Round 450,000 tickets have already been bought for the 16-team match — together with a sellout 73,200 for England’s opener in opposition to Austria at Outdated Trafford and 87,200 for the Wembley ultimate — far exceeding the earlier report of 240,000 set within the Netherlands 4 years in the past.
The hype across the match follows on from a season that noticed quite a few attendance information damaged throughout the continent.
In Spain, Barcelona set a brand new world report attendance determine for a girls’s recreation as 91,648 packed a bought out Camp Nou for the primary leg of its Champions League semifinal in opposition to Wolfsburg, breaking a report that had stood because the 1999 Ladies’s World Cup ultimate.
There have been additionally information damaged in France, the place 43,254 followers turned up on the Parc des Princes to observe Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League semifinal in opposition to Lyon, whereas England additionally noticed its membership attendance report damaged as 49,094 noticed Chelsea beat Manchester Metropolis within the FA Cup ultimate at Wembley.
Pleasure for the beginning of the Euro 2022 is palpable in Sweden, too, the place a report 33,218 turned out to observe the nationwide workforce beat Brazil in its ultimate warmup recreation.
This season has proved, past doubt, that an enormous urge for food for girls’s soccer exists throughout Europe.
For that cause, there was some consternation round UEFA’s resolution to make use of stadiums, such because the Manchester Metropolis Academy Stadium and Leigh Sports activities Village, that some gamers and followers contemplate too small for such a significant match.
Euro 2022 favorites
England
Host nation England comes into Euro 2022 with a practical likelihood of successful the primary main trophy within the nationwide workforce’s historical past.
Residence benefit in entrance of a record-breaking English crowd will little doubt play its half, however the workforce has been massively spectacular underneath head coach Sarina Wiegman since her appointment in September 2021.
England stays unbeaten underneath the Dutchwoman, who guided the Netherlands to glory on the championship 4 years in the past. Beneath Wiegman, England has scored a outstanding 84 objectives, together with a record-breaking 20-0 win over Latvia, and conceding simply three.
The Lionesses continued their spectacular buildup to the match with an attention grabbing 5-1 win over Wiegman’s former workforce, earlier than happening to beat Switzerland 4-0.
A workforce boasting the abilities of ahead Lauren Hemp, striker Ellen White and defender Lucy Bronze can compete with the easiest, however the overriding query is whether or not this group can deal with the load of expectation.
The nationwide workforce has reached the semifinals in every of the final three main tournaments, however fallen wanting reaching the ultimate each time.
This iteration of the aspect is arguably essentially the most proficient of all of them and, after the lads’s workforce reached the Euro 2020 ultimate final yr, England followers are understandably optimistic about seeing their nationwide workforce in a Wembley ultimate for the second summer season working.
Spain
Whereas the bookmakers have Spain going into the match because the slim favourite, it’s maybe extra correct to view this workforce as the favourite among the many darkish horses.
The workforce laid down a marker with a formidable 7-0 rout of barely understrength Australia in its penultimate warmup recreation forward of the match, earlier than drawing 1-1 in opposition to Italy on Friday.
Spain’s rise on the worldwide stage has coincided with Barcelona changing into a home and European powerhouse over the previous couple of seasons, and a minimum of 9 Barcelona gamers have made it into Jorge Vilda’s ultimate 23-player squad.
This workforce can generally battle to interrupt down the defenses of stronger or extra cussed groups and it will likely be hindered additional by the absence of report goalscorer Jennifer Hermoso, who suffered knee ligament harm earlier this month.
There was additionally appreciable shock amongst followers of the Spanish nationwide workforce with the omission of Actual Sociedad duo Amaiur Sarriegi and Nerea Eizagirre, who scored a mixed 33 objectives within the Primera final season, with Sarriegi additionally netting 11 objectives in 5 World Cup qualifiers.
Regardless of Spain’s deficiencies, nevertheless, there shall be few groups relishing the prospect of going through Vilda’s aspect.
Gamers to observe
Alexia Putellas
Spanish celebrity Putellas is arguably the title to observe at this summer season’s Euros.
The 28-year-old, winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or, led Barcelona to an all-conquering season in Spain because the workforce secured the home treble and narrowly missed out on successful a second consecutive Champions League title, although she did end as the highest scorer on this season’s competitors.
Each a medical goalscorer and a world-class creator, Putellas is the report look holder for the Spanish girls’s nationwide workforce and in opposition to Italy on Friday grew to become the primary lady to succeed in a century of caps.
The midfielder is one in every of a variety of technically gifted gamers this Spain workforce boasts and Putellas would be the orchestrator that enables the likes of Aitana Bonmatí and Athenea del Castillo to thrive going ahead.
Ada Hegerberg
After ending as runner-up at Euro 2013, Norway went into the match within the Netherlands 5 years in the past with excessive hopes.
Nevertheless, the workforce completed backside of its group and Hegerberg subsequently stop the nationwide workforce setup, saying her experiences with the aspect left her “mentally damaged” and annoyed with the best way girls’s soccer was regarded in Norway.
However in January 2020, Hegerberg ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament, which sidelined her for nearly two years.
When she returned in October 2021, she hit the bottom working and helped Lyon reclaim the French league title it had misplaced to Paris Saint-Germain the earlier season. She additionally notched a aim and an help within the Champions League ultimate to wrestle the crown again from Barcelona.
Some of the deadly goalscorers within the girls’s recreation — her prowess in entrance of aim epitomized by a hat-trick in her first recreation again for Norway after 5 years — Hegerberg shall be gunning to make up for misplaced time on the worldwide stage.
Vivianne Miedema
Over the previous few years, Vivianne Miedema has develop into probably the most prolific and feared strikers in world soccer.
Nonetheless solely 25, the Arsenal star boasts an eye-watering 92 objectives in 109 video games for the Netherlands and is the all-time prime scorer in a Dutch nationwide workforce shirt, girls’s or males’s.
Her exploits for Arsenal within the Ladies’s Tremendous League — she is now the highest scorer within the league’s historical past — not too long ago earned her a brand new contract that reportedly makes her the very best paid girls’s participant in England.
Miedema completed second within the Golden Boot race at Euro 2017 — scoring 4 objectives, together with two within the ultimate — because the Netherlands’ girls gained their first main worldwide trophy. It appears greater than seemingly she’s going to as soon as once more be among the many main scorers this time round.
Lauren Hemp
Few gamers in Europe will get you out of your seat like Lauren Hemp.
A difficult winger with blistering tempo, magical shut management and a mind for aim, the 21-year-old ticks maybe each field conceivable for an attacking participant.
Hemp scored 20 objectives and notched 10 assists in 36 video games for Manchester Metropolis final season on her strategy to being voted the PFA’s Younger Feminine Participant of the Yr for a report fourth time.
Such has been her kind each domestically and internationally, Hemp has moved the dialog on from her being England’s finest younger participant to being England’s finest participant full cease.
Going into this match, few gamers shall be giving opposition defenders nightmares like Hemp.
watch
In the UK, all Euro 2022 matches shall be proven throughout the BBC, the nationwide broadcaster, whereas ESPN and TUDN shall be exhibiting the match in the USA.
