Euro 2025: What to know about the Women’s European Championship

Spain’s star-packed squad is bidding to follow up on its World Cup success with a first triumph at the Women’s European Championship. Defending champion England is aiming to retain its continental crown, and Germany is hoping for a record-extending ninth title.

Euro 2025 kicks off on Wednesday of next week with the first two of 31 matches to be staged across eight cities in Switzerland.

Here’s a look at what you need to know leading up to tournament:

When does it start?

The Euros kick off on July 2 with a match between Iceland and Finland in Thun before host Switzerland plays Norway at Basel.

When is the final?

The final will be on July 27 at St. Jakob-Park in Basel.

Who is the favorite?

World Cup finalists Spain and England are widely considered the favorites. England secured its first major title since the men’s team won the 1966 World Cup when the women’s team triumphed at the last Euros, which was postponed to 2022 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Lionesses then made it all the way to the final at the 2023 World Cup but were beaten by Spain. Germany, which lost to England after extra time in the 2022 final, won six straight editions of the women’s Euros from 1995 to 2013 and has lifted the trophy in eight of the 13 finals overall. The German women’s team has also won two World Cup titles.

What is the format?

The tournament begins with four groups of four teams in a round-robin format. The top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, followed by overall goal difference and then goals scored. From the quarterfinals the tournament becomes a straight knockout competition through the semifinals and final to determine the champion.

Euro 2025 brackets

Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland

Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy

Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden

Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands

Host stadiums and capacity

St. Jakob-Park, Basel (34,250)

Stadion Wankdorf, Bern (29,800)

Stade de Genève, Geneva (26,750)

Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich (22,700)

Arena St. Gallen, St. Gallen (16,300)

Allmend Stadion Luzern, Lucerne (14,350)

Arena Thun, Thun (8,100)

Stade de Tourbillon, Sion (7,750)

Previous champions

Germany has won the women’s Euros eight times. The only other multiple winner is Norway with two.

England, Netherlands and Sweden — inaugural champions in 1984 — have one title each.

Tournament newcomers

Poland and Wales have qualified for the first time.

Record attendances and rewards

The last Euros, in England, smashed all records with more than 87,000 people attending the final at Wembley Stadium and a total of nearly 575,000 fans attending the 31 matches — more than double the previous record. As of last month, more than 550,000 tickets had been sold for Euro 2025. There will also be a record 41 million euros ($47 million) in prize money, more than doubling the 16 million euros ($18.3 million) received by national associations in 2022.

How to watch on TV

— In the U.S.: FOX Sports, ViX. TSN will show it in Canada.

— Other countries are listed here.

Who to watch

Spain and Barcelona duo Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas headline the list of star players. Bonmatí has won the last two Ballon d’Or titles, following in the footsteps of her teammate Putellas, who also won back-to-back awards for the world’s best female soccer player. Their Barcelona teammate Caroline Graham Hansen finished second in the Ballon d’Or voting last year and the Norway winger will also be among the players to watch. Euro 2022 player of the tournament Beth Mead will be back for England, and Spain teenager Vicky López will be hoping to have a Lamine Yamal-style impact.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer