5 things to know about the 2022 European Women's Football Championship

One year after the success of the men led by Mancini in Europe and their failure to qualify for the World Cup, it is the turn of the women's national football team, whose players have just turned professional, to try their luck at the 2022 European Championship to be held in England from 6 to 31 July. The team coached by Milena Bertolini is preparing to take the field (the first match in which we will see them will be on 10 July against France) and challenge other more highly-rated national teams such as Germany, Holland and Spain. For the female athletes, this is an excellent opportunity, not only to spend a few hours watching some good sport, but also to show, if there was still a need, that their performances have nothing to envy to those of their male colleagues. It would be nice to see the same participation of the public and fans, all glued in front of the TV and big screens to bring good luck to the Italian players. 

Here is everything you need to know about UEFA Women's Euro 2022.  

How it works 

There are 16 national teams participating in the competition and they have been divided into four groups of four teams each. In Group A there are England, Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland. In Group B are Germany, Denmark, Spain and Finland. Group C includes the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Portugal, which, despite initially being eliminated in the playoffs, was repechaged to replace Russia, which was excluded due to the continuing war in Ukraine. Finally, Group D will feature Italy, France, Belgium and Iceland. The top two finishers in each group will have access to the knockout phase, which will begin in the quarter-finals.

The favorites

In pole position to take home the title of European champion is Germany, a team that has made history in the competition by winning eight times. Among the other 16 participating national teams that are considered favorites are Holland, who are the current defending champions, France, who can boast the title of vice-world champion, Sweden and Spain, who are respectively second and seventh in the world ranking. And Italy? Many believe that the team captained by Sara Gama can deliver surprises and, with good performances mixed with a bit of luck, reach the final to contend for victory.

Italy

Italy, led by Milena Bertolini, aims to be the tournament's revelation team. The undertaking, however, will not be easy since, being part of group D, they will have to face France on 10 July, Iceland on 14 July, and Belgium on 18 July. Should they make it into the quarter-finals, it would be the perfect opportunity for the players of our national team to prove their worth. A good result at the 2022 European Championships could also be a way to celebrate the fact that from 1 July in Italy women's football goes into the professional category and thus recognizes its athletes as real workers, a small sign towards gender equality that it would be nice to celebrate by bringing home a cup. We hope so, but the chance of this coming true is in the hands, or rather the feet, of the 23 called-up players, such as Francesca Durante, Valentina Cernoia, Agnese Bonfantini e Martina Piemonte.

The host cities

This edition of the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 is hosted by England and will start on Wednesday 6 July with the opening match between the home national team and Austria at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, while it will end with the final scheduled for 31 July at Wembley. In total, the tournament will be divided between eight English cities and ten stadiums: Wembley, Old Trafford in Manchester, Brentford Community Stadium, Brighton and Hove Albion Community Stadium, Milton Keynes, New York Stadium (where Rotherham United usually plays), Bramall Lane Falmer Stadium in Brighton, Leigh Sport Village and St. Mary's Stadium in Southampton.

Where and when to watch the matches

All 31 matches of the Women's European Championship will be live-streamed on Raiplay, those involving the Italian national team will be live on Rai 1, while all the others will be on Rai Sport (channel 58 of the digital terrestrial). The matches will also be visible live on Sky Sport or, alternatively, in streaming on the Sky Go service and on the NOW platform. Timetable? Each match of the round will be played at 6pm or 9pm Italian time.