Women's Euro 2025 Qualifiers: Holders England face France and Sweden in tough group
Defending champions England were handed a tough group including France and Sweden in their Women's Euro 2025 qualifying campaign following the draw held in Nyon, Switzerland on Tuesday.
France lost the Nations League final to Spain last month but qualified for this year's Olympics in Paris and are ranked number three in the world, with England at four and Sweden five. The Euros qualifying campaign begins in April.
«Of course, we all went into the draw knowing that Sweden, one of the top countries, would be in Pot 3 because of their Nations League performance in 2023,» England manager Sarina Wiegman said.
«So, with France, Sweden, and Ireland in our group, it will be very competitive. It's exciting and now we just have to show up and perform. For the fans and for football, it is really good because it will be so competitive.»
World champions Spain will take on Denmark, Belgium and Czech Republic in Group A2, while Germany, eight-times European champions and runners-up in 2022, face Austria, Iceland and Poland in Group A4.
France will begin their Olympic adventure in July, but will need to put that to one side for now.
«It's a big challenge for us to try to qualify before the start of the Olympic Games,» France coach Herve Renard said. «Qualifying for Euro 2025 is obviously a major goal of our season and we can't wait to start this campaign in less than a month.»
England thrashed Sweden in the semi-finals on their way to winning Euro 2022. The Swedes also lost at the semi-final stage at last year's World Cup, going down 2-1 to eventual champions Spain.
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