July 2nd marked the beginning of the UEFA Women’s Euros in Switzerland. For the next month, 16 national teams will face off against each other in a group stage followed by a knockout round to see who will come out on top as the best in Europe.

During the group stage I’ll post about any games I caught and share updated standings for each group at the end of each of the three rounds leading up to the knockouts.

Group A

Switzerland vs. Norway (1-2)

I only caught the end of the matchup between Iceland and Finland, but the game between the host nation, Switzerland, and Norway seemed to be the more exciting of the two on the day.

Having only started following soccer in the past couple of years, I wasn’t as familiar with Norway’s national team woes. Formerly international powerhouses, Norway has fallen far from that pedestal in recent years. It feels absurd that a team composed of Barcelona’s Caroline Graham-Hansen, Arsenal’s Frida Maanum, Chelsea’s Guro Reiten, and OL Lyonnes’ Ada Hegerberg and Ingrid Engen could be so... disjointed and flat-footed. Especially against a Swiss team that has also felt lackluster in the past couple years.

However, Switzerland had that host nation flow about them in the first half. There were certainly some nerves, but the young team was able to dominate the midfield, outpace the Norwegians up and down the pitch, and keep their foot on the gas for 45 minutes. It felt inevitable that they would score and in the 28th minute Nadine Riesen did.

Unfortunately the magic didn’t last, and early in the second half the Swiss gave up a poor corner which was put into the back of the net by Hegerberg. The conceded goal definitely frazzled the young Swiss group as four minutes later they gave up an own goal in transition. Norway stepped it up from there but wasn’t able to find the net again. It worked out for them though, ending the game with a 2-1 win.

There were some exciting players on the Swiss side that I got introduced to via this game. Manchester City’s and Chelsea’s new signings of Iman Beney and Livia Peng, respectively, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nadine Riesen and Geraldine Reuteler all impressed. Norway is probably every other team in Group A’s biggest obstacle so I’ll be looking forward to seeing if Switzerland bring the same heat they did in this game and pull out a win against either Finland and/or Iceland.

Group B

Spain vs. Portugal (5-0)

Spain came into this game hungry to prove why they are one of the best in the world right now. Less than two minutes into the game Esther González scored a cheeky, backheel. Five minutes later Vicky Lopez scored as well. The Portuguese could just not get into this game with Spain passing circles around them. Captain Alexia Putellas and González notched two more before the half. Portugal almost kept Spain to a clean sheet in the second half, but alas another one snuck past them in stoppage time. It’s officially official. Spain are the ones to beat this tournament.

It should be acknowledged that in the morning before the match, it was reported that Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota and his brother André were killed in a car accident. A moment of silence was held prior to the first whistle for everyone to pay their respects. It’s already a challenge to open the tournament against the reigning World Champions, but it’s hard to imagine that this news wasn’t weighing heavily upon the minds of the Portuguese players. Hopefully they can turn things around a bit in their remaining matches.

Group C

Germany vs. Poland (2-0)

Poland, the debutants, took on Germany, eight time European Champions, in their first match on Friday. All jokes aside, despite the 2-0 scoreline, the Poles put up quite the effort keeping the game scoreless into halftime. Unfortunately, right before the break, German captain, Giulia Gwinn, had to come off the pitch due to a knee injury she sustained making what was likely a goal-saving tackle against Polish super striker, Ewa Pajor. It has since been reported that Gwinn will miss the rest of the tournament due to an MCL injury. Truly heartbreaking as Gwinn has missed other major tournaments in the past due to ACL injury.

Germany was able to break the deadlock after the break when Jule Brand hit a beautiful strike into the top corner. Lea Schüller extended the lead about ten minutes later. The Poles had a couple of dangerous looking counter attacks throughout the game but were unable to make the final product due to some great play by goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.

Germany had most of the ball and had the lion share of chances peppering the Polish backline with 25 shots and six of those being on target. Poland defended their box well with heroic effort, particularly from 19 year old Emilia Symczak.

The team to beat in this group appears to be Germany. It’ll be tough, but I hope Poland can knick a point off of Sweden or Denmark.

Group D(eath)

Wales vs. The Netherlands (0-3)

Wales, the other debutants at this year’s Euros, find themselves in the Group of Death. The vibes around the squad going into the tournament have been pretty positive. No matter the outcome, they will be making history all the same. At the helm of that is Jess Fishlock, the 38 year old veteran, who’s dream it has been to bring Wales to a major tournament. In what are likely the closing hours of her career, they have finally accomplished it.

Unfortunately, though, this first game against the Netherlands was probably the one in which they could hope to cause the most trouble. They held on for almost the entire first half, but with a flash of individual brilliance by Vivianne Miedema, she scored her 100th international career goal to put the Dutch 1-0 right before halftime. I couldn’t catch the second half of this game, but it seems like that goal at the end of the first half probably deflated the Welsh as the Netherlands were able to score two more before the final whistle.

Fun fact:

The Dutch have seemed to struggle a bit as of late, but perhaps the ability to finally play four of their best players at the same time will be the turning point they need to bring their fighting gloves and make it out of the group.

France vs. England (2-1)

The reigning European Champions, England, got outplayed in their opening game against perennial bridesmaid but never the bride, France. For the first 15 or so minutes the game was very back and forth. It was exciting to see Lauren James had made the starting XI and was getting forward, solving pressure, and creating chances. One of these chances resulted in a rebound off the woodwork that Alessia Russo picked up and put into the back of the net, however, the goal was called back for offsides. The rendering of the offsides provided by the Video Assistant Review (VAR) showed that it was basically as close as it can get.

Unfortunately, this call seemed to put England into a complete tailspin. The French midfield seemed to eat England alive and outside backs Jess Carter and Lucy Bronze could not handle Delphine Cascarino and Sandy Baltimore on the wings. Both goals came as a result of England not being able to cleanly play out of the back. Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Sandy Baltimore scored within a couple minutes of each other. Late in the second half Keira Walsh was able to pull one back but England wasn’t able to manage a draw. The winners of the 2022 Euros now pretty much find themselves going into a must-win game to get out of the group.

The start of the Euros has been fairly straightforward in many ways. There were no upsets. There were no draws. Teams at the bottom of the table are in do-or-die situations going into the next round. The things I will be keeping my eye on in the second round of the group stage will be: