The Women’s European Football Championship gets underway in less than two weeks, with a sold-out Old Trafford matchup between the hosts England and Austria. Picking Germany to win the Euros was almost a certainty. They lost to Denmark in the quarterfinals of the last competition. Worth noting that they held the title for 22 years.
Will Germany reclaim its title? Or will a different new champion emerge? It looks to be a difficult competition, with Vwin news looking at France and Sweden as the early favorites.
Stats show that Sweden and France are the undisputed favorites going into the competition, with odds of 27 and 24 percent, respectively, to win the championship. That does not imply that Sweden is automatically the best squad in the competition. The model gives France a little higher rating. Sweden has a little edge over France since they will play Italy or Iceland in the quarterfinals. At the same time, France will likely face a tough test against the Netherlands, the current European Champions.
The final will most likely be played at Wembley between France and Sweden. It is also possible for them to face off in the quarterfinals early if one of them fails to win their group.
Spain and England are the next two most probable sides to prevail, with the Netherlands not too far behind. These three sides are truly the top favorites, according to the bookies. Spain is home to many great players, including 2021 Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas. In the “group of death,” they must get past Germany and Denmark.
Furthermore, our models have little confidence in the power of their attack. England is seen as an inferior team to both Spain and the Netherlands because of recent struggles against elite opposition. However, playing at home increases their prospects, and they should profit from strong home audiences. The Netherlands finally ended the German dominance by winning the 2017 EURO Championship as the host nation. The team is in transition and has just experienced a difficult period.
After that, the field drastically shrinks, with just Germany, Italy, and Norway, who all have an outside chance of winning, and the 16-team competition starts to look like a five-team competition. Each of the five sides mentioned above should easily progress past their pools with odds above 88 percent, and the real action won’t start until the knockout stage. However, the games between Germany and Spain and the Netherlands and Sweden in the group stage should already provide some indications of some teams’ relative strength.
Winners
The Swedes lost the Olympic finals to Canada in a penalty shootout last year after ousting the USA in the semis. The team also won the Algarve Cup this year, a tournament that featured top teams like Italy, Portugal, Denmark, and Norway. Their team is one of the oldest in the competition, and it features experienced players in their prime, including Magdalena Eriksson (28), Stina Blackstenius (26), and Fridolina Rolfö. They also have veterans Caroline Seger (229 caps), Kosovare Asllani (160 caps), Hedvig Lindahl (187 caps), and Sofia Jakobsson (143 caps. Will the experience be their strength, or will their lack of a youthful prospect derail them in this competition?
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