The group stage of the Women’s European Championship currently being held in Switzerland came to an end yesterday evening. There were no surprises. The strongest teams, at least on paper, went through. Only the Netherlands, which was in the same group as England and France, was eliminated early. But it was a tough group and it couldn’t have been any other way. One team had to go.
That said, looking at the table, it’s clear that there are some clear favorites to reach the final. One thing is certain: Italy, which already faced Spain in its group, will only be able to face them again in the final. Obviously, we are getting ahead of ourselves, but before going into detail about the possible final match of the tournament scheduled for July 29, we can already tell you that on Wednesday evening, Soncin’s Azzurre could achieve a historic milestone, namely the semifinals. The odds for victory are very high and should be taken into consideration.
Women’s European Championship: the final is set
Moving on to the lower half of the table, where the Azzurre are not present but the reigning world champions Spain are, it is clear that there is a clear path to the final. Spain is too strong and, in some situations, to borrow the words of Inter midfielder Mkhytarian, unplayable. So the final is a certainty for them, or almost, with no chance—or very little, but really very little—that it won’t happen.
And on the Italian side of the draw? Slightly more complicated, but not by much. On this side, there is England, the reigning European champion, which will certainly have the most difficult task against Sweden in the quarterfinals (the Swedes finished first in their group after beating Germany) and then face either Italy or Norway. So, as in the previous edition, a match between Spain and England is shaping up as the final act.