The the Dutch Lionesses know their opponents for the group stage of the European Championship of 2022 in England. The Dutch women were linked to Sweden, Switzerland and Russia during the draw on Thursday evening. Sweden is number two in the world ranking and took silver behind Japan at the Olympics.
The the Dutch squad won the European Championship in 2017 and is therefore the defending champion. The Lionesses, who are fourth in the world ranking, were placed in pot 1, together with host country England and group heads Germany and France. With Sweden, a strong opponent emerged from pot 2 for the Dutch ladies on paper. The Scandinavians are second in the world ranking behind the United States.
The European Championship for women was supposed to be held this year, but was postponed to the summer of 2022, because the European Championship for men was played last summer due to the corona pandemic. The matches are in Brighton, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Rotherham, Sheffield, Southampton, Wigan and London. The opening game will be played at Old Trafford (Manchester) on Wednesday, July 6, with the final at Wembley (London) on July 31.
The full draw:
Group A:
England
Norway
Austria
Northern Ireland
Group B:
Germany
Spain
Denmark
Finland
Group C:
The Netherlands
Sweden
Switzerland
Russia
Group D:
France
Italy
Belgium
Iceland