The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.
Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.
Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.
"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."
"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."
Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.
Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.
How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action
Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.
While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.
Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.
Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.
Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.
Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.
When San Diego's home match against the Washington Spirit ended in a 0-0 draw on June 22nd, the NWSL officially pressed pause on the regular season, entering an extended summer break as international tournaments kicked off around the world.
And while the US club league has dimmed its lights before — most recently during the 2024 Paris Olympics — this is the first year it's ever stopped play to accommodate major regional competitions like Copa América, WAFCON, and UEFA Women's Euro 2025.
Why the new approach? The league's global presence has never been stronger. And that's not just because high-profile players like Naomi Girma and Crystal Dunn swapped their NWSL jerseys for European kits earlier this year. It goes the other way, too. Once an assumed stronghold for homegrown talent, the NWSL has diversified its ranks, with top players heading overseas this window.
US broadcasters buy into growing Euros interest
No event has showcased this shift greater than the European Championship. The tournament was once siloed away from the average Stateside soccer fan. But this year, 18 NWSL players representing 12 countries are Switzerland-bound — three-times the number playing in England just three years ago.
And fans are ready to dig in. The 2025 Euros will be the most accessible in history, with FOX Sports recently doubling down on broadcasting the competition in the US.
The network has committed to 31 matches, including 19 games on linear TV and every knockout round match. It will also provide pre- and post-game analysis, aiming to develop a major market player while riding out the sport's popularity boom.
With increased visibility and plenty of familiar faces, NWSL fans are set to become Euro 2025's prime audience. And for players, showcasing the league's impact shapes the perception of football in the US, allowing the NWSL the opportunity to strengthen its reputation despite never taking the pitch this July.
Euros stars say perceptions of the NWSL are shifting
Only one NWSL player featured on England's 2022 Euros-winning roster. That was Houston forward-turned-defender Rachel Daly, before she returned to the WSL and retired from international play.
That number tripled in 2025, after Gotham FC defender Jess Carter, Spirit defender Esme Morgan, and Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse were called up to the Lionesses's title defense in Switzerland.
It's not Carter's first Euros, but this will be the first year she joins from an NWSL team. An England mainstay since her 2017 senior debut, she said she never felt like a move to the US would jeopardize her national team standing. Just so long as her performance stayed consistent.
"People were probably apprehensive about coming here before, because it's so far away from your family and friends," Carter told Just Women's Sports. "But also because the NWSL was traditionally known as just a transitional league. And to a lot of people in Europe, it wasn't technical enough."
Carter isn't alone in her assessment. Both Morgan and Moorhouse told JWS they were familiar with the NWSL's reputation as a "kick and run" league. Though that stereotype didn't match their experiences on the ground.
"Most [NWSL] teams are trying to play possession-based football, albeit a little more direct than Europe," Morgan said. "I think that's far more exciting to be a part of, and also more challenging as a defender because there are such fast transitions."
"The league is changing here in the US," echoed Carter, who departed Chelsea for Gotham in 2024. "It's becoming more technical."
NWSL play helped Morgan secure her spot with England
That hybrid style — plus more starting opportunities — have bolstered Morgan's status with England. Coach Sarina Wiegman already knew the Manchester City product as a powerful line-breaker on the ball. And her ability to wear down the low block while holding the lion's share of possession has only improved.
"I felt confident coming here," she continued. "As long as I continued to work on the things that I wanted to improve, and every weekend was putting in good performances for the Spirit, that would be enough to put me in the running for selection."
The NWSL's speed has also elevated her play. "[Wiegman] has spoken to me the last couple of times about being really pleased with what I've been able to do, in terms of being a little bit more aggressive, proactive, physical in my duels, and winning aerial balls," she said. "I've developed so much in that space since playing in America."
Both Morgan and Carter competed with England at the 2023 World Cup, 30-year-old Moorehouse is gearing up for her first major tournament with the national team. And coming from an Orlando side stacked with international talent — namely Brazil legend Marta and Zambia superstar Barbra Banda, among others — the goalie credited her NWSL team for keeping her on her toes every day.
