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Straits Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
European Championship tests gap between elites and underdogs
ZURICH – Two years ago, before the first 32-team Women's World Cup, there was widespread anticipation of one-sided matches. The 2019 World Cup featured 24 sides and the United States recorded a 13-goal win over Thailand in the group stage. Surely, including eight weaker teams would prompt similar results? Such fears were misplaced. Granted, the Netherlands beat Vietnam by 7-0, but the gap between the elite and the outsiders had narrowed. Traditionally strong nations, including Germany, Italy and Brazil, crashed out at the group stage. Colombia, South Africa and Nigeria were impressive. Smaller nations, such as Haiti, New Zealand and Jamaica, were genuinely competitive. But what if there was another factor? What if the traditional elite are not as good as they should be? The 2025 European Championship, which began on July 2 in Switzerland, will be the latest test. Among the 16 teams that qualified for Euro 2025, there are a half-dozen realistic contenders, distributed somewhat unevenly across the four groups – none in Group A, Spain in Group B, Germany and Sweden in Group C, and England, France and the Netherlands in Group D. All but the Netherlands, ranked 11th, are in Fifa's top 10 positions in the global standings. Yet none of the six appears to have improved significantly over the past couple of years. World champions Spain are the favourites, but they are not perfect. Spain produce more technically gifted players, like Alexia Putellas, than any nation but have few ruthless goalscorers. Germany once dominated this competition, but they have undergone a major rebuild. They are without several veterans, including superstar striker Alexandra Popp. They lack proven defenders. Sweden won the first women's European Championship in 1984, a reflection of the Nordic nations' embracing the women's game before the powerhouses of men's European football. Their head start had long-lasting effects: For much of this century, Sweden had the best league in women's European football. Now that the more populous European nations are taking the women's game seriously, Sweden have slipped. England won the European Championship at home in 2022, and the domestic game has progressed significantly, but their build up to the tournament has been disrupted. The withdrawals of goalkeeper Mary Earps and defender Millie Bright, who both started every game of England's runs to major finals in 2022 and 2023, have hinted at deeper problems with team spirit. The Dutch look less fearsome these days, largely because Vivianne Miedema, once the most complete striker in Europe, has had three years of injuries. Finally, France is eternally a mystery, continually producing good players but failing to click collectively. The French have never reached the final of a Euro, World Cup or Olympics. On paper, they have few weaknesses. On the field, they often underwhelm. So what is going on? How did Europe take first, second and third place (Spain, England and Sweden) at the 2023 World Cup, and yet it feels like their best sides should be better? There are probably three major shifts happening. First, in Europe, the outstanding version of the women's game is now club football, rather than international football. When the US were the dominant force, the structure of the National Women's Soccer League ensured balance and competitiveness; players were distributed relatively evenly across the league and the national team remained the best side in the sport. European football is very different, concentrating players at a handful of clubs. With more movement of players between countries and more players being imported from outside Europe, top clubs now hoard players and perform at a higher level than international sides. As a consequence, going from the Champions League to the Euro often feels like a step down in quality. The second factor is the tactical evolution of the women's game. It is less individualistic and increasingly collective. A decade ago, it felt enough for major nations to rely on a couple of stars who would dominate. But now teams defend better as a unit and opponents need integrated movement to break them down. Teams press higher up the field, so opponents need practiced passing moves to bypass them. These concepts can only be perfected on the training ground, but at the international level, coaches do not have much time with their squads. It is a clear advantage that Spain can count on almost an entire starting line-up that plays together for Barcelona in Liga F. Finally, the rise of the underdogs cannot be separated from all this because it is clear that the world's best players now hail from a wider range of nations. In the 2014 voting for Fifa's World Player of the Year award, the top 10 female players were from seven strong women's football nations: the United States, Brazil, Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Sweden. For the equivalent vote a decade later, in December, the top 10 included Barbra Banda of Zambia, Tabitha Chawinga of Malawi and Khadija Shaw of Jamaica. The game has improved immeasurably over the past decade. The lopsided draw will create major showdowns in the group stage and allow at least one outsider to make the semi-finals. Ultimately, one of the six favourites is likely to win the Euro, but their days of expecting huge victories are over. NYTIMES
Associated Press
29-06-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Germany's new stars have a post-Popp point to prove at Euro 2025
BERLIN (AP) — Germany has unfinished business at the Women's European Championship after losing the final of the previous edition and following up with a shock group-stage exit at the 2023 Women's World Cup. Inspirational captain Alexandra Popp has left since those disappointments, leaving it up to a new generation of young stars to restore Germany's reputation as the most successful team in European women's soccer. Two-time world champion Germany has won eight of the 13 European Championship tournaments played so far, including six in a row from 1995-2013. But it hasn't won any major titles since. Germany looked poised to end that barren run when it faced England in the 2022 final, but Popp injured herself in the warmup and the team was already without Bayern Munich forward Klara Bühl because of a COVID-19 infection. England won 2-1 after extra time. The 2023 World Cup provided another opportunity. But a loss to Colombia followed by 1-1 draw with South Korea meant Popp's team failed to emerge from Group H – the first time Germany failed to reach the quarterfinals at a Women's World Cup. 'Times have changed,' Germany coach Christian Wück said. 