Switzerland and Norway opened the on Wednesday.
— Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lucerne, Sion, St. Gallen, Thun and Zurich — in the monthlong championship, which runs from July 2 to July 27.
The final will be on July 27 at St. Jakob-Park, Switzerland’s largest stadium, in Basel.
Previously on Wednesday, Iceland and Finland were the firsts to play in the tournament, in a match in the central western town of Thun where the Finns won 1-0 with a goal after 70 minutes.
Who are the favorites?
World Cup finalists Spain and England are widely seen as two of the top contenders for the crown.
England’s Lionesses are defending champions, having won their first major title since the men’s team lifted the World Cup in 1966.
Their historic Euros victory came in 2022 after the tournament was postponed due to the pandemic. They went on to reach the 2023 World Cup final but fell short against Spain.
Germany, another powerhouse, . After losing to England in extra time in the 2022 final, Germany will look to add to its remarkable record of six consecutive Euros titles from 1995 to 2013.
The German women’s team has won eight of the 13 European finals in total and holds two World Cup trophies as well.
Record number of women coaches
Women now lead seven of the 16 teams competing at Euro 2025 — that’s 43.75% — a sharp rise from just 18.75% at Euro 2013. The proportion nearly doubled by 2017 and has steadily improved since, with 37.5% at the 2022 tournament.
Despite the advances, male coaches still have a slight numerical advantage at this year’s Euros, with nine of the 16 teams led by men.
Success has not been an obstacle for women in the top jobs. Between 2000 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup, every major international women’s football tournament — World Cup, Euros and the Olympics — was won by a female-coached team, except for Japan’s 2011 World Cup victory under Norio Sasaki, the lone male coach to break the trend.
Football chiefs relax rules amid heat wave
The tournament began as with record temperatures being recorded across the continent and hot weather warnings in place for many areas.
UEFA has relaxed stadium security rules so fans can bring in half-liter water bottles amid a heat wave hitting parts of Switzerland with temperatures reaching around 35 C. Cooling breaks may be used if needed during the games.
Edited by Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
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