bbc.co.uk
After the end of the U21 European Championship and parallel to the exciting knockout phase of the FIFA Club World Cup, the next highlight begins with the Women's European Championship. The 31 matches will take place in eight cities in Switzerland. The hosts will have a tough time at the finals. This is evident from the fact that only three of the 16 European Championship teams are ranked below them in the world rankings. Their first opponent, Norway is number 8 in the rankings and enters in this game as a slight favorite. As host nation, Switzerland automatically qualified for the 2025 European Championship. In 2017 and 2022, they were eliminated after the group stage, with just one win in six matches. However, the Swiss women's national team now aims to finally advance to the knockout round for the first time on home soil. Norway has already achieved considerable success in women's football, winning two European Championships and one World Cup in 1995. Norway hasn't been able to capitalize on it's potential, especially in attack, for some time now. Top attackers like Caroline Graham Hansen from Barcelona and Ada Hegerberg are in the squad.With a weak defense, Norway isn't among the favorites for the title, despite its excellent offense. In their last friendly, they lost 0-2 to Sweden in Oslo.