'Everything has become closer, the other countries have become very strong, maybe even overtaken us. For us it's a big challenge and also a great honor that we can even challenge for the title at a European Championship.' Wück took over in August last year from interim coach Horst Hrubesch, who took over after the German soccer federation ended its five-year collaboration with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. She was on sick leave after the World Cup disappointment. Wück previously worked with Germany's men's youth teams, leading the Under-17s to European and World Cup titles in 2023, and he acknowledged in an interview with news agency DPA that he still sometimes calls his players 'guys' when he's shouting instructions from the touchline. 'I don't think they think much about it. They just laugh their heads off when I say, 'Hey guys, pay attention!'' Wück said. But Wück has faced public criticism from some of his players. North Carolina Courage defender Felicitas Rauch and Eintracht Frankfurt forward Nicole Anyomi complained about a lack of communication from the Germany coach before they were omitted from his Euro 2025 squad. 'If there were irritations — and there were — then they have to be cleared up,' said Wück, who added he spoke with both Rauch and Anyomi. The 16-team tournament in Switzerland comes too soon for Bayern Munich star Lena Oberdorf, who's still working her way back from a knee injury sustained almost a year ago in a win over Austria. But Germany will have plenty of pace in attack through Bühl, Lea Schüller, and Jule Brand, while Selina Cerci was the Bundesliga's joint-top scorer last season with 16 goals for Hoffenheim. Bayern defender Giulia Gwinn will captain the team, which starts its campaign Friday against Poland. Germany then faces Denmark on July 8 and Sweden on July 12 in Group C. Germany warmed up on June 3 with a 6-0 rout of Austria in Vienna, where Bühl scored one goal and set up three more. That came four days after a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and stretched the team's winning run to five games. 'I said from the start that I wanted to instill in the team the belief that they are capable of seeing it through to the end and perhaps even (winning) this title and lifting this trophy,' Wück said. 'I believe we're on the right track.' ___ AP soccer:
DW
27-06-2025
- Sport
- DW
Women's Euro 2025: Five things to know – DW – 06/27/2025
Sixteen of Europe's premier women's national teams are set to compete for continental supremacy. DW has you covered on the key facts as the tournament opens in Switzerland. Euro 2025 is being hosted by Switzerland from July 2 to July 27 and the matches will be played at eight stadiums: in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Thun and Sion. Iceland and Finland open the tournament in Thun on July 2, while hosts Switzerland kick off their campaign three hours later in Basel's St. Jakob-Park stadium – where the final is to be played on July 27. Germany open their campaign against Poland in St. Gallen on July 4. By today's standards this is a relatively small tournament, with just 16 teams, divided into four groups. Each team plays the other three in their group once, with the top two from each advancing to the quarterfinals. Should matches in the knockout stage remain drawn after 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time are played. If necessary, matches will be decided in penalty shootouts. World Cup champions Spain disappointed by finishing out of the medals at last summer's Paris Olympics, still they top this list as the continent's highest FIFA-ranked women's team (No. 2). By now they should have put the controversy over the unwanted kiss by former FA President Luis Rubiales after the 2023 World Cup final behind them. Normally one of the first teams you would name would be the defending champions, however England have had a list of absences and injuries to deal with in recent months. Key central defender Millie Bright ruled herself our, saying she was at her "mental and physical limit" while fellow Euro 2022 winners Fran Kirby and goalkeeper Mary Earps retired on the eve of the squad announcement. Bayern Munich star Georgia Stanway as well as Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood of Manchester City, each missed the bulk of the season after undergoing knee surgery but all make the squad, as does the mercurial Chelsea forward Lauren James, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Germany, finalists in 2022, are just behind Spain in the FIFA rankings but are a lesser-known quantity than they were three years ago. They've gone through a coaching change after the disappointing 2023 World Cup and captain Alexandra Popp retired. New coach Christian Wück is optimistic about his squad, which he hopes will play with a mixture of "joy, enthusiasm, will and conviction." France have established themselves as regular quarterfinalists in recent Euros, making it to the semifinals in 2022 – and the Nations League Final in 2024. They had recently fallen off a bit but climbed back into the top 10 in FIFA's latest women's rankings. Following the retirement of Alexandra Popp, Giulia Gwinn has big boots to fill as Germany's new captain, but is a proven winner with Bayern Munich. She was also a member of the that fell at the last hurdle in England three years ago. Spain boast two recent Ballon d'Or winners in midfielders Aitana Bonmati (2023, 2024) and Alexia Putellas (2021, 2022) – two good reasons for making Spain one of the favorites. Both were members of Spain's World Cup-winning side in 2023 and semifinalists at the Paris Olympics. A teammate of Putellas and Bonmati at Barcelona, Ewa Pajor is making her debut at a major tournament with her national team, as this is the first time that Poland have managed to qualify for either the World Cup or the Euros. They will need the striker to be at the top of her game if they are to come out of a group with Germany, Denmark and Sweden. One of her opponents will be Pernille Harder, a veteran of more than 160 matches for Denmark at 32, she is still going strong for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. For the defending champions, Alessia Russo has graduated from Euro 2022 supersub to England's first choice striker. The Arsenal forward was joint top scorer in the domestic Women's Super League (WSL) and won the Champions League with her club. She will be the focal point for a side who have plenty of attacking midfield threats. UEFA announced late last year that it had earmarked a total of €41 million ($47 million) in prize money for the 2025 Women's Euros, representing a 156% increase on the figure from the previous tournament in 2022. In a statement, European football's governing body said the increase in funds reflected "UEFA's on-going commitment to growing women's football across Europe." Still, the women continue to trail far behind the men in this department, with the total prize money for Euro 2024 coming in at €331 million – or about eight times what the women are playing for this summer.
