Women’s European Championships: Three Months To Go

euronews (in English)

The 2025 Women’s European Championships returns this summer, with 16 nations competing for continental glory in the most anticipated edition of the tournament yet.

Transcript

00:00Women's football takes centre stage this summer across Europe.

00:05Will the current European champions England keep hold of the title?

00:09Or will there be a different team lifting the trophy in Switzerland?

00:14Let's take an early look ahead to the Women's European Championships.

00:23Hello and welcome to Football Now, here from the Albeit Stadium in Qatar.

00:29Compared to last year, the summer of 2025 is a little bit quieter for football tournaments,

00:34but there's still plenty to get excited about.

00:37The Women's European Championships is taking place this July in Switzerland.

00:42So let's take a look at what lays ahead.

00:45It's going to be a real landmark for women's football.

00:48Over the last few years, we've just seen growth in the women's game,

00:52and this tournament, we can expect the same.

00:55We're expecting record-breaking engagement globally.

00:58We saw 365 million viewers in 2022, which was up 60% from the 2017 tournament.

01:05And predictions suggest that we're going to exceed the 400 million mark this tournament.

01:10The countries which didn't have things going on during the 2023 World Cup,

01:15in terms of men's major competitions, they saw bigger viewers on the Women's World Cup.

01:21So I think that's definitely going to help.

01:23But I also think that tournaments, you know, knockout football is just so exciting.

01:28Anyone who loves football will turn on the TV, see it, and just want to keep watching.

01:33So, yeah, really exciting. I think loads of exciting opportunity with this tournament.

01:38And yeah, loads of eyes will be on it.

01:41The 16-team competition will take place across eight Swiss cities.

01:46The hosts kick off the tournament on July 2nd against Norway in Basel,

01:50which will also be the host venue for the final.

01:53The reigning champions, England, will begin their defence of the trophy in Zurich

01:58in a tough opening match against France,

02:00while the World Cup holders, Spain, play Portugal in Bern.

02:04Saint-Gallen, Lucerne, Geneva, Sion and Thon

02:09will also help to host a total of 31 matches across 22 days.

02:15Spain are seen by many as the favourites for this tournament.

02:19after winning the last edition of the FIFA World Cup.

02:22However, in 2024, they were beaten by Brazil at the Paris Olympic Games,

02:27despite their star-studded squad.

02:30So, can they bounce back this summer and pick up what would be

02:33their second major international trophy in two years?

02:38I think they're the favourites for sure. I mean, they won the World Cup.

02:41They've got multiple Ballon d'Or winners in their squads.

02:44You know, Atana Bonmati, for example, the most recent one.

02:47But yeah, I mean, they've got tons of experience in their squads.

02:51And they actually won the World Cup without half their squads

02:54because of all the problems that were going on in the women's team.

02:57But also what helps is, at club level, they all play for Barcelona.

03:01Not all of them, but most of them play for Barcelona.

03:04So they've already got that kind of chemistry,

03:06and they can work on formations in their club level

03:10to bring straight to national level. So that also helps.

03:13Yeah, they seem like an unstoppable force, don't they?

03:16Spain's main competition is once again likely to come in the form of England.

03:21The pair faced off in the 2023 World Cup Final in Australia

03:25with La Roca coming out on top.

03:28England, though, are the current holders of this trophy

03:31and will be desperate to defend their title.

03:34But are they really the same team as they were three years ago?

03:38Or will repeating that triumph prove to be an uphill task for the Lionesses?

03:43Yeah, England are always going to be a strong team in women's football.

03:48And yes, there's been change.

03:51Ellen White has retired, Jill Scott has retired.

03:53They were really huge parts of the England squad for a long time.

03:57Things have changed, but Serena Vigeman is still in charge,

04:01still a brilliant manager, as confident as ever, I would say.

04:05And a lot of the names are the same.

04:07We've still got really key names, still Lucy Bronze playing,

04:10Georgia Stanway playing, but really fresh, exciting new players.

04:14Serena Vigeman has been experimenting with the likes of Chelsea's

04:18Abbey Beaver-Jones. We've seen Ruby Mace,

04:21a really young, exciting talent, be a part of England's squad.

04:24And again, whether these people end up being part of the Euro squad, we'll see.

04:29But there's a lot of excitement.

04:32From the favourites to the tournament debutants now,

04:35Poland and Wales will each be making their first ever appearance

04:39at a Women's European Championships.

04:42It's a demonstration of what a good place Welsh football in particular

04:46finds itself, having also made their first Men's World Cup appearance

04:50in 50 years here in Qatar back in 2022.

04:55There's been a lot of investment into women's football and sort of

04:58growing the pathway from grassroots level through to the professional.

05:01We've got players like Jess Fishlock, obviously, who've been around

05:04for a long time now, some of our senior players who, you know,

05:07this could be their last ever tournament.

05:09This was the last thing they wanted to tick off.

05:11But yeah, a lot of quality. And I think, you know,

05:13that comes from the strong leadership.

05:15So Rhianne Wilkinson took charge of the side early 2024.

05:19And I think she's just been phenomenal, both on and off the pitch.

05:22You know, we are quite small and we are quite humble,

05:24but we do need to be a lot more confident.

05:27And I think she's sort of fed that through to the players as well,

05:30that we do belong in these sort of competitions.

05:33We want to be playing against the top tier sides, you know,

05:36and not to sort of shy away from these opportunities.

05:39It's set to be another exciting summer for women's football,

05:43as some of the continent's traditional heavyweights

05:45are set to come up against some new teams.

05:48Let us know who you think will win the European Championships

05:51using the hashtag FootballNowEuro2025.

05:55That's all we've got time for, though, this week.

05:58We'll see you next time. Bye for now.

06:06.

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