UEFA Women's Euro 2022
The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international football championship organised by UEFA for the women's national teams of Europe. It was the second edition since it was expanded to 16 teams. The tournament was hosted by England, and was originally scheduled to take place from 7 July to 1 August 2021.[1] However, the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe in early 2020 resulted in subsequent postponements of the 2020 Summer Olympics and UEFA Euro 2020 to summer 2021, so the tournament was rescheduled for 6 to 31 July 2022[2][3][4] – unlike some other major tournaments which were similarly delayed, it was also re-titled. England last hosted the tournament in 2005, which had been the final tournament to feature just eight teams.[5][6]
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | England |
| Dates | 6–31 July |
| Teams | 16 |
| Venue(s) | 10 (in 8 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | England (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Germany |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Goals scored | 95 (3.06 per match) |
| Attendance | 574,865 (18,544 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Beth Mead Alexandra Popp (6 goals each) |
| Best player(s) | Beth Mead |
| Best young player | Lena Oberdorf |
← 2017 2025 → | |
Defending champions Netherlands, who won UEFA Women's Euro 2017 as hosts, were eliminated in the quarter-finals by France. Hosts England won their first UEFA Women's Championship title by beating Germany 2–1 after extra time in the final, held at Wembley Stadium in London.[7] As winners, they competed in the inaugural 2023 Women's Finalissima against Brazil, winners of the 2022 Copa América Femenina,[8] claiming the title via a penalty shootout.
The video assistant referee (VAR), as well as goal-line technology, were used in the final tournament.[9]
Host selection edit
England were the only country to submit a bid before the deadline.[10] Hungary and Austria had previously announced interest in submitting bids to host.[11]:808 England were confirmed as hosts at the UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 3 December 2018.[12][6][5] They had previously hosted the Women's Euro in 2005, described as a watershed in terms of developing the sport, with stadium and television audiences having exceeded expectations.[11]:800
A January 2022 study debated the benefits of England hosting Euro 2022 in terms of sports tourism – though mainly for the men's game, England was already a global hub for football – or for the improvements major sporting events can bring to a host, as no new stadiums or infrastructure would be required in the nation; it suggested that the hosts "intended to leverage further the development of the women's game in England and enhance the country's image as one of the main hubs of women's football."[11]:800
Qualification edit
Did not qualify
Did not enter
Suspended by UEFA after initially qualifying
A total of 48 UEFA nations entered the competition (including Cyprus which entered for the first time at senior women's level, and Kosovo which entered their first Women's Euro), and with the hosts England qualifying automatically, the other 47 teams competed in the qualifying competition to determine the remaining 15 spots in the final tournament.[13] In a change from previous qualifying competitions, the preliminary round had been abolished and all entrants started from the qualifying group stage. The qualifying competition consists of two rounds:[14]
- Qualifying group stage: The 47 teams were drawn into nine groups: two groups of six teams and seven groups of five teams. Each group was played in home-and-away round-robin format. The nine group winners and the three best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualified directly for the final tournament, while the remaining six runners-up advanced to the play-offs.
- Play-offs: The six teams were drawn into three ties to play home-and-away two-legged matches to determine the last three qualified teams.
The draw for the qualifying group stage was held on 21 February 2019 in Nyon. The qualifying group stage took place from August 2019 to December 2020, while the play-offs took place in April 2021, previously scheduled for October 2020.[14][5]
Qualified teams edit
In February 2022, the Russian team was suspended following their country's invasion of Ukraine.[15] UEFA later announced on 2 May 2022 that Russian teams were banned from every European competition, disqualifying Russia from the Women's Euro 2022. Portugal, whom Russia defeated in the play-offs, would take part instead.[16]
14 of the 16 qualified teams had also taken part in the 2017 edition. Northern Ireland was the only team to make its debut at the 2022 finals. Finland meanwhile returned after missing the previous tournament. Scotland was the only team present in 2017 that failed to qualify for these finals apart from the banned Russia.
The following teams qualified for the final tournament.
