Euro 2022 group draw pitches England with Norway, Dutch face Sweden

October 29 – Hosts England will meet Norway, Austria and Northern Ireland in the group stage of the Women’s Euro 2022 tournament, while holders the Netherlands were paired with Olympic silver medallists Sweden following Thursday’s draw.

The tournament, originally scheduled for 2021, was pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will run from July 6-31.

Sarina Wiegman’s England side will play Austria in Group A in the opening game at Old Trafford followed by Norway on July 11 and debutants Northern Ireland four days later.

Wiegman has already lifted the trophy – with her native Netherlands in 2017 – before leading them to the World Cup final in 2019, losing to the United States.

England were Euro runners up in 2009 and reached the semi-finals in 2017. Now they will be hoping to go one better with home advantage.  “We just want to connect with the fans and let them help us create a great performance,” said Wiegman.

Eight-times winners Germany face Denmark, Spain and Finland in Group B, while Netherlands and Sweden will be joined by Russia and Switzerland in Group C.

Group D is made up of France, Italy, Belgium and Iceland.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarterfinals.

More than 160,000 tickets have already been sold for what Uefa hopes will be the highest-attended female sports event in European history.

Full Draw:

Group A: England, Austria, Norway, Northern Ireland

Group B: Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland

Group C: Netherlands, Sweden, Russia, Switzerland

Group D: France, Italy, Belgium, Iceland

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