Women's EURO 2022 team guides: Meet the finalists
Thursday, July 7, 2022
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Meet the 16 contenders at the July 2022 finals in England and see our in-depth team guides.
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Hosts England are joined by 15 teams in the UEFA Women's EURO 2022 finals from 6 to 31 July. We present the contenders: click through to see full team guides.
The groups
Group A: England (hosts), Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland
Group B: Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland
Group C: Netherlands (holders), Sweden, Portugal*, Switzerland
Group D: France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland
Group A
ENGLAND (HOSTS)
How they qualified: Hosts
Women's EURO best: Runners-up (1984, 2009)
Women's EURO 2017: Semi-finals
Key fact: Sarina Wiegman, who led the Netherlands to glory in 2017 and also through qualifying for this tournament, took over from Phil Neville as England coach in September.
AUSTRIA
How they qualified: Group G runners-up (best runners-up) – P8 W6 D1 L1 F22 A3
Top scorer: Nicole Billa 7
Women's EURO best: Semi-finals
Women's EURO 2017: Semi-finals
Key fact: UEFA Women's EURO 2017 was Austria's first major tournament; they lost only on penalties to Denmark in the last four.
NORWAY
How they qualified: Group C winners – P6 W6 D0 L0 F34 A1
Top scorer: Caroline Graham Hansen 10
Women's EURO best: Winners x 2 (1987, 1993)
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: Only twice since 1987 have Norway not reached at least the semis: 1997 (as co-hosts) and 2017.
NORTHERN IRELAND
How they qualified: Group C runners-up – P8 W4 D2 L2 F17 A17, play-off vs Ukraine – W4-1agg
Top scorer: Rachel Furness 4
Women's EURO best: Never previously qualified
Women's EURO 2017: Did not qualify
Key fact: Were ranked 32nd out of the 48 contenders before qualifying.
Group B
GERMANY
How they qualified: Group I winners – P8 W8 D0 L0 F46 A1
Top scorer: Klara Bühl 6
Women's EURO best: Winners x 8 (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013)
Women's EURO 2017: Quarter-finals
Key fact: Their 18-year reign as champions was ended by Denmark in the 2017 quarter-finals.
DENMARK
How they qualified: Group B winners – P10 W9 D1 L0 F48 A1
Top scorer: Nadia Nadim 9
Women's EURO best: Runners-up (2017)
Women's EURO 2017: Runners-up
Key fact: Denmark clinched qualification on 27 October with a 3-1 win in Italy, who had not lost at home in more than five years.
SPAIN
How they qualified: Group D winners – P8 W7 D1 L0 F48 A1
Top scorer: Jennifer Hermoso 10
Women's EURO best: Semi-finals
Women's EURO 2017: Quarter-finals
Key fact: Having only ever qualified for one big final tournament before 2013, the Spaniards are now in their fifth in a row.
FINLAND
How they qualified: Group E winners – P8 W7 D1 L0 F24 A2
Top scorer: Linda Sällström 9
Women's EURO best: Semi-finals
Women's EURO 2017: Did not qualify
Key fact: The 'Helmarit' (Pearl Owls) reached the semi-finals in 2005, the first appearance in a senior final tournament by any Finland team, male or female.
Group C
NETHERLANDS (HOLDERS)
How they qualified: Group A winners – P10 W10 D0 L0 F48 A3
Top scorer: Sherida Spitse 10
Women's EURO best: Winners x 1 (2017)
Women's EURO 2017: Winners
Key fact: The Dutch had never contested a major final until 2017, when they triumphed on home soil, and subsequently they were runners-up to the United States at the 2019 Women's World Cup, both under Wiegman, now replaced by Mark Parsons.
PORTUGAL
How they qualified: Group E runners-up – P8 W6 D1 L1 F10 A2, play-off vs Russia – L0-1agg*
Top scorer: Ana Capeta 3
Women's EURO best: Group stage
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: 2017 was their debut final tournament, beating Scotland in between losses to Spain and England.
SWEDEN
How they qualified: Group F winners – P8 W7 D1 L0 F40 A2
Top scorer: Anna Anvegård 5
Women's EURO best: Winners x 1 (1984)
Women's EURO 2017: Quarter-finals
Key fact: Sweden won their second straight Olympic silver in 2021; they have also appeared in a World Cup final and the final of four Women's EUROs (including their 1984 triumph).
SWITZERLAND
How they qualified: Group H runners-up – P8 W6 D1 L1 F20 A6, play-off vs Czech Republic – D2-2agg, W3-2pens
Top scorer: Ana-Maria Crnogorčević 6
Women's EURO best: Group stage
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: Won the first penalty shoot-out in a UEFA Women's EURO play-off to qualify for the second time.
Group D
FRANCE
How they qualified: Group G winners – P8 W7 D1 L0 F44 A0
Top scorer: Eugénie Le Sommer 7
Women's EURO best: Quarter-finals
Women's EURO 2017: Quarter-finals
Key fact: Since an eight-team Women's EURO was introduced in 1997, France have gone out in the last eight every time (group stage in 1997, 2001 and 2005, and then, after the tournament's expansion to first 12 then 16 teams, quarter-finals in 2009, 2013 and 2017).
ITALY
How they qualified: Group B runners-up (best runners-up) – P10 W8 D1 L1 F37 A5
Top scorer: Cristiana Girelli 8
Women's EURO best: Runners-up (1993, 1997)
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: 2017 was the first time Italy had not made the last eight of a Women's EURO, but they made amends by getting to their second FIFA Women's World Cup quarter-final in 2019.
BELGIUM
How they qualified: Group H winners – P8 W7 D1 L0 F37 A5
Top scorer: Tine De Caigny 12
Women's EURO best: Group stage
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: Tine De Caigny scored twice in the decisive 4-0 defeat of Switzerland to take her goal tally to a qualifying-leading 12.
ICELAND
How they qualified: Group F runners-up (best runners-up) – P8 W6 D1 L1 F25 A5
Top scorer: Elín Metta Jensen 6
Women's EURO best: Quarter-finals
Women's EURO 2017: Group stage
Key fact: In their fourth straight final tournament; their debut in 2009 was the first time any senior Iceland team, men's or women's, had reached a major finals.