"Marta humbles me on a daily basis, I'm not gonna lie," she laughed. "To see that day in-day out, it's only for the better. It's only going to improve my game."
Summer NWSL schedule benefits Euros-bound players
As coveted national team roster spots reflect both consistency and form, NWSL players have a quiet advantage. Thanks to the summer NWSL schedule, they're guaranteed to be completely match-fit going into any major tournament.
That the NWSL runs opposite to the more traditional fall-to-spring European setup has sometimes been a point of tension overseas. This was especially true in past years, when the league did not suspend regular-season play for more than a weekend or two during longer international windows. That practice forced previous Euros competitors to choose between club and country.
This year, however, players view the cross-conditioning to be as much of an asset as an anticipated challenge when they return to finish out the season.
"I spoke to quite a few of the US girls in the past about the fact that the summer schedule might have helped their performance in international tournaments," said Morgan, pointing out the NWSL-heavy USWNT's major tournament success.
"I feel like I'm peaking at the right time, going into the tournament in midseason," echoed Moorhouse, who is set to serve as backup to Chelsea goalkeeper and presumptive England starter Hannah Hampton.
Learning to balance club and country
Still, there are downsides. It's not always easy to travel in and out of market ahead of a big international opportunity, but each player finds their own way to stay on top of whichever task is in front of them, whether at home or abroad.
Sometimes that divide between club and country is literal. "We have a [NWSL] team app where we have communication," Gotham and Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger told media after her Euros call-up. "I was like, 'Look, if you need something, you have to text me on WhatsApp. Because this app is not working for me when I'm at the international break, and the same way around.'"
For Carter, the NWSL's schedule helps her compartmentalize, keeping her laser-focused on both individual and team goals.
"I'm someone that either is all in or all off," she explained. "I've got to make sure that I'm still eating right, training right, when all I want to do is sit by the beach and have an ice cream."
"I want fans to fall in love with women's football even more"
Carter and Berger aren't the only Gotham standouts packing their passports this month. Star forward Esther González is also committed to play for the always-dangerous Spanish national team. Fellow forward Jéssica Silva will represent Portugal and recent signing Josefine Hasbo is set to join Denmark. And the excitement is palpable, both on and off the pitch.
"It's really great to see that our fans get to support us even whilst we're not at Gotham. Because they're invested in us as people, not just Gotham," says Carter. "I want fans to fall in love with women's football even more, regardless of where it's being played."
As for Morgan, she could be battling against the Spirit's newest signing, Italy's Sofia Cantore. The rest of their teammates will definitely be watching from home — along with a very special guest.
Before Morgan left, her teammates assured her they would be up in the morning cheering her on. "And mak[ing] my kitten watch too, which is very cute," she added.
She said she likes imagining NWSL fans following their favorite club players through the tournament, staying engaged in the game even as the league takes a break.
Encouraging NWSL fans to watch the 2025 Euros
Moorhouse echoed Morgan's hope that the Euros will allow US fans to continue weaving women's football into their lives during the downtime.
"In the US, when I get up on a Saturday morning, all the games are on," she said, referencing the time change. "To me, that's so cool. I'm eating my breakfast, drinking my coffee, and I've just got football on the telly."
"Go and get your breakfast," she urged. "Get your pancakes. And watch some good football."
Reigning back-to-back Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí will soon re-join her Spain teammates at their 2025 Euro training camp, with doctors discharging the star midfielder on Sunday after a brief hospitalization for viral meningitis.
Calling the 27-year-old "a very important player for us," Spain manager Montse Tomé told media on Friday that "The word is definitely scary, but the doctor tells me it is under control."
"Thanks to everyone for the messages I've received and to those who have helped me these past few days," Bonmatí posted to social media. "Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to be back soon."
The reigning World Cup champions are still hunting their first-ever Euro title, with national team feeder clubs like FC Barcelona poised to cash in on participating players.
Last week, UEFA upped its club benefits program budget to €9 million ($10.6 million) following a recommendation from the European Club Association — a full doubling of the €4.5 million ($5.3 million) paid to clubs sending players to the 2022 summer tournament.