| Order | Team | Method of qualification | Date of qualification | Finals appearance | Last appearance | Previous best performance | FIFA ranking at start of draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | Hosts | 3 December 2018 | 9th | 2017 | Runners-up (1984, 2009) | 8th |
| 2 | Germany | Group I winners | 23 October 2020 | 11th | 2017 | Champions (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013) | 3rd |
| 3 | Netherlands | Group A winners | 23 October 2020 | 4th | 2017 | Champions (2017) | 4th |
| 4 | Denmark | Group B winners | 27 October 2020 | 10th | 2017 | Runners-up (2017) | 15th |
| 5 | Norway | Group C winners | 27 October 2020 | 12th | 2017 | Champions (1987, 1993) | 12th |
| 6 | Sweden | Group F winners | 27 October 2020 | 11th | 2017 | Champions (1984) | 2nd |
| 7 | France | Group G winners | 27 November 2020 | 7th | 2017 | Quarter-finals (2009, 2013, 2017) | 5th |
| 8 | Belgium | Group H winners | 1 December 2020 | 2nd | 2017 | Group stage (2017) | 19th |
| 9 | Iceland | Group F runners-up[^] | 1 December 2020 | 4th | 2017 | Quarter-finals (2013) | 16th |
| 10 | Spain | Group D winners | 18 February 2021 | 4th | 2017 | Semi-finals (1997) | 10th |
| 11 | Finland | Group E winners | 19 February 2021 | 4th | 2013 | Semi-finals (2005) | 25th |
| 12 | Austria | Group G runners-up[^] | 23 February 2021 | 2nd | 2017 | Semi-finals (2017) | 21st |
| 13 | Italy | Group B runners-up[^] | 24 February 2021 | 12th | 2017 | Runners-up (1993, 1997) | 14th |
| – | 13 April 2021 | 2017 | Group stage (1997, 2001, 2009, 2013, 2017) | 24th | |||
| 14 | Switzerland | qualifying play-offs winner | 13 April 2021 | 2nd | 2017 | Group stage (2017) | 20th |
| 15 | Northern Ireland | qualifying play-offs winner | 13 April 2021 | 1st | — | Debut | 48th |
| 16 | Portugal[!] | qualifying play-offs lucky loser | 2 May 2022 | 2nd | 2017 | Group stage (2017) | 30th |
- Notes
- ^ The best three runners-up among all nine groups qualified directly for the final tournament.
- ^ Russia originally qualified by winning their play-off 1–0 on aggregate. However, Russia were suspended by FIFA and UEFA on 28 February 2022. UEFA replaced Russia with Portugal on 2 May 2022.[17]
Final draw edit
The final draw took place in Manchester, England, on 28 October 2021 at 18:00 CEST.[18]
It was originally set on 6 November 2020, but had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] The 16 teams were drawn into four groups of four teams. The hosts were assigned to position A1 in the draw while the other teams were seeded according to their coefficient ranking following the end of the qualifying stage, calculated based on the following:[20]
- UEFA Women's Euro 2017 final tournament and qualifying competition (20%)
- 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final tournament and qualifying competition (40%)
- UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying competition (group stage only, excluding play-offs) (40%)
| Team | Coeff | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| England H | 41,443 | 3 |
| Netherlands TH | 43,961 | 1 |
| Germany | 41,924 | 2 |
| France | 40,898 | 4 |
| Team | Coeff | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 35,265 | 9 |
| Belgium | 34,951 | 10 |
| Switzerland | 33,693 | 11 |
| Austria | 33,693 | 12 |
| Team | Coeff | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Iceland | 33,458 | 13 |
| Russia[!] | 30,117 | 15 |
| Finland | 29,765 | 16 |
| Northern Ireland | 19,526 | 27 |
- H Hosts (assigned to position A1 in the draw)
- TH Title holders
- Notes
- ^ Russia were suspended by FIFA and UEFA on 28 February 2022, with Portugal being chosen by UEFA to take their place on 2 May 2022. This would not have affected the draw, since both teams would be placed in pot 4.
Venues edit
Meadow Lane in Nottingham and London Road in Peterborough were initially included on the list of stadiums when the Football Association submitted the bid to host the tournament. These were changed with the City Ground in Nottingham and St Mary's in Southampton due to UEFA requirements.[21][22] The City Ground was replaced by Leigh Sports Village when the final list of venues was confirmed in August 2019.[23] On 23 February 2020, Old Trafford in Trafford (Greater Manchester) was confirmed as the venue of the opening match featuring England,[24] with Wembley Stadium to host the final. For Euro 2022, UEFA announced 10 venues.[25][26][27]
| London (Wembley) | Manchester (Old Trafford) | Sheffield | Southampton |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wembley Stadium | Old Trafford | Bramall Lane | St Mary's Stadium |
| Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 74,879 | Capacity: 32,702 | Capacity: 32,505 |
| Brighton and Hove | |||
| Falmer Stadium | |||
| Capacity: 31,800 | |||
| Milton Keynes | |||
| Stadium MK | |||
| Capacity: 30,500 | |||
| London (Brentford) | Rotherham | Leigh | Manchester (Bradford) |
| Brentford Community Stadium | New York Stadium | Leigh Sports Village | Academy Stadium |
| Capacity: 17,250 | Capacity: 12,021 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 7,000 |
The announcement of hosting plans in 2019 drew criticism from The Guardian, which noted that the bid had emphasised the use of Wembley Stadium, while the plan was only to use it for the final.[11]:808 It and others also criticised that though the tournament would use stadiums in different parts of the country, none were in the North East.[11]:808[28] This geographical concern was also a main subject of negative reactions on social media. A 2019 study noted that women's football had developed greatly following the 2005 Euro in the North West region in which it had been held, with a 2020 study noting that the North East was a prominent location for women's football.[11]:811–812 A lack of stadiums chosen in the Midlands also saw criticism closer to the tournament.[28]
