Latest news with #SanneTroelsgaard
The 42
01-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Ranking the 8 teams most likely to win the Euros
8. Italy Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Italian women's team don't have quite the same rich footballing tradition as their male counterparts. They have not gone further than the quarter-finals at the World Cup and have never won the Euros. The closest Italy came in the latter competition was a runners-up spot in 1993 and 1997. They have not fared so well recently, with group stage exits at the last two tournaments. The Azzurri would do well to surpass that achievement this time around, with a tricky-looking group that also features Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Their status as 13th in the Fifa rankings suggests they are one of the best sides in the competition, and they got on relatively well in qualifying, losing only once and topping a League A group that also featured Netherlands, Norway and Finland, all of whom have ultimately qualified for this tournament. 7. Denmark Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Another side who have never tested glory, with their best performance coming in 2017, when they reached the final. The Danes are not expected to repeat that performance in 2025, but their squad still boasts some quality players. Bayern Munich attacker Pernille Harder was a Ballon d'Or runner-up in 2018 and has 78 goals from 162 international appearances, while Roma's Sanne Troelsgaard is closing in on 200 caps for her country. 6. Netherlands Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The champions at the 2017 tournament, since then, the Netherlands have not been able to eclipse that achievement, though they came close in 2019, reaching the World Cup final. There is a sense that the team have been in slight decline thereafter, with disappointing quarter-final exits at the 2022 Euros and 2023 World Cup, although the latter defeat was a narrow extra-time loss to eventual champions Spain. That explains why they are not among the strong favourites to triumph, as well as a qualifying campaign that saw them finish second in their group behind Italy. Their squad has plenty of experience, with Lineth Beerensteyn, Vivianne Miedema, Jackie Groenen, Daniëlle van de Donk, Sherida Spitse, Jill Roord and Dominique Janssen all having won over 100 caps. But whether they have enough quality to overcome the main contenders looks doubtful. 5. Sweden Advertisement Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The champions back in 1984, Sweden, are among the best of the dark horses. Their qualifying passage was not exactly straightforward. They finished third, albeit in a very difficult group alongside France, England and Ireland. Their playoff pathway was considerably less taxing, picking up 12-0 and 8-0 aggregate wins over Luxembourg and Serbia. The Swedes also have several top players with vast international experience, including Linda Sembrant, Magdalena Eriksson, Jonna Andersson, Kosovare Asllani, Sofia Jakobsson, Fridolina Rolfö, Amanda Ilestedt, Stina Blackstenius and Lina Hurtig. The latter trio were all part of Arsenal's matchday squad for their recent Champions League final 1-0 triumph against Barcelona, with Blackstenius scoring the winning goal. 4. Germany Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo No team has a more impressive Euros history than Germany. They have won the competition eight times, and only two sides (Italy and Norway) have made more appearances in the competition. Norway are the only other team to have been champions on multiple occasions (twice, in 1987 and 1993). However, the Germans are not the dominant force of old. Although they made it to the final in 2022, before losing after extra-time against England, they flopped at the last World Cup, failing to emerge from a group that included Colombia, Morocco and South Korea. It won't be easy to surpass that feat this time, as they have been paired with Poland, Denmark and Sweden. Yet the two-time world champions came through qualifying with relative ease, winning five out of six games and topping their group ahead of Iceland, Austria and Poland. Managed by Christian Wück since last year, they also have a couple of players who are considered among the absolute elite of the game. Bayern Munich pair Giulia Gwinn and Lea Schüller, as well as Chelsea's Sjoeke Nüsken, all made the top 30 in the voting for the 2024 Ballon d'Or Féminin. 3. France Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Despite losing to Ireland at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, France marginally topped a very difficult qualifying group ahead of England, Sweden and the then-Eileen Gleeson-managed team. Getting out of their group at the Euros proper won't be easy either, as they have been drawn again with England, along with the Netherlands and Ireland's playoff conquerors, Wales. Any team that can escape that group has to be considered among the favourites, and France are well placed to lay claim to that status. In striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto and midfielder Grace Geyoro, both of whom represent PSG, they boast unquestionably two of the world's best players. Yet their record in the competition is less than spectacular. In eight appearances, their best performance was reaching the semi-finals in 2022, when they were knocked out by Germany. Managed by Laurent Bonadei (a former assistant coach of the Saudi Arabia national team under Hervé Renard), they have also exited at the quarter-finals in the last three successive World Cups, and their current Fifa ranking of 10th indicates they may again have to settle for a knockout stages exit, though a victory away to England in qualifying illustrates they are capable of competing with the very best on their day. 2. England Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The holders and fancied by many pundits to retain their trophy. The fact that English football has the reigning European champions in club football, Arsenal, bodes well for the national team's hopes, and the Gunners only finishing second in the Women's Super League, 12 points adrift of Chelsea, is a testament to the rude health of the country's domestic competition. Manager Sarina Wiegman is one of the most acclaimed coaches in the world. They also boast top-class talent such as Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo, who was recently nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and could be a Ballon d'Or contender, particularly if England emerge as winners, after already helping inspire Arsenal's Champions League success. The Three Lions weren't entirely convincing in qualifying, dropping points in three of their six games, but they should get out of a group featuring France, Netherlands and Wales, and they will at least hope to continue their impressive recent record — they have made the final of the last two major tournaments and are aiming for a sixth successive semi-final appearance. 1. Spain Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The reigning world champions are the team to beat, and on paper at least, most people would agree they have the most talented squad of all the sides at the tournament. Qualifying was a relative breeze as they topped their group and won five out of six matches. Five of their players occupied the top 11 spots of the 2024 Ballon d'Or voting, including Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí, who claimed the top prize. Still, they are far from a sure thing. They have never won the Euros before or even made the final — their most impressive performance saw the team reach the semi-finals nearly 30 years ago, in 1997. La Roja have also been beset by off-field problems in recent times, most notably the unwanted kiss involving player Jenni Hermoso and former football chief, Luis Rubiales, in the aftermath of the World Cup final win. The controversial coach Jorge Vilda, who fell out with several Spanish players, has departed and is now in charge of Morocco. His former assistant, the ex-Barcelona player Montserrat Tomé, has taken over as national team manager. Regardless of the past issues, if this golden generation of Spanish players can perform to their full potential, it is difficult to conceive of anyone stopping them.
