What: European Championship in football, women.
When: 2–27 July.
Where: Switzerland. The matches are played in eight cities: Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St. Gallen, Lucerne, Thun and Sion. The opening match Finland–Iceland is played at Stockhorn Arena in Thun. The final is decided at St. Jakob Park in Basel.
TV/radio: SVT and Viaplay share the TV broadcasts. Sweden's European Championship premiere against Denmark is broadcast on SVT. For radio listeners, it's P4 Radiosporten that applies.
Reigning champion: England, defeated Germany in the final with 2–1 after extra time.
How it went for Sweden: Out in the semi-final against England (0–4).
Most European Championship titles: Germany (8).
Sweden's opponents: Sweden (6th in the world rankings) plays in group C together with Germany (3), Denmark (12) and Poland (27). Only the first and second places advance to the quarter-finals.
Sweden's matches:
4 July (18.00): Denmark-Sweden, Geneva.
8 July (21.00): Poland-Sweden, Lucerne.
12 July (21.00): Sweden-Germany, Zurich.
Other groups:
Group A: Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Finland.
Group B: Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy.
Group D: France, England, Wales, Netherlands.
Blue and yellow gold chances: World third Germany is seen as a narrow favourite for the group victory, so for "Blue and Yellow" the premiere against Denmark becomes a likely key match. Given the spring's international matches, where Sweden has defeated Denmark twice (2–1 and 6–1), it is nonetheless clear where the favourite position lies. Poland is tipped by most to become the bottom team. In a possible quarter-final, however, it will be tough for Sweden, where England, France or Netherlands are waiting.
Gerhardsson's last dance: The European Championship will be national team coach Peter Gerhardsson's and assistant Magnus Wikman's fifth and last championship with the women's national team. Under their leadership, Sweden has taken Olympic silver in Japan 2021 and World Championship bronze in both 2019 and 2023. After the European Championship, Gerhardsson is replaced by Tony Gustavsson.
Gold favourites: Four countries stand out in advance: reigning European champion England, most champion Germany, reigning world champion Spain and France, which came second in the Nations League last year. They are challenged closest by countries like Sweden, Netherlands and the upstart Italy.
Others to keep an eye on: The host nation is of course hoping for a Swiss surprise, and it is in any case not many who have more championship experience than Pia Sundhage. Can the Swedish national team coach lift Switzerland to new heights?
Public festival: The goal is to break the record from the European Championship in England 2022, when a total of 574,865 people watched the matches on site. To get there, the organizers have invested in getting the ticket prices down (they start at around 300 kronor) and they also offer free transport throughout Switzerland for all European Championship fans. In March, they had sold more than half a million tickets. What may speak against a public festival is the high price picture in the country.
Technical innovation: The same technique used in the men's European Championship 2024 is also used here. In addition to the video review system VAR, which has been on the women's side before, it will be the premiere in a women's European Championship for two AI-based techniques: a semi-automated system for offside and a ball equipped with a chip that sends data in real-time.
Name of the mascot: The official World Championship mascot, the St. Bernard puppy Maddli, has got a name inspired by Switzerland's first licensed women's football player: Madeleine Boll.
