The 2025 European Championship kicks off today in Switzerland, with this year's tournament set to have the largest US broadcast footprint in Women's Euros history.
All games are set to air live on FOX Sports, so Stateside soccer fans can enjoy some top-notch football alongside their morning cup of coffee. The 16-team event runs from July 2nd through July 27th, with a four-team group stage followed by quarterfinal, semifinal, and final knockout rounds.
To double down on US interest, more than a few Euro 2025 rosters feature standout NWSL players. The heroes of this year's UEFA Women's Champions League are also well represented, with top UWCL athletes vying for continental glory across the 16 national teams.
Still have questions about what to expect from the most hyped Women's Euros on record? Check out this handy group stage guide, setting the scene for USWNT and NWSL fans looking for a European favorite to cheer for throughout Euro 2025.
Group A: Finland, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
Euros players to know:
Finland: Natalia Kuikka (Chicago Stars)
Iceland: Sveindís Jónsdóttir (Angel City)
Norway: Caroline Graham Hansen (FC Barcelona), Ingrid Engen (FC Barcelona), Ada Hegerberg (OL Lyonnes), Guro Reiten (Chelsea), Frida Maanum (Arsenal)
Switzerland: Ana-Maria Crnogorčević (Seattle Reign), Lia Wälti (Arsenal)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: You likely won't find a tournament winner in this group, with Group A's teams uniformly considered to be some of the weakest contenders. Despite serious talent, Norway has been an underachiever in recent years, though their positioning should see them sail through to the knockouts.
But Norway's stumbles might be the average fan's gain, as the right performance could always spell an upset. Iceland plays physical, end-to-end football, while Finland lists individual players that can flip a game on its head.
Host nation Switzerland isn't exactly considered a threat, but head coach Pia Sundhage (formerly of the USWNT, Sweden, and Brazil) brings a pragmatism that can stir up wins. But barring truly wacky results, Norway should make their way out of Group A on top. And with a little help, Iceland could join them by keeping games close.
Most likely to advance: Norway, Iceland
Group B: Belgium, Spain, Italy, Portugal
Euros players to know:
Spain: Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona), Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona), Esther González (Gotham FC), Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), Leila Ouahabi (Manchester City), Salma Paralluelo (FC Barcelona)
Portugal: Jéssica Silva (Gotham FC), Nádia Gomes (Chicago Stars)
Italy: Sofia Cantore (Washington Spirit)
Belgium: Amber Tysiak (West Ham United)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: Spain is Group B's obvious frontrunner, and is considered one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. Their 2023 World Cup-winning roster remains mostly intact, stocked with enough international experience and on-pitch chemistry to intimidate any opponent. Spain's also got a solid track record against European competition, taking down continental neighbors en route to the World Cup knockouts before winning 2024 Nations League.
But despite high hopes to win a first-ever Euros, Spain's isn't invincable. The team is still dealing with availability issues stemming from both injury and their World Cup-related federation dysfunction. On-field, they can also fall victim to their own style of play. And while many of their players already play together at Barcelona, there's always a big difference between club and country.
Of course, these are minor criticisms for a Spanish side predicted to break out of their Euros slump. Spain should comfortably finish atop Group B, with a heated competition for second nipping at their heels.
Portugal, Italy, and Belgium have all seen success at the Nations League level. But they remain unproven on the greater global stage. Italy and Belgium have swapped important wins in recent matchups — including Belgium's upset over England — while Portugal has struggled to get results. That means Group B's second place slot is wide open, but Italy's roster depth might lead them to break ground.