Under the program, Euro athletes' home clubs will be compensated a daily rate of €985 ($1,159) for releasing the player for the during of the tournament.
With training camp preparation days, clubs across Europe will receive between €19,700 ($23,186) and €36,445 ($42,894) for each player competing at the 2025 Euro, depending on how deep a run that athlete's national team makes in the July competition.
For Bonmatí's home club Barcelona, which sent 18 players to represent eight of the tournament's 16 teams — nearly their entire roster and more than any other club — that means a minimum club payday of €354,600 ($417,346) with a ceiling likely surpassing €600,000 ($706,000).
UEFA's 2025 Euro tournament is already knocking on the door of history, as the European Championship is on track to shatter the competition's overall attendance record — despite not kicking off until next week.
This year's Switzerland-hosted edition has sold more than 570,000 of the 673,000 tickets available as of Thursday.
Given that tally, England's 2022 Euro record of 574,875 is likely to fall in the coming days.
In addition to the tickets already on sale, stadiums will release another 32,000 to accommodate the knockout stages in the coming weeks.
While Switzerland is poised to claim the Euro's total attendance title by the competition's July 27th finale, England's single-game record crowd of 87,192 — set at the 2022 championship match — will be safe, as no Swiss venue matches the capacity of London's iconic Wembley Stadium.
The 2025 Euro final will be a much more elite affair, as only 34,250 seats are available at Basel's St. Jakob-Park — the largest of the tournament's eight venues.
That said, this summer's European Championship will have more eyes on it than ever before, and not just from the stands.
The 2022 edition shattered viewership records worldwide, but the 2025 Euro has a chance to level up even more, as the tournament has seen its global broadcast footprint expand — particularly in the US.
UEFA inked a media deal with Fox Sports in late May, ensuring that audiences Stateside will have live access to at least 20 of the Euro's 31 matches next month.
While the overall tournament chases new attendance and viewership records, the 16 teams bound for Switzerland will be battling toward the 2025 Euro trophy when the competition kicks off next Wednesday.
The UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) made the first- and second-round qualifying draws for the competition's 2025/26 season on Tuesday, with clubs across Europe battling for the nine remaining tickets into the continental tournament's new 18-team league phase.
Along with 2024/25 UWCL champions Arsenal, eight other clubs earned automatic byes through to the league phase, including France's OL Lyonnes, WSL winners Chelsea FC, and last season's Champions League runners-up Barcelona.
Four more teams will join the nine automatic qualifiers via the 2025/26 competition's Champions Path, with the final five clubs coming from the League Path.
Under the tournament's new format, 46 winning teams from non-automatically qualified leagues will battle through the Champions Path, with an additional 22 non-league champions hoping to advance via the League Path.
Notable clubs like England's Manchester United, Sweden's Hammarby, and Italy's Roma will enter through the League Path, setting up tense battles as both parity and rising interest spreads through European women's leagues.
Regardless of Path, all first and second qualifying rounds will function as mini-tournaments with single-leg semifinals, a final, and a third-place match, all hosted by one of the participating clubs.
The winners will then advance to a third-and-final qualifying round, with the eventual nine victors guaranteed a spot in the UWCL League Phase while the runners-up head to the brand-new incoming UEFA Europa Cup competition.
The road to the 2025/26 Champions League trophy officially kicks off with first-round qualifying play on July 30th, with the competition's second round mini-tournaments set to begin on August 27th.
CBS is bringing UEFA Champions League (UWCL) action to the US next season, with the network announcing Saturday that it has acquired the European Championship tournament's exclusive broadcast rights through the 2029/30 campaign.
Ending with English side Arsenal lifting their first UWCL trophy in 18 years, last weekend's Champion's League final was the competition's last match in its a four-year international media deal with streamer DAZN.
Starting next season, however, CBS will air all 75 Champions League matches live across Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, and the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
"CBS Sports is proud to be the home of all women's and men's UEFA club competitions through the end of the decade," said CBS Sports' EVP of programming Dan Weinberg.
