The Women’s Euro begins in the cradle of football. Will the title stay at home for the first time?

Unlike the men’s tournament, there is no Czech participation, but it is still worth watching. The European Women’s Football Championship promises evenly matched matches and interesting plots. The interest of the spectators was already confirmed by the opening match between England and Austria at Old Trafford, which was watched by almost 69,000 spectators.

The final tournament will feature 16 teams, with our national team unfortunately missing out after the unsuccessful barrage against Switzerland. Nevertheless, the Czech football spectator should not miss it, it is still the top European football tournament, which thanks to the smaller number of teams guarantees quality matches already in the group stage.

The tournament offers a wide field of favourites, whether it be the home team England, the rising Spain, or the heavyweights from Germany or the Netherlands. With the club season still in sight and the World Cup not until November, this is arguably the highest quality football spectacle. Coverage in the Czech Republic is only provided by UEFA via the Uefa.tv website, where live streams of all matches will be available free of charge.

Group A

Home side England kicked off the European Championships with a 1-0 win over Austria on 6 July and the attendance once again confirmed the growing popularity of women’s football. “The Lionesses” chased three points to enter the tournament in front of a packed Old Trafford stand. The footballers failed to do so, will the women footballers lift the European trophy above their heads on home soil?

The home side will still face Norway and Northern Ireland, but their progression is now almost certain. One of the favourites for the overall championship should take the Norwegians to the quarter-finals. The Northerners have never lost to Austria and have only lost once to Northern Ireland in 2011.

Lauren Hemp (England)

The Manchester City striker is only 21 years old, yet she is one of the cornerstones of the English club and national team. She scored 21 goals and assisted 10 in this year’s Super League season, making her a deserved fourth defence of the PFA Young Player of The Year award (the award for the best young player in English football). For that reason, she is also expected to make a significant contribution to the long journey through the domestic tournament.

Group B

The Group of Death, taking place in Milton Keynes and London, will probably offer the most interesting spectacle. The Spanish women are tipped as favourites for the European title, but they will be followed by eight-time European champions and two-time world champions Germany. The Danes have not lost a game in the Euro qualifiers and have not dropped a point in the World Championship.

Although Finland has not been in good form recently, having reached the semi-finals at the 2005 European Championships in England, the island environment could suit them this time too. There should be no shortage of evenly matched games.

Who to watch: Pernille Harder (Denmark)

The captain of the Danish national team is attracting attention thanks to her title as the world’s most expensive female footballer. Chelsea reportedly sent £250,000 (approx. 7.25 million crowns) to Wolfsburg for her. The winger has rewarded her with 17 goals and 6 assists in 30 league games, and she also boasts two UEFA Women’s Player of the Year awards for the best European player.

Group C

If the Czech national team had succeeded in the barrage, they would probably be the ones being written about now. Their Swiss overcomers will face the reigning champions from the Netherlands, Sweden and Portugal in this group. However, the players from the land of the Helvetic Cross will have a very difficult time, with the qualifiers seemingly decided before the first kick-off.

The Swedes and the Dutch, currently the second and fourth best national teams in the world, are the clear favourites to reach the quarter-finals of this year’s Euros. As far as surprises are concerned, not much is expected in this group. The underdog story that could emerge from it could be all the more beautiful.

Who to watch: Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands)

The striker defends the colours of London Arsenal, whose 14 goals this season have propelled them to second place in the English Super League, one point behind eventual winners Chelsea. Historically the top scorer for the Dutch national team and the English top flight, she is the unmissable figure at this year’s Euros.

Group D

Another fairly evenly matched group, featuring an old familiar opponent for the Czech national team. The controversial loss to Iceland in Teplice may leave a bad taste in the mouth, but it should not deter Czech viewers from watching the last group of the European Championship.

France and Italy are the favourites in the group, but slow-rising Belgium and physical Iceland guarantee interesting clashes. The classic footballing powers cannot be sure of qualification and the matches in Group D will certainly entertain.

Who to watch: Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France)

The amount of goals this only 23-year-old PSG striker is scoring is breathtaking. She has scored 29 times in 32 games for the club this season, and has already scored over 100 goals for the Paris A-team and 20 for the French national team. If anyone wants to stop the Gallic country’s representatives, they will have to stop the Katoto goal machine.

Source: UEFA