The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 is slated to begin on July 6 (Wednesday). The competition’s thirteenth edition will take place in England. This year’s event will include 16 teams in total. The championship match of the 2022 Women’s Euro will be held on July 31 (Sunday) at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium. The tournament details are discussed in this article.
2022 UEFA Women’s Euro: Participating Teams
The qualifying round for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament was open to 48 teams. England will automatically participate in the competition as the host nation. Therefore, the qualifying competition featured 47 nations. Nine groupings were formed out of the teams. Two groups had six teams each, while seven groups had five teams each.
The champions of each group, along with the best three runners-up, advanced to the final competition. The final three positions were decided through play-offs. UEFA suspended Russia in February 2022. Portugal, who lost to Russia in the playoff, will take their position in the main event.
The participating teams are: England (host), Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Belgium, Iceland, Spain, Finland, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, and Portugal.
Venues for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022
England were picked as the host nation of the tournament. This will be the second time England will organize a UEFA Women’s Euro competition. England first hosted the tournament in 2005. The matches of the competition will be played in 10 stadiums in nine cities, with the Wembley Stadium in London hosting the final.
The Old Trafford in Manchester will host the opening match between England and Austria on July 6. The two semi-finals will be held at Bramall Lane stadium in Sheffield and Stadium MK in Milton Keynes.
2022 UEFA Women’s Euro: Groups
Sixteen teams were divided into four groups, and each group contained four teams. Each group’s top two teams will proceed to the quarterfinals. The reigning champions, the Netherlands, will participate in Group C, while the tournament hosts, England, will compete in Group A.
The group stage matches will take place from July 6 to July 18. The group phase will decide the competition’s quarterfinalists. The quarter finals will be held from July 20 to July 23. The semi finals will take place on July 26 and 27, respectively.
The UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 groups
Favourites to Win the 13th Edition of the UEFA Women’s Euro Cup
As per the bookies, Spain, England, and the Netherlands are the top favourites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 tournament. Besides, Sweden, Germany, France, Norway, and Denmark also have a good chance to do well in the competition.
As per FIFA rankings for the women’s national team, Sweden, France, Netherlands, and Germany are in better positions than Spain and England. However, as per recent form and strength-wise, the Spanish women’s team looks stronger than the others. On the other hand, England will get an advantage by being the host nation.
Aftermath
The inaugural women’s European competition took place in 1984. Germany have dominated the competition with a record eight gold medals. Norway have won two, while Sweden and the Netherlands each have one gold. Will Germany continue to rule the upcoming event, or will a new team emerge as champions? According to multiple predictions, Spain and England are the heavy favourites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022.
Source: United News of Bangladesh