Dec 17,2024
France, England, the Netherlands and Wales have been pitted together in what will doubtlessly be dubbed the 'group of death' at the Women's Euro 2025 tournament after the draw was made in Switzerland today.
Wales, who beat the Republic of Ireland 3-2 in a play-off for a place in the finals, have been handed one the toughest possible draws, as they face defending champions England, France who finished ahead of England in qualifying and world number 11 ranked side the Netherlands.
Head coach Rhian Wilkinson is relishing the tournament and believes her side can cause some major upsets.
Wilkinson said: "We are a dangerous team. Firstly, we have this underdog mantle, of course, as a first-time participant, but also how well the team is playing and how resilient they are, there's every likelihood we'll be surprising people at the tournament.
"It wasn't like we were hoping to pull off this miracle easy draw - there was no easy draw. Obviously our group is a challenging one, but I have been smiling for ear to ear. We asked for a challenge and we definitely got it."
World Cup winners Spain were drawn in Group B with Portugal, Belgium and Italy.
Eight-times European champions Germany are in Group C with Poland, Denmark and Sweden.
Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Finland were all drawn together in Group A.
The 16-team tournament will take place in Switzerland from 2 to 27 July, with Basel hosting the final. The top two in each group qualify for the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, UEFA has confirmed a major rise in total prize money for the tournament to €41million.
A statement read: "The UEFA Executive Committee approved €41 million in prize money for UEFA Women's EURO 2025, representing a 156 per cent increase on the figure from 2022.
"Participating national associations will now also distribute a guaranteed percentage of the rewards – between 30 per cent and 40 per cent – to their players for the first time."
Euro 2025 draw
Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy
Group C: Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden
Group D: France, England, Netherlands, Wales
