Ever since the formation of the Women\s Super League in England back in 2010, women’s football has started to grow inexorably in popularity across the UK and also oin many other countries around the world.
So much so that after the Women’s FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, the Women’s European Championship is arguably the third biggest trophy a player can win on an international stage.
This week, after a year’s delay due to Covid-19, the renamed Women’s Euro 2022 tournament gets underway in Manchester with host nation England taking on Austria in front of what could be a new record crowd for the tournament at Old Trafford.
Bet365 Sport is already offering plenty of betting on the tournament outright, as well as all the first round of group games in each of the four groups, plus of course when we get nearer to kick off, there will be plenty of betting available pre-match and In Play to enjoy too.
Let’s first explore a little of the history of this tournament, which was played first as far back as 1969, although the first two tournaments were not officially UEFA sanctioned and thus do not appear on the official lists.
Women’s European Championship History
The very first tournament was arranged by the Italian Football Federation in 1969 and featured just four teams and in the end, it was Italy that ran out winners on home soil beating Denmark in the final.
The tournament wasn’t viewed as a great success and it was a further ten years before the second tournament took place. This time it was held in Denmark and again attracted a small number of teams and this time it was the Danes that won the competition, beating Italy in the final.
By 1982, UEFA had now started to take women’s football more seriously and they devised the first UEFA Women’s European Championships (although it has operated under many different names and in many different formats over time).
The first UEFA Finals would be held in 1984, with a qualification competition to be held in the two years beforehand for teams to qualify for the finals. The first finals was contested in the countries that qualified for the event and was the only tournament not to be hosted.
A full list of the winners and runners up, plus the hosts for every tournament since are listed below.
Women’s European Championship Finals & Hosts
- 1984 – Winners – Sweden, Runners Up – England, (No Hosts)
- 1987 – Winners – Norway, Runners Up – Sweden (Hosts – Norway)
- 1989 – Winners – West Germany, Runners Up – Norway (Hosts – West Germany)
- 1991 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Norway (Hosts – Denmark)
- 1993 – Winners – Norway, Runners Up – Italy (Hosts – Italy)
- 1995 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Sweden (Hosts England, Germany, Norway, Sweden)
- 1997 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Italy (Hosts – Norway, Sweden)
- 2001 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Sweden (Hosts – Germany)
- 2005 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Norway (Hosts – England)
- 2009 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – England (Hosts – Finland)
- 2013 – Winners – Germany, Runners Up – Norway (Hosts – Sweden)
- 2017 – Winners – Netherlands, Runners Up – Denmark (Hosts – Netherlands)
Records – Winners
- Germany – 8 Wins (one as West Germany)
- Norway – 2 Wins
- Sweden, Netherlands – 1 Win
As you can see, Germany are by far the most successful team in the tournament’s history winning eight finals, including a run of six victories that was only ended when the Netherlands won on home soil back in 2017.
Excluding Denmark and Italy’s pre-UEFA tournament wins, it means that countries such as Spain, England, France and Portugal have not managed to lift this trophy.
Host or Co-Host teams have done well in the event, winning six and reaching the final in another tournament and that does not include the two unofficial tournament host team wins in 1969 and 1979.
Women’s European Championships Tournament Records
- Most Goals In A Single Tournament – Inke Grings (Germany) 6 (2013)
- All Time Top Goalscorers – Inka Grings & Birgit Prinz (Germany) – 10 goals
- Most Games Played In The Tournament – Germany – 48
- Most Wins In The Tournament – Germany – 37
- Most Goals Scored In The Tournament – Germany – 109
- Highest Attendance – 41,301 – Germany v Norway (2013 Final)
Estimates suggest that there is a very good chance the Highest Attendance record will be beaten at this tournament, perhaps in the opening game between England and Austria at Old Trafford, and very likely in the final at Wembley on the 31st July, which is believed to be sold out.
Euro 2022 – Groups And Match Schedule
Group A
- Austria
- England
- Northern Ireland
- Norway
Group A Matches
- Wed 6th July – 8pm – England v Austria (Old Trafford)
- Thu 7th July – 8pm – Norway v Northern Ireland (St Mary’s)
- Mon 11th July – 5pm – Austria v Northern Ireland (St Mary’s)
- Mon 11th July – 8pm – England v Norway (Brighton & Hove Community Stadium)
- Fri 15th July – 8pm – Northern Ireland v England (St Mary’s),
- Fri 15th July – 8pm – Austria v Norway (Brighton & Hove Community Stadium)
England and Norway should make it through this group relatively comfortably as they are the two dominant teams over Austria and Northern Ireland, who will likely be battling it out for third spot in the group.
England’s game with Norway in Brighton will likely decide which teams tops this group.
Group B
- Denmark
- Finland
- Germany
- Spain
Group B Matches
- Fri 8th July – 5pm – Spain v Finland (Stadium MK)
- Fri 8th July – 8pm – Germany v Denmark (London Community Stadium)
- Tue 12th July – 5pm – Denmark v Finland (Stadium MK)
- Tue 12th July – 8pm – Germany v Spain (London Community Stadium)
- Sat 16th July – 8pm – Finland v Germany (Stadium MK),
- Sat 16th July – 8pm – Denmark v Spain (London Community Stadium)
On paper Group B is the toughest of all four groups with Spain, Germany and Denmark all having very strong claims to qualify in the top two of the group and even go on to progress further into the tournament.
Finland will struggle a bit with this level of competition but it is going to be the three games between the three top nations that decides who qualifies from the group and it is so close to call.
Group C
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Sweden
- Switzerland
Group C Matches
- Sat 9th July – 5pm – Portugal v Switzerland (Leigh Sports Village)
- Sat 9th July – 8pm – Netherlands v Sweden (Bramhall Lane)
- Wed 13th July – 5pm – Sweden v Switzerland (Bramhall Lane)
- Wed 13th July – 8pm – Netherlands v Portugal (Leigh Sports Village)
- Sun 17th July – 5pm – Switzerland v Netherlands (Bramhall Lane),
- Sun 17th July – 5pm – Sweden v Portugal (Leigh Sports Village)
Group C is divided neatly into two teams that should easily qualify from this group, Netherlands and Sweden, and the other two will likely be battling it out for third spot, with the Swiss likely to get the better of Portugal in that race.
The Portuguese are a late replacement in the competition for Russia who had originally qualified but who were then banned from the tournament due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Group D
- Belgium
- France
- Iceland
- Italy
Group D Matches
- Sun 10th July – 5pm – Belgium v Iceland (Man City Academy Stadium)
- Sun 10th July – 8pm – France v Italy (New York Stadium)
- Thu 14th July – 5pm – Italy v Iceland (Manchester City Academy Stadium)
- Thu 14th July – 8pm – France v Belgium (New York Stadium)
- Mon 18th July – 8pm – Iceland v France (New York Stadium),
- Mon 18th July – 8pm – Italy v Belgium (Man City Academy Stadium)
Group D should be a relatively comfortable one for France to qualify from as they are the class team in this group and I would expect them to qualify with a 100% winning record here.
Italy and Belgium will likely contest second spot in the group, with the Italians favourites, but don’t rule out Iceland who are developing a very good women’s team, in keeping with their Scandinavian cousins, and who could well spring a surprise in the group.
Knockout Phase
The quarterfinals will be contested between the winner of one group and the runner up of another and are scheduled as follows:
Quarter Finals (8pm Kick Offs)
- QF 1 Wed 20th July – Winner of Group A v Runner Up Group B – Brighton & Hove Community Stadium
- QF 2 Thu 21st July – Winner of Group B v Runner Up Group A (London Community Stadium)
- QF 3 Fri 22nd July – Winner Group C v Runner Up Group D (Leigh Sports Village)
- QF 4 Fri 22nd July – Winner Group D v Runner Up Group C (New York Stadium)
There then follows on two semi-finals where the winner of QF1 will play the winner of QF3 and the winners of QF’s 2 and 4 will play each other. The winners then going on to contest the final at Wembley.
All knockout phase games will use extra time and then penalties to decide a winner, if required.
Who Reaches The Final?
Here’s how we see each group panning out:
- Group A – Winner – England, Runner Up – Norway
- Group B – Winner – Germany, Runner Up – Spain
- Group C – Winner – Sweden, Runner Up – Netherlands
- Group D – Winner – France, Runner Up – Italy
This would give us the following quarterfinals
- England v Spain
- Germany v Norway
- Sweden v Italy
- France v Netherlands
From those games, I predict the following teams would reach the semi finals
- England v Sweden
- Germany v France
Which means my prediction for the final would be England v France with England (9/2 with bet365) going on to lift the trophy.
Tags: bet365 Sport Women's Euro 2022
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