The reigning champions, England, are set to take on Wales, France, and the Netherlands in what promises to be a challenging yet thrilling group stage for Women’s Euro 2025.
The Lionesses enter the tournament in Switzerland next summer as one of the frontrunners, following their triumph on home turf in 2022.
However, they have a challenging beginning to the competition, opening their group on 5 July against France, a team that defeated the Lionesses 2-1 in May to secure the top position in the qualifying group.
Following that, they will face another difficult match against coach Sarina Wiegman’s country of origin, the Netherlands, just four days later, before clashing with Wales, who are newcomers to the tournament, on 13 July.
Rhian Wilkinson’s squad will be participating in the finals of a major championship for the very first time after overcoming the Republic of Ireland in a playoff.
They are currently the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, sitting at 30 in the FIFA world rankings, and will face a tough battle against Group D rivals England, the Netherlands, and France, who are ranked fourth, tenth, and eleventh, respectively.
After the draw, Wiegman stated: “I believe we have a very captivating and exciting group. It’s undeniably tough.”
“You simply have to embrace it as it arrives and be prepared for 5 July. That’s my mindset.
“Every team enters a tournament with the aim of winning, and we share that goal. I have confidence in my team.”
England’s Sarina Wiegman with the trophy after the draw. Pic: Reuters
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Regarding their match against Wales, she remarked: “There will be some rivalry when we step onto the pitch. I am eager for that game.”
Spain, the highest-ranked team in the tournament, having defeated England in the previous year’s World Cup final, has been placed in Group B.
They will confront their neighbors Portugal, as well as Belgium and Italy in their pool.
Germany, who finished as runners-up to England in the last tournament, will face Poland, Denmark, and Sweden in Group C, while the host nation Switzerland will compete against Norway, Iceland, and Finland in Group A.
The 16-team tournament is scheduled to take place across eight venues in Switzerland from 2-27 July, with the final match set to occur in Basel.
UEFA will release the complete schedule, including kick-off timings, subsequent to the draw.
In the meantime, UEFA has confirmed a substantial increase in the overall prize money for the tournament, totaling €41m (£34m).
A statement read: “The UEFA Executive Committee has endorsed a prize pool of €41m for UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, which marks a 156 percent rise compared to the 2022 figure.
“National associations participating will now guarantee to allocate a percentage of the earnings—between 30 percent and 40 percent—to their players for the very first time.”