Most likely to advance: Spain, Italy
Group C: Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden
Euros players to know:
Germany: Ann-Katrin Berger (Gotham FC), Sara Däbritz (OL Lyonnes), Jule Brand (Wolfsburg), Lea Schüller (Bayern Munich)
Denmark: Pernille Harder (Bayern Munich), Janni Thomsen (Utah Royals), Josefine Hasbo (Gotham FC), Nadia Nadim (Hammarby, previously Racing Louisville)
Sweden: Magda Eriksson (Bayern Munich), Hanna Lundkvist (San Diego Wave), Sofia Jakobsson (London City), Kosovare Asllani (London City), Stina Blackstenius (Arsenal), Fridolina Rolfö (FC Barcelona), Lina Hurtig ( Fiorentina, previously Arsenal)
Poland: Ewa Pajor (FC Barcelona)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: The competition really starts to heat up when you reach Group C — at least on paper. Germany has won the Euros eight times, and consistently qualifies for major tournaments. Their struggles in the 2023 World Cup notwithstanding, Germany has never been a team that gets grouped easily.
But the other Group C teams could absolutely push through via talent and opportunity alone. Sweden has one of the deepest rosters in the competition, from UWCL winners to a wealth of international experience. Sweden in particular, as USWNT fans know, frequently starts a tournament looking like a frontrunner, blowing through teams before eventually fizzling out in the late rounds.
Both Denmark and Poland have attackers that can rise to the occasion on any given day. Poland is making their Euros debut this year, after putting in consistent performances against smaller countries with few big-name club players at their disposal. Denmark has performed similarly, though they've had trouble when up against more formidable competition.
Most likely to advance: Germany, Sweden
Group D: England, France, the Netherlands, Wales
Euros players to know:
England: Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal), Lauren James (Chelsea), Aggie Beaver-Jones (Chelsea), Kiera Walsh (Chelsea), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United)
France: Griedge Mbock (PSG), Sandy Baltimore (Chelsea), Amel Majri (OL Lyonnes), Delphine Cascarino (San Diego Wave), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (OL Lyonnes), Kadidiatou Diani (OL Lyonnes)
The Netherlands: Vivianne Miedema (Manchester City), Daphne van Domselaar (Arsenal), Danielle van de Donk (London City Lionesses), Damaris Egurrola (OL Lyonnes), Kerstin Casparij (Manchester City), Dominique Janssen (Manchester United), Victoria Pelova (Arsenal), Jackie Groenen (PSG), Esmee Brugts (Barcelona), Sherida Spitse (Ajax)
Wales: Jess Fishlock (Seattle Reign), Angharad James-Turner (Seattle Reign), Gemma Evans (Liverpool), Hayley Ladd (Everton), Charlie Estcourt (DC Power FC), Sophie Ingle (Chelsea), Ffion Morgan (Bristol City)
Major Euro 2025 storylines: Mutually assured destruction? Even in a tournament with more than one competitive group, Group D is capital-D difficult enough that it's guaranteed to send a Euros front-runner home before they even reach the knockout stage.
Despite entering as the reigning European champs, England fans will have to do a quick assessment on the team's mental focus. Ups and downs in recent Nations League matches and more than one sudden high-profile retirement have recently called the squad's locker room vibes into question.
The Lionesses have been criticized for lack of roster rotation after their second-place 2023 World Cup finish. Coach Sarina Wiegman has quickly upended that status quo, however, making several major changes that left a younger, new-look team unsettled ahead of their 2022 Euros title defense. Of course, they still have the depth and style it takes to make a deep run this year, but they'll have to avoid lapses in play and shifting chemistry to get there.
As for France, Les Bleues have also grown more youthful, leaving longtime leaders Wendie Renard and Eugenie Le Sommer off the roster for the first time in recent memory. Reaching the semis in 2022, they've been contenders in every Euros cycle. But despite the strong showings, France has yet to lift a major international trophy.
The biggest thing holding France back is their own record. Les Bleues crashed out of the 2024 Paris Olympics on home soil after failing to make it beyond the 2023 World Cup quarterfinals. France could be a Euros favorite, but they'll have to make history to succeed.
The Netherlands might be the worst possible group stage assignment a team could draw aside from a clear frontrunner. The 2017 Euros champs arrive with serious experience, able to overpower any opponent with smart, matter-of-fact football. If France and England show weakness, expect the Dutch to ride physicality and speed all the way to the knockouts.
