The Swiss women’s footballers know their opponents at next summer’s home European Championships. The draw in Lausanne has given the team an easy group with Nordic opponents.
The Swiss opponents
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Norway (16th in the world rankings)
Switzerland will kick off their campaign on July 2 against Norway in the opening match at St. Jakob-Park in Basel. The 1987 and 1993 European champions are no longer as irresistible as in previous years, but are likely to be the strongest opponents in Switzerland’s Group A. With Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen, the Norwegians have two star strikers in their ranks. The two teams will meet twice in the Nations League before the European Championship clash.
Iceland (14th)
Iceland, who will be Switzerland’s second European Championship opponents on July 6, will also face Switzerland in the Nations League in February and April. The Icelanders are making their fifth consecutive appearance at a European Championship and have beaten Germany, among others, in qualifying.
Finland (26th)
Finland are one of three European Championship participants ranked behind Switzerland (23rd) in the FIFA rankings. The Finns managed to qualify in the play-offs by beating Scotland.
The fairies of fortune, consisting of eight legendary footballers, including Xherdan Shaqiri and Lara Dickenmann, meant well for the hosts. The preliminary round group could have been more difficult for the Swiss, who were drawn from pot 1, with defending champions England, Sweden and Portugal.
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The voices
Lia Wälti
“It’s an exciting group that is balanced and where any team can beat anyone. I don’t think there’s much of a gap between the teams. The opening game against Norway will certainly be difficult, as they are full of top players. I hope that the fans will give us a lot of support there.”
Géraldine Reuteler
“It’s a cool and very Scandinavian group. With Norway and Iceland, we have two opponents from the Nations League. That means we can prepare well for them.”
Marion Daube (SFA Director of Women’s Football)
“It will be a very Nordic affair. We’re playing two teams we’ve already played in the Nations League (Norway and Iceland). That’s a bit special, whether good or bad remains to be seen. We’re happy with the draw and now we’ll see how far we get.”
The other European Championship groups
There are one or two top duels in the other groups. World champions Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium face each other in Group B. In Group C, record European champions Germany face Sweden, Denmark and Poland. It will be particularly difficult for England, who were European champions on home soil in 2022. They will face Wales, France and the Netherlands. The Dutch won the European Championship in 2017 under current England coach Sarina Wiegman – also on home soil, which should bode well for Switzerland.
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The mode
The top two in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, which will take place from July 16 to 19. The final will take place on July 27 in Basel, which has the largest of the eight European Championship stadiums, the St. Jakob-Park. In terms of size, the other arenas are in Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Sion and Thun.
The home European Championships
The home European Championships, which will be held in Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Sion and Thun, should give women’s football in Switzerland a huge boost. 700,000 tickets are available for fans. The anticipation of the second European Football Championship in Switzerland after the men’s tournament in 2008 was palpable at the draw ceremony, which was hosted by Annette Fetscherin and former striker Ian Wright. It will be less than 200 days before the European Championship ball named “Konektis”, which was presented on Monday, rolls for the first time.
The prize money
UEFA is handing out 41 million euros in prize money at the 2025 European Women’s Championship in Switzerland. This is more than twice as much as at the last European Championship in England in 2022, the organizer announced.
The 16 European Championship participants will each receive a starting fee of 1.8 million euros. The European champion can earn up to 5.1 million euros.
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Group D
The final draw is Wales. They are in a tough group with France, England and the Netherlands.
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Group B
Portugal join Spain, Italy and Belgium.
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Group A
Finland is the fourth team in Group A and thus Switzerland’s third opponent in the group.
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Group D
Group D with France, England and the Netherlands will also be a tough group.
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Group C
Germany, Denmark and Sweden. This will be a great group.
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Group B
Belgium joins Spain and Italy.
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Group A
It remains Nordic in the Swiss group: Norway joins Iceland in Group A. It will also be the opening match on July 2 at St. Jakobs-Park.
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Group D
England joins France in Group D.
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Group C
Germany will face Denmark.
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Group B
Italy join Spain in Group B.
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Group A
Switzerland take on Iceland. That’s a doable draw. It could also have been England or Italy from pot 2.
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Group D
France is the team from pot 1 that goes into group D.
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Group C
Germany are top of Group C.
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Group B
Spain is drawn as the head of Group B. They would therefore be possible quarter-final opponents for Switzerland, who as hosts are firmly seeded in Group A.
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It’s actually starting!
The balls are drawn. Now it’s getting exciting.
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One more moment
Of course, as usual, there is a lot of celebration before the draw. The cities where the matches are taking place are presented, the participating teams are honored and the mascot also makes an appearance. But now the draw should really get underway.
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The draw begins
SRF journalist Annette Fetscherin and England legend Ian Wright will be on stage in Lausanne to conduct the draw. The tickets should be drawn in a few moments.
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The national team’s big European Championship casting
Pia Sundhage has been head of the women’s national team since the beginning of the year. One of the best-known coaches in the world is to get the Swiss women ready for the home European Championships. Over 30 players were given the chance to show themselves. blue Sport analyzes the big casting show.
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The European Championship mode
The top two in each group qualify for the quarter-finals, which take place from July 16 to 19. The final will take place on July 27 in Basel, which has the largest of the eight European Championship stadiums, the St. Jakob-Park. In terms of size, the other arenas are in Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Sion and Thun.
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The draw pots for the group stage of the Women’s European Championship
Pot 1: Switzerland, Spain, Germany, France
Pot 2: Italy, Iceland, Denmark, England
Pot 3: Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Belgium
Pot 4: Finland, Poland, Portugal, Wales
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The Nati in the top position of Group A
The Swiss women will open the tournament on July 2 at St. Jakob-Park. They are therefore at the top of Group A for the draw.
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Hello …
… and welcome to the group draw for Euro 2025 in Switzerland. We are looking forward to Lausanne. Who will the Swiss women face at their home European Championships? It all kicks off at 6 pm.