All 16 qualifiers in the European Championship 2022 in England have now been decided.
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The competition was originally intended to take place in 2021, but the striking effect of the coronavirus pandemic saw it postponed by 12 months and re-marked to mark the new year. It is almost the exact line-up that 2017 – 14 of the 16 countries are the same – with Scotland and Portugal replaced by Finland and the happy Northern Ireland.
Here, 90 minutes breaks down everything you need to know about each side and describes their routes to the tournament.
England hope to improve on three consecutive semi-finals since 2015 | Marcio Machado / Getty Images
How they qualified: Hosts
Previously best: Runners-up (1984, 2009)
England enter this tournament at home with high expectations of winning their first major international silver, after reaching the semi-finals of the last euro and each of the last two World Cups.
The Lions have been poor since the 2019 World Cup and a lack of competitive football has probably not helped. But many England players will at least have been in the Olympics before the euro, while the new boss Sarina Wiegman will be in charge then.
Wiegman led the Netherlands in honor of 2017 and will have plenty of new English talent at his disposal, as well as the old guard.
Germany has won a record eight European Championships | Boris Streubel / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group I – W8, 24 points
Previously best: Winners (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013)
Germany has historically dominated this competition during its almost 40-year history and won eight of 12 tournaments, six in a row between 1995 and 2013.
It is therefore extremely difficult to see beyond them as a strong challenger this time and they are the highest ranked team in this competition – with only the USA ranked higher by FIFA.
Outcomes in the quarterfinals came as a huge shock for Germany at the European Championships 2017 and the World Cup 2019, so there will be part of setting the record and proving that doubters are wrong next year.
The Netherlands won the European Championship 2017 and reached the World Cup final 2019 | Soccrates Images / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group A – W10, 30 points
Previously best: Winner (2017)
The Netherlands hosted the latest Euro tournament and took full advantage, with a golden generation of players who won all six matches on their way to lifting a first major international trophy ever.
Since then, the Dutch squad has also been in the World Cup final and will be one of the fantastic teams next summer, as the bulk of what was a young group in 2017 remains.
Vivianne Miedema was already an established international goal scorer in 2017, but the Arsenal striker will still only be 26 when the tournament takes place.
Denmark will look for superstar Pernille Harder to shine | Soccrates Images / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group B – W9, D1, 28 points
Previously best: Runners-up (2017)
Despite a rather patchy World Cup record, which failed to qualify for four of the last five tournaments and has only won one World Cup match since 1995, Denmark has a strong euro history.
The Danes have gone at least as far as the semifinals on six occasions, only failed to reach that stage in three of the nine tournaments they have qualified for. They reached the semis in 2013 and lost finalists last time in 2017.
Chelsea striker Pernille Harder is Denmark’s star name and was named the best female football player in the world by The Guardian in the 2020 edition of their annual list.
Norway has been regular semi-finalists in the euro over the years Boris Streubel / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group C – W6, 18 points
Previously best: Winner (1987, 1993)
Norway’s heyday was between 1987 and 2000 when a golden generation won the World Cup, European Championships (twice) and the Olympics over a 13-year period.
But even though that era ended and has not lifted a trophy since, their Euro record remains decent. This is because the Norwegians have at least reached the semi-finals in four of the last five tournaments, including two finals.
Euro 2017 was an unfortunate blip and lost all three matches. It was also the last tournament where superstar Ada Hegerberg played.
Sweden is a threat at all international tournaments VALERY HACHE / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group F – W7, D1, 22 points
Previously best: Winner (1984)
Even if they have not won a trophy since the first euros as early as 1984, Sweden can always be considered a threat at major international tournaments.
The Swedes have been remarkably consistent on a continental level over the years, and have not managed to reach at least the semifinals in two of the ten Euro tournaments they have played in.
They have also finished third in two of the last three World Cups and were responsible for denying the United States an Olympic medal of any color for the first time ever in 2016.
France has always underused at the European Championships | Catherine Steenkeste / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group G – W7, D1, 22 points
Previously best: Quarterfinals (2009, 2013, 2017)
France are the big underperformers when it comes to international women’s football. Despite having many world-class players, fourth place at the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympics is the only time the French have been beyond a quarter-final.
Their last three Euro tournaments in 2009, 2013 and 2017 have all ended in the last eight stages, as well as their last two World Cup matches and their last Olympics.
But France is still close to the top of FIFA’s world rankings and will be determined to correct these mistakes.
Belgium was eliminated in the group stage at Euro 2017 | VI-Images / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying Group H – W7, L1, 21 points
Previously best: The group game (2017)
This is only the second time that Belgium has ever qualified for a major international tournament and has topped a relatively favorable qualifying group.
The goal for 2022 will be to improve their performance in 2017, which meant that the Belgians were eliminated in the group stage after winning only one of their three matches.
