Women's European Championship Spain as top favorites - an overview of the teams in Group B

In Group B, there is no way around world champions Spain. Behind them, Italy has a slight advantage over Belgium and Portugal.

Keystone-SDA

26.06.2025, 05:30

26.06.2025, 06:32

SDA

Spain, Italy, Belgium, Portugal: what would be an absolute hammer group for the men is probably only the third strongest group of the tournament for the women. Everything will be overshadowed by the world champions from Spain, who should get through the group stage without any problems. Behind them it will be exciting. While Italy will be looking to build on the good old days, Belgium will be aiming to qualify for the quarter-finals for the second time in a row. Portugal are aiming to get past the group stage for the first time.

Spain: A world-class squad

It is quite astonishing that Spain is only taking part in the European Championship finals for the fifth time. Even more astonishing: the Iberians have only made it to the semi-finals once before. Since their best result at their debut in 1997, they have not made it past the quarter-finals. Three years ago, the star ensemble was defeated by the eventual European champions England. As world champions, the Spaniards are of course one of the favourites. No other nation has so much world class to offer. Led by Sydney Schertenleib's Barça team-mates Aitana Bonmati (27), Alexia Putellas (31), Irene Paredes (33) and Salma Paralluelo (21), the only thing that counts for Spain is the title. Good for those who leave record goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso at home.

Italy: Defensive stability

The Squadra Azzurra's best days were some time ago - in fact, they date back to the last millennium. In 1993 and 1997, the Italians narrowly missed out on the title after losing to Norway and Germany respectively in the final. In the new millennium, they were unable to repeat the successes of those years. They only made it through the preliminary round twice. However, the southern Europeans were convincing in the qualifiers and came out on top in a difficult group against the Netherlands and Norway. Although they only scored eight goals in six games, they also conceded the fewest goals of all the nations in League A with three. If their defense holds firm in Switzerland, advancing to the knockout phase for the first time since 2013 is a realistic prospect.

Belgium: Into the quarter-finals again?

Ranked third in the qualifying group behind Spain and Denmark, Belgium had to take a detour via the play-offs. Against Greece and Ukraine, Ives Serneels' team confidently secured their place at the European Championship finals for the third time in a row. However, this did not deter the association from unceremoniously firing the coach, who had been in office for 14 years, before the European Championships and replacing him with Elisabet Gunnarsdottir from Iceland. Whether the actionism will bear fruit and the Red Flames will make it to the knockout phase as they did last time will also depend on record goalscorer Tessa Wullaert, who almost single-handedly sent her nation to the finals with four goals in the play-offs.

Portugal: The next step thanks to continuity?

Portugal won their group in League B without any problems and qualified for the European Championship finals via the play-offs for the third time in a row. The Iberians' upswing is firmly linked to the name Francisco Neto. The Portuguese has been coaching the "Seleçao" since 2014. At their debut in 2017, they only failed to reach the quarter-finals due to a head-to-head tie with Spain and Scotland, while five years later the Portuguese, like the Swiss, lost out to Sweden and the Netherlands. Qualifying for the knockout round for the first time now seems within reach, although the absence of Kika Nazareth due to injury is painful. The attacking player, who moved from Benfica Lisbon to FC Barcelona for just under half a million francs a year ago, has been out of action since March with a torn ligament in her ankle.