Armed with a surprisingly solid lineup led by NWSL legend Jess Fishlock, underdog Wales is here to play spoiler. If they grab points off mercurial England or pressure an underachieving France, these Euros debutants could have a real shot.
Most likely to advance: The Netherlands, England
How to watch UEFA Women's Euro 2025 in the United States
US viewers can catch all the Euros matches across FOX Sports. 19 matches will air exclusively on FOX, 11 airing on FS1, and one airing on FS2.
Cord-cutters can also access English-speaking Euro 2025 broadcasts live on Disney+ while VIX will carry the Spanish-language versions.
Hege Riise has been tabbed as the next head coach of the Norwegian women’s national team, the Norwegian Football Association announced on Wednesday.
“Being able to lead Norway’s A national team is the greatest,” said Riise in a release. “I am proud and happy to be trusted to lead the team. I am really looking forward to taking on the challenge.”
She replaces Martin Sjögren, who stepped down from the position following Norway’s early exit from Euros, during which the team lost 8-0 to eventual champions England.
A former midfielder for Norway, she was named world player of the year in 1995 and won an Olympic gold medal, World Cup and European Championship during her time with Norway. Through 188 international appearances – which still ranks as the most all-time in Norwegian national team history – she notched 58 goals.
She was named the best Norwegian female footballer of all-time in 2003.
Following her playing career, Riise took up coaching. She coached in the Norwegian league with LSK Kvinner, winning six consecutive titles until 2017.
An assistant coach for the USWNT from 2009 until 2012, she helped guide the team to a World Cup final appearance in 2011 and Olympic gold in 2012. Following Phil Neville’s departure in January 2021, Riise served as interim head coach of the Lionesses, who later hired Sarina Wiegman. She led the team during the Tokyo Olympics, leading them to a Group E win and a knockout round appearance.
“We are proud to be able to present a new national team manager who can boast incredible results both as a player and coach, and who knows better than anyone the competition that meets us out there,” said Norwegian FA president Lise Klaveness.
Following her departure from England, Riise took over as the U19 coach for Norway. She will now lead the senior team for the first time, helping to prepare the team for World Cup qualification in September.
“It will be hectic, but we will use the time now to prepare for the first matches,” said Riise. “Everyone understands what those games mean. Our starting point is good with group leadership and I expect that there will be a group eager for revenge after the [European Championship exit]. As I understand it, there is still a good atmosphere in the player group.”
She will be joined by Monica Knudsen and Ingvild Stensland as assistant coaches. Jon Knudsen will step in as the goalkeeper coach.
Ada Hegerberg wasted no time making her presence felt in her return to the Norwegian national team, scoring a hat trick in the team’s 5-1 win over Kosovo in World Cup qualifying.
She scored her first goal with the national team in five years in the 21st minute, then scored her second mere two minutes later. At the 60-minute mark she completed the hat trick.
Frida Maanum and Celin Bizet Ildhusøy also found their way onto the score sheet.
Erëleta Memeti scored the lone goal of the game for the Dardanians.
Hegerberg, who won the first ever Ballon d’Or Feminin in 2018, tweeted after the match the she “couldn’t have dreamed of a better comeback.”
“As Norwegian as it gets,” she wrote.
A thousand thanks for all your messages 🥹. I couldn't have dreamed of a better comeback. As Norwegian as it gets. Tusen takk Sandefjord. Next stop: Oslo. HEIA #NORGE! 🇳🇴
— Ada S Hegerberg (@AdaStolsmo) April 7, 2022
📸 @vegardgrott pic.twitter.com/QA7wrrFjRC
With the hat trick, Hegerberg now has 41 goals through 67 appearances with the national team, ranking ninth all-time amongst Norwegian goalscorers. Isabell Herlovsen, who played from 2005 through 2019 and recorded 133 caps, sits first with 67 goals.
