March 6 – Defending European champions England have been drawn in the ‘group of death’ with France, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland for the qualifiers for the women’s Euro 2025.
The English will have to hit the ground running in a group that includes three semi-finalists from the last European championship as well as local rivals Ireland who impressed on debut at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
They were placed in pot two of League A after failing to clinch a spot in the Nations League knockout stages. The Lionesses however impressed in their February fixtures and will seek to maintain that form heading into the qualification campaign.
“It’s a tough draw but it is a really exciting draw,” said England manager Sarina Wiegman.
“Of course, we all went into the draw knowing that Sweden – one of the top countries – would be in pot three because of their Nations League performance in 2023 so with France, Sweden, and Ireland in our group, it will be very competitive. It’s exciting and now we just have to show up and perform. For the fans and for football it is really good because it will be so competitive.”
In Group A1, the Netherlands, European champions in 2017, will meet Italy, Norway and Finland. World champions Spain should prevail in a group with Denmark, Belgium and the Czech Republic. In Group A4, Germany encounter Austria, Iceland and Poland
The top two teams from each of the League A groups will automatically qualify for Euro 2025. The third and fourth-placed teams will then enter the play-offs, alongside teams from League B and C. The final group standings will also determine the league position of teams for the next editions of the Nations League.
Switzerland will host Euro 2025 after the country saw off a Nordic bid as well as both France and Poland. However, the country’s federal council has cut the budget for the tournament from CHF15 million (£13.34 million) to CHF4 million (£3.6 million). The council allocated CHF82 million (£71 million) for the organisation of Euro 2008.
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