The top tournament for Europe’s national teams hits England
NB: Since we know this is a women’s football tournament and we are exclusively a women’s football site, I’m omitting the word “women’s” from the tournament title.
Unlike the Concacaf W Championship, the Euros are not doubling as World Cup qualifiers. That is odd, and pointless, and entirely financially driven.
Also, if you are a fan of English football generally, have fun decoding stadia names which have been stripped of sponsorship.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout phase.
Group A — Manchester and the South Coast
UEFA are insisting on calling this host area “Trafford”, since the host stadium is Old Trafford — home of Manchester United — is technically in the borough of Trafford, not the city of Manchester, but that debate has been had for decades and since the stadium is less than 5 miles away from the city centre, I’m gonna take the tack of all Manchester United fans (of which I am one) and call it Manchester.
This group will also see games hosted in Southampton and Brighton, ~250 miles southeast of Manchester, down on the south coast of England. All three stadia are top tier stadia.
This group is home to England, Norway, Austria and Northern Ireland.
England
The Lionesses enter this tournament with a strong resumé and the obvious home advantage. England are undefeated in their last ten, with two draws in February the only blemishes on an otherwise perfect record — across friendlies and World Cup qualifiers
Norway
The Scandinavians will be hoping to improve on their last performance in the Euros. They are undefeated in their last five, across friendlies and World Cup qualifiers, with their only defeats in the Algarve Cup.
Austria
Semi-finalists last time out, they will obviously hope to at least repeat. They have a perfect record this year, including World Cup qualifying wins over fellow Group A team Northern Ireland, and Latvia
Northern Ireland
Half of the Norn Iron squad are playing in the amateur Irish Premiership but they obviously will also benefit from close-to-home-advantage. Unfortunately, they enter the tournament in a poor run of form, having last won in February. Most recently, they have lost to both Austria and England in WC qualifiers.
Group B — London and Milton Keynes
Germany, Denmark, Spain and Finland will be hosted by the concrete cows (and roundabouts) of England’s most notorious new town and the less notorious surroundings of Brentford in west London. The two stadia are amongst the newer additions to the English league landscape.
Germany
With the strength of the Bundesliga behind them, this German team is a typically solid unit. Their recent form has been erratic, LLWLW in the past 5 — including a win and a loss in WCQs.
Denmark
Talking of the Bundesliga, former VfL Wolfsburg star Pernille Harder leads the 2017 runners up. Their form is good, with losses in February and June bookending 4 wins across WCQs and friendlies.
Spain
The World #7 team will have a legitimate shot at the tournament title. They are undefeated this year, with the most recent results a draw against Italy in a friendly and a 2–0 win over Scotland in WCQs.
Finland
A coherent team, but only ranked #28 in the world. They enter the tournament in a poor run of form, albeit with a win and a draw in WCQs sprinkled in.
Group C — Leigh and Sheffield
In an odd mixture of venues on both sides of the Pennine hills, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Portugal will play out. The two stadia used for this group are a study in contrast — the one in Leigh is a metal shed more akin to our home stadia for Northern Lights Football, whereas Sheffield’s stadium was built in 1855 and hosts an EFL Championship club.
Netherlands
Vivianne Miedema is leading the way for the 2017 winner Oranje. Losses to England and France in friendlies counter an otherwise strong recent record, including two WCQ wins against Cyprus and Belarus.
Sweden
Sweden are #2 ranked in the world and will be hoping to claim a first title since 1984. They enter the tournament unbeaten, with a win on penalties in the Algarve Cup final and a 15–0 win in WCQs the highlights.
Switzerland
The Nati are playoff qualifiers and thus underdogs in the group. They are also in poor form, having lost their last three games — against Italy, Germany and England.
Portugal
Anyone remember the Danish side which won the men’s Euros after coming in for a war-torn Yugoslavia? Portugal look to mirror the achievement, having replaced Russia. They enter the tournament having last lost in April, managing three wins and a draw since.
Group D — Rotherham and Manchester
Another odd mix of trans-Pennine hosts. Manchester is closer to Leigh and Rotherham is closer to Sheffield, but I’m not UEFA.
Rotherham’s stadium was built in 2012 and should make Americans feel at home since it is called New York Stadium (after the district it is in). The hosts are also an EFL Championship club. The use of Manchester City’s Academy Stadium has been criticized — since it only has a capacity of 4700.
France, Italy, Belgium and Iceland will traverse the hills.
France
#3 in the world, with the strength of Wendie Renard at the back. Also another short trip for visiting fans. They have won every game they have played this year, including the Tournoi de France and a WCQ match against Wales.
Italy
A stereotypically tight Italian defense could fuel a run in the tournament. They reached the Algarve Cup final and won a couple of WCQ matches.
Belgium
The Red Flames are an enigmatic presence in the tournament. Two penalty shootout wins carried them to a win against Russia in the Pinatar Cup and their last five results are WLWLW — albeit in friendlies, with their last WCQ match being a win against Kosovo.
Iceland
The tiny island nation has strung together a run of tournament qualification and will hope to make it out of the group. They are undefeated since losing to the US in the SheBelieves Cup back in February.
Knockout hosts:
The Quarter Finals will be hosted by Leigh, Rotherham and Brentford.
The Semi Finals will be hosted by Sheffield and Milton Keynes. The Final is at Wembley, which is a) the best stadium in the country but b) a pain in the ass to get to. Especially if you’ve been playing your games in
Props to the organizing committee for not putting all England’s games in London. No props to them for seemingly making teams crisscross the country for their matches.
