Host England, defending champion Netherlands – or perhaps record European champion Germany? In Favorites Czech, the sports show tracks the supposedly best teams in the Euro in England and gives a title forecast.

England – sky high hopes for hostesses

The opening game at Old Trafford, the final at Wembley – and England will want to be there for both the highlights. Expectations are skyrocketing in the homeland of football. The question is whether the undoubted favorite “Lioness” can withstand the claims.

England is one of the pioneers of modern women’s football at club level, but the national team has yet to win a major title, although almost all international players now play in top clubs on the island and no longer overseas. Best result ever: 3rd place at the 2015 World Cup in Canada.

Coach Sarina Wigman, who was European champion with the Netherlands in 2017 and replaced Phil Neville as England team boss in September 2021, knows how to win the title. The biggest trump card for English women is certainly the well-practiced defense around 2020 world footballer Lucy Bronze. Experience is also a trump card in midfield (Jill Scott, Fran Kirby) and attack (Ellen White, Nikita Parris).

But Wigman has also integrated up-and-coming players: such as Georgia Stanaway, Ella Toon or striker Lauren Hemp – all from third-placed Manchester City in the Super League, who also provide the team’s backbone with nine kickers.

A few days before the start of the European Championship, the defending champions, the Netherlands, were unexpectedly beaten 5–1 in Leeds. Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland should not be in danger of stumbling in the early stages.

title prediction: Top Favorites

Netherlands – for success as a tournament team?

European Champions 2017, Vice World Champions 2019 – The Netherlands have been one of the top teams for a good five years. Of course, defending champions England are again one of the contenders for the European crown, but the circumstances are special. Coach Wigman, who took the Dutch to the top of the world, is now in charge of the hosts. And the “orange” coach is an Englishman – Mark Parsons.

The 35-year-old is a proven women’s football specialist, worked for Chelsea FC before moving to the stronger American Women’s League and was very successful with the Portland Thorns. Parsons believes that the Netherlands are not yet fully matched as a team.

A nearly 1:5 loss in the Test against England underscored his assessment. However, the coach is confident that “Orange” is strong enough to survive the preliminary round group with Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland and get better and better during the tournament.

Personal quality abounds: Vivian Miedema makes the rounds on the assembly line – staged by wingers Lieke Martens and Jill Ruard. Like VfL Wolfsburg, Dominic Janssen held the defense together and veteran Sherida Spitsey pulled the strings in midfield. The new star in the sky: Victoria Pelova from Ajax Amsterdam.

title prediction: co-favorite

Spain – with Tiki-Taka and world footballer Putelas

After England, Spain has seen the most movement at club level in recent years. All the big clubs now have women’s teams, champions FC Barcelona, ​​Real Sociedad or Real Madrid even filling large stadiums such as the Camp Nou.

Based on the boom in the league and the successes of FC Barcelona, ​​the rivals of the German group are among the very hot title contenders in England – even though they have played only two finals in the World Cup and three in the European Championship. The semi-final was the biggest success in EM 1997.

World footballer Alexis Putelas’ kicker has always been technically strong, but now it seems he has raised his game to a higher level. National coach Jorge Villa plays 4-3-3.

Apart from Putelas, Irene Paredes and Sandra Panos are among the stars of the team. Bitter: Record scorer Jennifer Hermoso (45 goals), who is moving from FC Barcelona to Mexican club Pachuca, is out with a knee injury. Spain scored 48 goals in eight matches in qualifying for the European Championship – the same number as Denmark and the Netherlands, who, however, played two games more.

title prediction: co-favorite

France – still without a major title

France is also a grand nation in women’s football – Olympique Lyon has just won the Champions League for the eighth time and is considered a top address at club level. But the same applies to the Equipe tricolor for England: the national team has yet to win a major title.

The French have been eliminated in the quarter-finals of the last three European Championships and two World Cups. In major tournaments, they have two outright wins in knockout games.

The biggest trump card is offensive power: Cadidiato Diani, Vivian Assi and Delphine Cascarino bring the game up to speed, Marie-Antoinette Catoto score goals but is also a skilled passer.

National coach Corinne Diacre has a remarkable CV. The former national player was the first woman in France to receive the highest coaching license and successfully coached second division men’s team Clermont Foot for three years before being appointed coach of the national team in September 2017. Dyacre let his team play in a 4-3-3 system.

Although their collaboration didn’t go so well from the start, their outstretched hand on the court is Wendy Renard. The captain, who was born in Martinique, is an exception not only in international women’s football because of her height (1.87 m). The defense he directed qualified for the final in England without conceding a goal. France has had twelve consecutive victories since April 2021. There were only five defeats in the five years under Dyacre.

title prediction: co-favorite

Sweden – better than experience

The first European champion in women’s football history (1984) is always on top of one way or another and yet never on top. As the only European women’s team, Sweden has participated in all European, World Cup and Olympic tournaments. They are ranked second in the world rankings and defeated England in a match for third place at the 2019 World Cup in France. In the last two Olympic tournaments, he got “only” silver.

Above all, Sweden scales the experience. Goalkeeper Hedwig Lindahl, defender Linda Sembrant and attacking forces Kosovar Aslani and Sofia Jacobson have won over a hundred international caps – with captain Caroline Seeger more than 200.

In addition, former Hammerby professional Peter Gerhardsson may fall back on international top players such as Fridolina Rolfo (FC Barcelona), Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal), Magdalena Eriksson (Chelsea) or Hanna Glass (Bayern Munich).

The ever strong Swedish women’s league has lost much of its appeal. Only five players from the current Euro team are active in Damelsvenskan. But this should not be a big loss for the national team, as most of them have been playing together for a long time and team spirit has always been very important in Sweden.

title prediction: good chance

Germany – Title Collector aD

The DFB team has already won eight European Championship titles, but the last success was nine years ago. After the 2016 Olympic victory in Brazil. After that, the two-time world champion lost touch with world leaders with quarter-finals at the 2017 European Championships and the 2019 World Cup.

However, Martina Vos-Tecklenburg began a long-term development process with young players falling on fertile ground. “The power density in our squad is high,” says the national coach. But is the level enough for the top?

A construction site is still in a defensive position, now with more football players who are also stronger in opening the game. The interface, however, often lacks fine-tuning, as demonstrated by the unexpected 2–3 defeat in the World Cup qualifier against Serbia.

When on the offensive, creative, dribbling footballers have a greater supply. However, players with strong physiques like Alexandra Pope and Lena Oberdorff are currently in short supply, which could be a decisive disadvantage compared to teams like England or Sweden.

The return of Captain Pope after a long injury break is certainly a boon for the German team. The transfer of another spokesman, Almuth Schult, to the second rank was probably the national coach’s first really difficult personnel decision. That’s not the only reason Merle Fromes is under a lot of pressure. The former and soon-to-be Wolfsburg resident fights her first tournament as number one.

Overall, the DFB team is like a grab bag. With Spain, Denmark and Finland pulling out of the strong preliminary round group to make it to the finals, everything seems possible.

title prediction: pinata

Source: sportschau.de