final 31.7. 18::00 (Wembley, London)

Source: UEFA