Further aligning with the men's tournament, the post-qualifiers Champions League competition will grow from 16 to 18 teams in 2025/26, while also transitioning from a group stage play-in to a single-league standings format.
"As the competition embarks on an exciting new era, we look forward to CBS Sports delivering its dynamic and insightful coverage to American audiences, showcasing the highest level of women's club football in its new format over the next five seasons," said Guy-Laurent Epstein, managing director at UC3, the commercial entity uniting UEFA and the European Club Association.
With the 16-team UEFA Euro 2025 set to kick off in Switzerland in less than five weeks, UEFA is seizing the opportunity to expand its global footprint following a breakout 2022 tournament.
The continental governing body is starting stateside, with Fox Sports announcing Wednesday that its platforms will air 20 matches from the upcoming 31-game European Championship live — marking the women's side's largest US media deal on record.
With no major events scheduled for the USWNT, international women's soccer will take center stage this summer, as the Euro, Copa América, and Africa Cup of Nations all return in July.
Fox Sports will also bring Copa América action to US viewers for the first time ever this summer, with broadcast details still to come.
England raises prize money for Lionesses
England is also upping its investment, with the FA agreeing to pay the Lionesses a record £1.7 million bonus package — nearly $2.3 million — should they successfully defend their 2022 title.
This year's total more than doubles the amount England players received for reaching the 2023 World Cup final.
While exact sums will vary, player payouts would average £73,000 each (over $98,000) — up some £18,000 ($24,000) from the Lionesses' 2022 earnings.
The move follows UEFA's earlier decision to double its own prize pool in 2025, raising the total purse to £34 million (almost $46 million), including an extra £4.3 million ($5.8 million) for the winner.
How to watch the 2025 Euros this summer
The 2025 European Championship kicks off on July 2nd when Iceland faces Finland at 12 PM ET before Switzerland takes on Norway at 3 PM ET, live on Fox.
USWNT star defender Naomi Girma made her UEFA Women’s Champions League debut this weekend, with Chelsea FC's million-dollar signing taking the pitch during the UK club's tough 4-1 semifinal loss to reigning champion Barcelona on Sunday.
Despite joining the WSL leaders on a world-record $1.1 million transfer fee from the NWSL’s San Diego Wave in January, injury hampered Girma's impact on the Blues, as the Stanford grad appeared in just one regular-season WSL match before exiting with a knock to the calf back in March.
Returning from that injury, Girma subbed in at the 81st minute on a mission to protect Chelsea's relatively tight 2-1 scoreline on Sunday.
Despite her efforts, a quick goal from center back Irene Paredes coupled with a 90th-minute strike from forward Clàudia Pina secured Barcelona the win — plus a significant lead going into this weekend's deciding second-leg semifinal match.
"Barcelona were sharper in tight spaces than we were, which is what they're known for," said Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze after the match.
"The whole rhythm of the game was very different from in England. This was much more of a Spanish tempo. We wanted to play a little more aggressively on the ball, but the staccato nature of the match worked against us."
How to watch the Chelsea at theChampions League semifinals
Girma will have another chance to earn her check this Sunday, when Chelsea hosts Barcelona in the second leg of their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League semifinal round.
The match kicks off at 9 AM ET, with live coverage on DAZN.
WSL side Manchester City parted ways with manager Gareth Taylor on Monday, just five days before the club faces table-leaders Chelsea in Saturday’s League Cup final — and nine days before they meet Chelsea once again in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
In his nearly five years at the helm, Taylor led Man City to an overall 117-15-29 record, picking up the 2020 FA Cup and 2022 League Cup along the way.
Taylor departs just one year into a three-year contract renewal with the club.
"Manchester City prides itself on competing at the top of the WSL and on its outstanding record of qualifying for European competition," said Man City managing director Charlotte O'Neill in a club statement. "Unfortunately, results this season have so far not reached this high standard."
Former City coach Nick Cushing — who led the team from 2013 to 2020 — will take over interim manager duties for the remainder of the season.
Taylor’s dismissal follows a number of big-name WSL coaching changes, with Arsenal’s Jonas Eidevall and Liverpool’s Matt Beard both exiting the league this season.