Hegerberg last played for the national team in 2017 before stepping away in protest over the treatment of women’s soccer in the country in comparison to the men’s game. As a result, she missed the 2019 World Cup.
The 26-year-old plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France. She’s been out for the better part of the past two seasons due to injury. After rupturing her ACL in January 2020, she suffered a stress fracture in her left tibia that September. She finally made her return to the game in October 2021 after 20 months away.
In late March, she was included on the Norwegian roster that was named by coach Martin Sjogren. She said then that it felt “incredibly good” to be back.
“I will do my part to help us achieve great things, both on and off the field—for football, for Norway, but not least for the next generation,” she said at the time.
Norway Football Federation president Lise Klaveness delivered an impassioned speech at Thursday’s 72nd FIFA Congress in Doha, in which she condemned the 2010 decision to award Qatar the hosting duties for the 2022 men’s World Cup.
Klaveness, a longtime member of the Norwegian women’s national team, was elected earlier this month as the NFF’s first female president in its 120-year history.
In her address, she pointed out Qatar’s human rights failures. “The World Cup was awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,” she said.
Drawing on her own experience as a footballer, Klaveness also specifically called on FIFA to advance the women’s game.
“There is no room for employers who do not secure the freedom and safety of World Cup workers. No room for leaders that cannot host the women’s game,” Klaveness said. “No room for hosts that cannot legally guarantee the safety and respect of LGBTQ+ people coming to this theatre of dreams.”
The Qatar World Cup’s top organizer, Hassan Al Thawadi, responded to Klaveness at the event, saying she “made no request for a meeting” upon visiting the country.
“I urge everybody, we have always been open for dialogue. We have always welcomed constructive criticism, criticism that is based on discussion, understanding the issues and understanding the context of the issues and the progress of the facts on the ground,” Thawadi said.
According to a Human Rights Watch report, “abuse and exploitation of the [Qatar’s] large migrant workforce persisted in 2021 despite the introduction of labor reforms.” The Human Rights Watch report also noted that women continue to face “severe discrimination and violence.”
Ada Hegerberg is back with the Norwegian national team, ending a five-year absence.
Hegerberg quit the national team in 2017, protesting the treatment of women’s soccer in the country in comparison to the men. One year later, she won the inaugural Women’s Ballon d’Or. Widely regarded as one of the game’s best players, she’s also been named UEFA’s Best Women’s Player in Europe (2016) and BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year (2017, 2019).
The 26-year-old currently plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France and has been out for the better part of the past two seasons due to injury, first a ruptured ACL in January 2020 and then a stress fracture in her left tibia that September. She spent 20 months away from the game, returning in October 2021.
On Thursday, she was included on the roster named by coach Martin Sjogren for the 2023 World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Poland next month.
Her er troppen 🇳🇴
— Fotballandslaget (@nff_landslag) March 24, 2022
Norge møter Kosovo på Release Arena 7. april og Polen på Ullevaal 12. april. De norske jentene skal kjempe om viktige poeng i VM-kvalifiseringen, samtidig som oppkjøringen til sommerens EM i England er i full gang 🥳#sterkeresammen pic.twitter.com/kb18o87Lhs
“It feels incredibly good to be back,” Hegerberg said. “I will do my part to help us achieve great things, both on and off the field—for football, for Norway, but not least for the next generation.”
Prior to her departure from the national team, Hegerberg made 66 appearances, scoring 38 goals.
In addressing her return, Sjogren called her “one of the best” in the world, adding that her return means “a lot to the national team.”
“For the most part, we have talked about how we see the future together and not what has happened,” he said. “It was mostly to do with Ada’s role and how we can make the team even better. The conversations have been very good.”
Norway currently sits atop Group F for World Cup qualifying with 16 points through six games. Having already qualified for the 2022 European Championships in July, they will face off against Northern Ireland, England and Austria on the group stage.