Stadium size was also criticised, with major complaints coming from Iceland's Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir; the 7,000 capacity Academy Stadium being the main focus, which would be limited to 4,700 capacity for the tournament due to UEFA restrictions preventing the use of standing capacity. The decision to include the stadium was labelled "embarrassing" and "disrespectful", and did not reflect the growth of women's football.[29] The Leigh Sports Village would also be restricted to 8,100 instead of its typical 12,000 capacity due to the same restrictions.[30]
Match officials edit
On 19 April 2022, UEFA announced the selected match officials for the tournament.[31][32] On 27 April, Belgian official Ella De Vries was added as an assistant VAR.[33][34]
Referees edit
- Ivana Martinčić
- Jana Adámková
- Rebecca Welch
- Lina Lehtovaara
- Stéphanie Frappart
- Riem Hussein
- Iuliana Demetrescu
- Marta Huerta de Aza
- Tess Olofsson
- Esther Staubli
- Kateryna Monzul
- Emikar Calderas Barrera
- Cheryl Foster
Assistant referees edit
- Sara Telek
- Mary Blanco Bolívar
- Sanja Rođak-Karšić
- Polyxeni Irodotou
- Lucie Ratajová
- Sian Massey-Ellis
- Lisa Rashid
- Karolin Kaivoja
- Élodie Coppola
- Manuela Nicolosi
- Katrin Rafalski
- Chrysoula Kourompylia
- Anita Vad
- Francesca Di Monte
- Franca Overtoom
- Paulina Baranowska
- Michelle O'Neill
- Petruța Iugulescu
- Mária Súkeníková
- Staša Špur
- Guadalupe Porras Ayuso
- Almira Spahić
- Susanne Küng
- Maryna Striletska
- Migdalia Rodríguez Chirino
VARs edit
- Ella De Vries
- Chris Kavanagh
- Benoît Millot
- Maïka Vanderstichel
- Christian Dingert
- Harm Osmers
- Maurizio Mariani
- Paolo Valeri
- Pol van Boekel
- Dennis Higler
- Bartosz Frankowski
- Tomasz Kwiatkowski
- Luís Godinho
- Tiago Martins
- Guillermo Cuadra Fernández
- José María Sánchez Martínez
Support officials edit
Squads edit
Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers. If a player was injured or ill severely enough to prevent her participation in the tournament before her team's first match, she could be replaced by another player.[14]
Group stage edit
Winner Runner-up | Semi-finals Quarter-finals | Group stage |
The provisional match schedule was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019.[35]
The final match schedule was confirmed by the UEFA on 2 May 2022.[36]
The group winners and runners-up advanced to the quarter-finals.
- Tiebreakers
In the group stage, teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss), and if tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria were applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings (Regulations Articles 18.01 and 18.02):[14]
- Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams are still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Penalty shoot-out if only two teams have the same number of points, and they met in the last round of the group and are tied after applying all criteria above (not used if more than two teams have the same number of points, or if their rankings are not relevant for qualification for the next stage);
- Lower disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);
- UEFA coefficient ranking for the final draw.
All times are local, BST (UTC+1).[37]
Group A edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | +14 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Austria | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Norway | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 3 | |
| 4 | Northern Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 |
(H) Hosts
| Norway | 4–1 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Austria | 2–0 | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | +9 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Denmark | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 3 | |
| 4 | Finland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 8 | −7 | 0 |
Group C edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 7 | |
| 3 | Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 1 | |
| 4 | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1–1 | Sweden |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Netherlands | 3–2 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| Switzerland | 1–4 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group D edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Iceland | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Italy | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
| Belgium | 1–1 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Italy | 1–1 | Iceland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Knockout stage edit
In the knockout stage, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.[14]
Bracket edit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 20 July – Brighton and Hove | ||||||||||
| England (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
| 26 July – Sheffield | ||||||||||
| Spain | 1 | |||||||||
| England | 4 | |||||||||
| 22 July – Leigh | ||||||||||
| Sweden | 0 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 1 | |||||||||
| 31 July – London (Wembley) | ||||||||||
| Belgium | 0 | |||||||||
| England (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||
| 21 July – London (Brentford) | ||||||||||
| Germany | 1 | |||||||||
| Germany | 2 | |||||||||
| 27 July – Milton Keynes | ||||||||||
| Austria | 0 | |||||||||
| Germany | 2 | |||||||||
| 23 July – Rotherham | ||||||||||
| France | 1 | |||||||||
| France (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||||||
| Netherlands | 0 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals edit
Semi-finals edit
Final edit
Statistics edit
Goalscorers edit
There were 95 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.
