Euro 2022: Germany drawn in 'tough group'
October 29, 2021
Head coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has described Germany's 2022 European Championship group as "tough" after her team was drawn alongside Spain, Finland and 2017 runners-up Denmark for the tournament in England next July.
"But maybe that's a good thing because it means we'll have to start well and perform right from the off," she said following the draw in Manchester. "With these opponents, we have some great challenges ahead of us."
Having been seeded in pot one, Germany were guaranteed to avoid defending champions the Netherlands, hosts England and the highly rated French, and also managed to steer clear of Olympic silver medallists Sweden.
But in Denmark and Chelsea striker Pernille Harder, opposition doesn't come much tougher, with Voss-Tecklenburg describing the Danes as being "on a super path." She also described Spain as "a great footballing team" but said minnows Finland were "something of an unknown quantity, but with a good mentality."
Germany looking to return to past glories
Historically Europe's most successful women's national team, having won six consecutive titles between 1995 and 2013, and eight in total, Germany were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Denmark in 2017, who went on to lose to hosts the Netherlands in the final.
The Netherlands have been drawn in Group C alongside Sweden, Russia and Switzerland. Group D features France, Italy, Belgium and Iceland. Hosts England are in Group A with Norway, Austria and Northern Ireland, the latter setting up an all-British derby.
This year's tournament, the 13th edition, was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed to avoid clashing with the rescheduled men's European Championships, itself put back from 2020 due to the pandemic.
Opener in Manchester, final in London
The matches will take place in 10 locations across the north and south of England, with the opening game between England and Austria at Manchester United's Old Trafford on July 6 and the final at London's Wembley Stadium on July 31.
Germany will start their campaign against Denmark on July 8 in Milton Keynes, to the north of London, before facing Spain in Brentford, west London, on July 12. They will return to Milton Keynes for the final group game against Finland on July 16.
Other venues include Sheffield United's Bramall Lane, Brighton's Community Stadium, Southampton's St. Mary's Stadium and Manchester City's Academy Stadium.
Ticket prices are affordable, starting at just £10 (€12/$14) for some games, and family tickets available for £30 (€36/$42). England games are slightly more expensive, and the most expensive ticket for the final is £50.
Prize money doubled
Organizers UEFA have also doubled the prize money compared to 2017, with €16 million set to distributed to the 16 participants. €9.6m will be split equally among all teams, working out at €600,000 per team, with the rest awarded according to performance. The tournament winners could pocket up to €2,085,000.
After the scheduling disruption caused by the pandemic, the tournament is set to return to its usual four-year cycle in 2025. The hosts are yet to be confirmed, with interest expressed by a united Scandinavian bid from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, and also by Poland.
The latter hosted the men's European Championship alongside Ukraine in 2012, and the 2021 Europa League final took place in Gdansk last season. A decision is expected in December 2022.
mf/mp (dpa/SID)