The Guardian
26-06-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Women's Euro 2025 team guides: Denmark
This article is part of the Guardian's Euro 2025 Experts' Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 16 countries who qualified. is running previews from two teams each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 2 July. Everything was going fine for Denmark in the buildup. There weren't too many injury worries or key players retiring. Results had been decent – until the last Nations League game against Sweden. With everything to play for, Denmark not only lost the match that could have secured them a first-place finish in League A for the first time – they were demolished 6-1 by the side they are playing in their first game at Euro 2025. 'I've been part of this team for many years but I think this is the worst I've experienced,' the midfielder Sanne Troelsgaard told Aftonbladet after the game. 'We need to take a good look at ourselves.' That disappointment will cast a shadow over Denmark's hopes, but there is still optimism. Qualifying for the tournament was impressive, including getting close to a famous result in Spain: Andrée Jeglertz's side were 2-0 up after 72 minutes in Tenerife, but ultimately lost 3-2. The Czech Republic and Belgium posed few problems and with an attacking, possession-based style, hopes of a silver-summer a la 2017 have been reignited. 'Naturally, we dream of winning medals, and we will give everything to create an unforgettable red-and-white summer together with the Danish fans,' said the captain and star striker Pernille Harder. This will be the first, and only, major tournament under the Swedish head coach Jeglertz, and he has a few tactical puzzles to solve. Firstly, Denmark won't have played another match before heading to Switzerland, meaning that 6-1 defeat is the last outing before they face Sweden again. Secondly, question marks remain over the preferred starting XI – particularly the right-sided position in the back three, as well as the right wing-back role, both still up for grabs. Andrée Jeglertz has been in charge of Denmark since autumn 2023, when he replaced Lars Søndergaard after the last-16 exit from the World Cup. His contract runs out in the summer and he has made it clear he does not want to extend it. A return to club football beckons. Jakob Michelsen will take over after the tournament, inheriting a squad that Jeglertz has shaped to compete with – and on their day beat – the best. Born in Malmö, Jeglertz managed several top clubs in Sweden, including leading Umeå to a Champions League title in 2004. He also spent six years as head coach of Finland women. Pernille Harder will go down as one of the greatest players in Danish football history. The all-time top scorer is an icon and an inspiration for countless girls and boys across the country. 'She's a legend and it's a huge honour to be allowed to play alongside her,' the goalkeeper Maja Bay Østergaard has said. 'She's simply a world-class star.' Jeglertz agrees: 'She's not just a player, but a great role model … in everything she does,' he told Harder is an eight-time Danish player of the year, two-time Uefa Women's Player of the Year and twice a winner of The Guardian's Top 100. Sara Holmgaard has enjoyed a standout season at Everton, voted women's player of the season by her teammates. Scoring an Olimpico goal [direct from a corner] and setting up others, she's been a constant threat down the left. After such an impressive campaign it's no surprise that bigger clubs have taken noticeand made her a target this summer. And it's not just at club level where she's made her mark – Holmgaard has also cemented herself as Denmark's first-choice left wing-back, edging out Sofie Svava of Lyon. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion The Danish league is on the rise. The major broadcaster TV 2 has acquired the rights from next season, and some of the biggest clubs in the men's game, such as FC Copenhagen and FC Midtjylland, are slowly climbing up the divisions, helping to attract bigger crowds and more sponsors. Despite this, however, Fortuna Hjørring remained the team to beat in 2024-25, proving unstoppable and winning the double. While it remains largely semi-professional, with most of the best Danish players playing abroad, progress is being made. Brøndby, for example, became the first club to go fully professional last winter. Denmark have the quality to beat anyone, and their ambition is to advance from the group stage. But Sweden and Germany look stronger, and for that reason, the group stage will most likely mark the end of the road. The Denmark team guide was written by Sofie Engberg Munch for TV 2 Denmark.