6 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Nicole Billa
- Katharina Naschenweng
- Katharina Schiechtl
- Janice Cayman
- Tine De Caigny
- Justine Vanhaevermaet
- Pernille Harder
- Lucy Bronze
- Lauren Hemp
- Chloe Kelly
- Linda Sällström
- Delphine Cascarino
- Kadidiatou Diani
- Marie-Antoinette Katoto
- Melvine Malard
- Griedge Mbock Bathy
- Ève Périsset
- Nicole Anyomi
- Klara Bühl
- Sophia Kleinherne
- Lena Lattwein
- Lea Schüller
- Dagný Brynjarsdóttir
- Berglind Björg Þorvaldsdóttir
- Karólína Lea Vilhjálmsdóttir
- Valentina Bergamaschi
- Martina Piemonte
- Daniëlle van de Donk
- Damaris Egurrola
- Stefanie van der Gragt
- Victoria Pelova
- Jill Roord
- Julie Nelson
- Julie Blakstad
- Caroline Graham Hansen
- Frida Maanum
- Guro Reiten
- Carole Costa
- Diana Gomes
- Diana Silva
- Jéssica Silva
- Aitana Bonmatí
- Mariona Caldentey
- Marta Cardona
- Lucía García
- Esther González
- Irene Paredes
- Jonna Andersson
- Kosovare Asllani
- Hanna Bennison
- Stina Blackstenius
- Fridolina Rolfö
- Linda Sembrant
- Ramona Bachmann
- Rahel Kiwic
- Géraldine Reuteler
- Coumba Sow
1 own goal
- Merle Frohms (against France)
- Kelsie Burrows (against England)
- Carole Costa (against Sweden)
- Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (against Netherlands)
Awards edit
UEFA Team of the Tournament
UEFA's technical observer team was given the objective of naming a team of the best eleven players from the tournament. Four players from the winning England squad were named in the team as well as five from runners-up Germany.[69]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Earps | Giulia Gwinn Leah Williamson Marina Hegering Sakina Karchaoui | Keira Walsh Lena Oberdorf Aitana Bonmatí | Beth Mead Alexandra Popp Klara Bühl |
Player of the Tournament
The Player of the Tournament award was given to Beth Mead, who was chosen by UEFA's technical observers.[71]
Young Player of the Tournament
The Young Player of the Tournament award was open to players born on or after 1 January 1999. The inaugural award was given to Lena Oberdorf, as chosen by UEFA's technical observers.[72]
Top Scorer
The top scorer award, sponsored by Grifols, was given to the top scorer in the tournament. Beth Mead won the award with six goals scored in the tournament. Though she finished level with Alexandra Popp on goals, Mead had more assists in the tournament.[73] The ranking was determined using the following criteria: 1) goals, 2) assists, 3) fewest minutes played, 4) goals in qualifying.[74]
| Rank | Player | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beth Mead | 6 | 5 | 450 | |
| Alexandra Popp | 6 | 0 | 361 | |
| Alessia Russo | 4 | 1 | 265 |
Goal of the Tournament
The Goal of the Tournament was decided by UEFA's Technical Observer panel. On 5 August 2022, UEFA announced that England forward Alessia Russo's goal against Sweden had been named the goal of the tournament.[75]
- Alessia Russo (vs Sweden)
The Technical Observer panel ranked a list of the top ten goals of the tournament, five of which were scored by England. Two goals each from Russo and Germany's Alexandra Popp were included:[70][75]
| Rank | Player | Match | Goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alessia Russo | vs Sweden | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Alexandra Popp | vs France | 2–1 |
| 3 | Daniëlle van de Donk | vs Portugal | 3–2 |
| 4 | Beth Mead | vs Norway | 5–0 |
| 5 | Aitana Bonmatí | vs Finland | 2–1 |
| 6 | Fran Kirby | vs Northern Ireland | 1–0 |
| 7 | Alessia Russo | vs Northern Ireland | 4–0 |
| 8 | Hanna Bennison | vs Switzerland | 2–1 |
| 9 | Alexandra Popp | vs France | 1–0 |
| 10 | Ella Toone ( Keira Walsh assist) | vs Germany | 1–0 |
Russo's goal against Sweden was also voted the Goal of the Tournament by fans on 5 August 2022; the top ten list was put to a fan vote, which produced a fan-voted top three. While the top goal selected by the Technical Observer panel was also voted the top goal by fans, the goals ranked tenth and ninth were voted as second and third by fans:[76]