Eidevall has since taken over as head coach for the NWSL’s San Diego Wave.
Despite rumblings that Taylor could follow suit and fill the vacancy with the Wave’s SoCal rival Angel City, those rumors appear to be overblown.
Manchester City still in the hunt for non-WSL titles
Sitting 12 points behind Chelsea with just six matchdays left in their 2024/25 season, fourth-place Man City's WSL title hopes have dimmed. However, they remain very much in the running for the League Cup, FA Cup, and Champions League honors.
That said, the Citizens are staring down an unusually demanding gauntlet against one of the world’s top clubs this month.
After facing Chelsea in Saturday's League Cup final and next week's Champions League quarterfinals, City will again take on the Blues in a March 23rd regular-season matchup before wrapping up the pair's two-leg Champions League quarters on March 27th.
Ultimately, the pressure for top WSL teams to properly challenge Chelsea’s years-long dominance is mounting — and some coaches appear to be bearing the brunt of those ambitions.
The first matchday of the 2025 UEFA Nations League tournament saw a few regional heavy-hitters shaking off the dust on Friday, with reigning Euros champs England settling for a 1-1 draw against Portugal while perennial contenders Germany similarly split points with the Netherlands after a 2-2 result.
Snagging an early lead for the Lionesses was forward Alessia Russo, who slotted in a ball from right-back Lucy Bronze in the match's 15th minute.
Unfortunately for England, however, Portugal extended their undefeated streak to 11 games after attacking midfielder Kika Nazareth scored a top-corner equalizer at the 75th minute mark to clinch the draw.
Germany and the Netherlands, who claimed third- and fourth-place, respectively, in the tournament's inaugural 2023/24 edition, opened their 2025 campaigns with a back-and-forth battle on Friday.
After Dutch star Lineth Beerensteyn opened scoring by nutmegging German net-minder and 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Ann-Katrin Berger in the 13th minute, Germany closed out the first half with an extra-time header from Lea Schüller to level the score.
The second half saw the Germans pull ahead thanks to a 50th-minute strike from Sjoeke Nüsken, before Beerensteyn again broke through with the match's final goal in the 66th minute.
After the match, new head coach Christian Wück, who took over the German team last March, told reporters, "We need to learn to maintain our focus, especially after taking the lead. It’s frustrating to draw after putting in such strong efforts."
Reigning champion Spain rallies for late comeback victory
Draws aside, defending Nations League winners Spain earned perhaps the wildest victory of the opening matchday, surging back from a 2-0 deficit against Belgium to claim all three points in a 3-2 finish.
The 2023 World Cup champions fell behind early after striker Mariam Toloba gave Belgium the edge in the game's 18th minute. Forward Tessa Wullaert doubled that lead in the 72nd minute, seemingly putting an emphatic end to Spain's hopes of a victory.
Clàudia Pina clawed one back for La Roja just five minutes later, but it took a pair of stoppage-time goals from Lucía García and late call-up Cristina Martín-Prieto to secure the literal last-second win.
Nations League to set up UEFA's 2027 World Cup qualifying
Established in 2022, the Women’s Nations League is now the continent’s qualifying tournament for the Euros, World Cup, and Olympics.
With records wiped following last year’s rollercoaster Olympic qualifiers, early Nations League matches now serve as a key window into the fast-approaching 2025 Euros — in addition to a heated competition in their own right.
On top of that, the outcome of this second-ever edition of the contest will determine teams' positioning for the 2026 European qualifiers for World Cup. Put simply, the finishing spots teams snag after 2025 Nations League play will determine their league paths to claiming one of UEFA's 11 available spots in the 2027 World Cup.
While there's a lot on the line, there's also a significant amount of action still to come. With four teams in each League A group, squads will play three round-robin home-and-away fixtures to determine their final group-play standings — meaning each of Friday's games have a rematch on the calendar before the stage ends on June 3rd.
The winners of the four League A groups will ultimately meet in the two-leg Nations League semifinals in October, with the two-leg third-place play-off and a final set for November and December.