They will not be the lowest ranked team in this tournament, but an expected low seed will likely give them a tough group draw and that could make it difficult.
Iceland returns to European Championship final | VI-Images / Getty Images
How they qualified: 2nd in qualifying group F – W6, D1, L1, 19 points
Previously best: Quarterfinals (2013)
Iceland has never made it to a World Cup or Olympic Games, but the Nordic islanders have become a regular part of the euro and have now qualified for four tournaments in a row.
Although they lost all three matches in both 2009 and 2017 and went home early, Iceland came out of the group stage in 2013 to reach the quarterfinals.
Star player Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir joined Lyon from Wolfsburg in 2020 and the knockout stages may be possible for Iceland again if they get a good result early.
Spain may be a dark horse in the not too distant future Soccrates Images / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group D – W7, D1, 22 points
Previously best: Semifinals (1997)
Spain has good chances of becoming the next European country to join the global elite and has steadily lost the gaps for those like England, France and Germany in recent years.
The Spanish squad is dominated by players from Barcelona, who have emerged as one of the best clubs in Europe and there has been a noticeable improvement over the last decade.
Spain have been in the quarter-finals in each of the last two euros, while their World Cup performance improved from 2015 and 2019 and they were knocked out only by final champions USA in the latter.
Linda Sallstrom is Finland’s main target threat Juan Manuel Serrano Arce / Getty Images
How they qualified: 1st in qualifying group E – W7, D1, 22 points
Previously best: Semifinals (2005)
Finland returns to an international tournament for the first time since 2013, with failure to qualify for the European Championships 2017 and finish a run with three matches in a row.
It would be a surprise to see the Finns match their previous best performances and get to the last four, or even do knockout stages at all.
That said, they have an eclectic group of players spread across leagues across Europe, including many from Sweden, and some from France, Spain, Italy and England.
Austria were surprisingly semi-finalists at the European Championships 2017 | Maja Hitij / Getty Images
How they qualified: 2nd in qualifying Group G – W6, D1, L1 19 points
Previously best: Semifinals (2017)
Austria were surprisingly semi-finalists at Euro 2017, which was their first and still only major international tournament, without having qualified for a World Cup or another Euro, until now.
In addition, the Austrians were in fact undefeated in 2017 and were only knocked out when they were beaten by Denmark in the semis.
Prior to that, Austria had topped a challenging group ahead of France, Switzerland and Iceland, as well as beating Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Italy surprised people at the 2019 World Cup | Elsa / Getty Images
How they qualified: 2nd in qualifying group B – W8, D1, L1 25 points
Previously best: Runners-up (1993, 1997)
Italy was strong in the 1980s and 1990s and reached the Euro final twice, only to suffer a decline in the 2000s. However, they have come back stronger recently and briefly considered a potential dark horse at the 2019 WC.
In that tournament, Italy won a tough opening game against Australia and beat Jamaica to reach the knockout rounds before then beating China.
2022 is about improving a disappointing Euro 2017 that saw them go home early.
Russia has qualified for its sixth European Championship final | Gualter Fatia / Getty Images
How they qualified: Playoff winners vs Portugal
Previously best: The group game (1997, 2001, 2009, 2013, 2017)
Russia wants to get over the group stage for a European Championship for the first time in the sixth attempt. In 15 matches in the final, they have won only one game, which was 2017.
Conversely, Russia has twice reached the knockout stages of the World Cup and reached the quarter-finals in both 1999 and 2003, which overlapped with its early Euro misses.
The entire Russian squad that goes to the Euro 2022 is probably based on domestic clubs.
Switzerland won its play-off to qualify for Euro 2022 | Marcio Machado / Getty Images
How they qualified: Playoff winners vs Czech Republic
Previously best: The group game (2017)
Euro 2022 will only be Switzerland’s third appearance at a major international tournament, having previously hosted the 2015 World Cup and the last Euro 2017.
The latter was mixed. They lost a close opening game against Austria that could have defined their tournament if it had gone the other way, beating Iceland and drawing against France.
They have some good players based on top clubs, including Lia Walti at Arsenal, Ramona Bachmann at Paris Saint-Germain and Ana-Maria Crnogorevic at Barcelona.
Northern Ireland has qualified for its first major tournament ever Charles McQuillan / Getty Images
How they qualified: Playoff winners vs Ukraine
Previously best: not applicable
Northern Ireland has exceeded all expectations just by qualifying for Euro 2022 and is the only country without previous experience of at least one major international tournament.
The decisive play-off came against Ukraine and ended a total of 4-1 over the two legs.
The majority of the squad is based in clubs in Northern Ireland, although a handful play in the WSL or Women’s Championship in England, such as Rachel Furness and Simone Magill.
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