A European Championship to claim

In just 43 minutes, on March 28, all tickets for the final of Women’s European Championship held at the legendary Wembley Stadium, with a capacity for 90,000 viewers. This is just one very obvious fact of the enormous hopes generated by the 13th edition of the continental tournament to be hosted by England from July 6 to 31 with Europe’s best running stars and with the aim of breaking new audience record, media impact, public. in stadiums, distribution of UEFA prizes and commitment of brands and sponsors.

This will be the Euro of records, of the definite emergence of a booming women’s football, which seemed to have no ceiling. The final wasn’t the only game that ran out of tickets. The England-Northern Ireland ‘sold out’ was also posted at Saint Mary Stadium a hundred days after their dispute. The British nation turned to an event that had to be suspended last year due to the covid pandemic and that, after a long wait, hopes to become a historic event.

The time of Red

And with so many expectations, the Spanish team is cautious but with great ambition is making its way. Yes ok Jorge Vilda He doesn’t tire of lowering the euphoria of these last few days – “we’re not favorites because we haven’t won yet”, the coach reiterated – the truth is it’s impossible not to dream of lifting the title to see the great team. presented by La Roja.

Initially, Spain came into the Euros as undefeated in the qualifying phase, with scandalous numbers: they were Group D champions with seven wins, one draw and no loss and had 48 goals for and only one against. . In fact, Vilda’s team has already gone 23 games without losing, 20 of which have been resolved with success.

The numbers guarantee a block with a base formed by the mighty Barça who have been runner-up in the Champions League and the recent Ballon d’Or, Alexia Putellas, as the undisputed leader and greatest claim for fans. In all of this, players from Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid and Athletic Club represent a Spanish League that can boast of being among the best in the world, equivalent to the Premier, the Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1.

Certainly, although Spain is a solid candidate for the title, it’s not fair to hang favorite posters happily when they haven’t won any international trophies. His performances at the European Championship have been relatively calm so far: in the twelve editions held, he has participated in four, reaching the semi-finals at the European Championships in Norway and Sweden 1997, the quarterfinals at the European Championships in Sweden 2013 and the quarterfinals of Euro 2017 in the Netherlands.

“We feel illusory. There is no pressure, there is desire. We prepare for the European Championship throughout the year. We can allow ourselves to dream of lifting the title ”, he assured Patri Pebble (Barça), without any complexity. His partner Aitana Bonmati He seconded him: “I can’t say we are favorites, but our ambition is to win the European Championship”. So, while the guard is to keep your feet on the ground, no one has escaped the fact that the Euro dream is more alive than ever.

In any case, teams like Norway led by Ada Hegerberg and Caroline Graham Hansen, host England with Lucy Bronze in a state of grace, the Netherlands led by Vivianne Miedema and Lieke Martens and the mighty Germany, winners of eight titles in twelve editions. , They present themselves as rivals to defeat and to succeed the Dutch on the list of winners.

Spain is framed in Group B, arguably ‘the group of death’, with Germany, Denmark and Finland as rivals. La Roja’s debut will be on July 8 (6pm) against the Finns, followed by July 12 (9pm) against the Germans and July 16 (9pm) against the Danes.

UEFA is doubling the prizes

England dressed up to host the tournament, in ten venues spread across nine cities. The legendary Old Trafford will host the opening match on July 6 between hosts England and Austria. This will be the start of a tournament with venues in Brighton & Hove, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Sheffield, Southampton, Trafford and Wigan & Leigh. The grand final will be held at the grand Wembley as the culmination of a Euro that wants to mark the definite emergence of this sport.

UEFA is no stranger to this unstoppable growth and has moved the cards into the matter with undecided decisions. A few days ago he announced that he would double the total prize money of the European Championship, with the champion getting a total of 2,085,000 euros if he won all his matches at the group stage, and would pay the clubs for first time to release players.

Everyone is ready to see the best soccer players in Europe at the moment in action. In Spain, all matches will be seen live on Teledeporte and the rest of the world, via ESPN.

16 repetitive formats

The format is repeated for the second consecutive edition: the tournament will feature 16 teams divided into four groups of four teams, with the best two from each zone advancing to the quarterfinals. Those from zones A and B will face each other as well as those from zones C and D. In the event of a tie in the direct elimination phase, there will be extra time before going to the shootout.

Everyone is ready to see the biggest star of the moment in action. Manchester City star Ellen White’s goals in England, the return of Norwegian Ada Hegerberg who has re-emerged ready to reclaim her throne after resigning from playing for her national team in protest of pay inequality and resources to her male counterparts, The strength and power of Sara Dabritz in Germany, Pernille Harder’s tremendous talent with Denmark or Barça’s reunion with Dutch Lieke Martens are many incentives not to miss this appointment. Without counting Barça stars, with Alexia Putellas, Aitana Bonmatí, Mapi León or Patri Guijarro in the lead, who want to remove the ‘thorn’ of missing the recent Champions League by winning a title of European caliber Championship.

The Euro, ultimately, wants to highlight that women’s football is not a temporary ‘boom’ but a growing sport that is here to stay. The show was served.