2025 Women's Euros odds: Spain favoured ahead of defending champs England

New York Times

3 days ago

The 14th edition of the European Women's Championship will begin on Wednesday in Switzerland, which becomes the sixth nation to host both the men's and women's Euros. Spain are the team to beat as holders of both the Nations League and World Cup. Now it remains to be seen whether they can complete the set.
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The Spaniards are the favourites (7/4 on Betfair) to triumph in Switzerland and win a tournament secured by their male counterparts last summer. In a sense, this is the final frontier for Montse Tome's side given Spain have traditionally underperformed in this particular tournament. They haven't made it past the quarter-finals of any of the last three Euros but surely the expectations this time are different.
Spain waltzed through qualification with no team in League A picking up more points or scoring more goals. Thirty-five-year-old Jenni Hermoso has been left out of the squad despite being the nation's record goalscorer. They have talent all over the pitch, though, and a plethora of treble winners with Barcelona suggest this could be the moment this team joins the ranks of the immortals.
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, England are second favourites (47/10) to go all the way. They won this tournament when they hosted it three years ago and narrowly lost the World Cup final when they faced Spain the following year. They'll try to do better than England's men and actually win a tournament on foreign soil.
England's coach, Sarina Wiegman, is the undisputed master of the Euros. She has won the tournament in charge of the Netherlands and England, winning an astonishing 12 out of 12 matches along the way. There are no sure things in sport but Wiegman in the European Championship is about as close to one as you can get. Once again, however, Spain stand in the way.
Most outside observers believe that one of England or Spain will triumph over the coming weeks.
Germany's women feel somewhat like Brazil's men in that they have a long and storied history that hasn't quite been emulated in more recent times. They are, in fact, the most successful nation in the history of this competition, having won it a staggering eight times. Like their male counterparts in 1966, they lost the last final after extra time at Wembley against the hosts. Germany have appeared in 9 out of the 13 Euros finals but find themselves, uncharacteristically, not necessarily expected to go the distance on this occasion.
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The big blow for Germany (5/1) is the absence of Alexandra Popp. The attacking great retired in October of last year with a record of 67 goals in 145 international appearances, thus making her the third top scorer in the nation's history. Popp notched six goals in five appearances at the last Euros before an injury forced her to miss that Wembley final. Only time will tell how the country will fare without her goals at a major tournament.
France (6/1) are deemed the fourth most likely team to succeed according to the bookmakers, although a lot has changed with the ousting of Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer, two of the country's longest-serving players.
French supporters hope this changing of the guard will help the team buck the trend of history, which has seen them play in more major tournaments (12) without reaching a final than any other nation. Will number 13 prove lucky for them? The French open against the defending champs on Saturday.
Sweden (14/1) are dark horses. They won the inaugural Euros in 1984, their only major competition win to date. Like England, the Swedes have reached the semi-finals of the last four major tournaments, an enviable record, to say the least.
Kosovare Asllani figures to be crucial for Sweden, not least in terms of experience. She has made 18 appearances at the Euros, more than any other current player, and all of those have been as a starter.
The Netherlands (22/1) do not have particularly short odds to win the 16-team tournament despite winning it in 2017. The Dutch are on a decent run of form that has seen them win 19 of their last 26 matches at major tournaments, a record only bettered by holders England.
The most significant weapon in the arsenal of the Netherlands, Vivianne Miedema, has more goals in the WSL than any other player in history. With an astonishing 99 goals for her country, Miedema is closing in on becoming the first Dutch player, man or woman, to reach a century of international goals. It's hard to bet against her reaching that milestone in Switzerland, especially if the nation continues its record of going deep in tournaments. In a group containing England and France, though, an extended run is far from a given.
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(Photo of Alexia Putellas: Alex Bierens de Haan / Getty Images)