What's happened
England's Lionesses face a tough challenge in the Euro 2025 qualifiers, with a difficult group including Sweden, France, and the Republic of Ireland. The defending champions must navigate a new qualifying format to secure a spot in the finals.
Why it matters
The Euro 2025 qualifiers mark a significant challenge for England's Lionesses as they aim to defend their European crown. The tough group stage featuring strong opponents adds an element of unpredictability to their path to the finals, highlighting the competitive nature of women's football at the international level.
What the papers say
The Independent provides insights into the challenging group England faces in the Euro 2025 qualifiers, emphasizing the competitive nature of the tournament. Suzanne Wrack from The Guardian highlights Lucy Bronze's ambitions for the Lionesses to achieve back-to-back major tournament victories, adding to the narrative of England's pursuit of success.
How we got here
England's success in the Euro 2022 and Women's World Cup tournaments has set high expectations for the team. The shift in the Euro 2025 qualifying format to a Nations League model has introduced a new level of competition, making the path to the finals more challenging for the defending champions.
Common question
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The England women's national football team has been governed by the Football Association since 1993, having been previously administered by the Women's Football Association. England played its first international match in November 1972 against Scotland.
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel across the Ă–resund Strait.
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The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body.
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country consisting of metropolitan France in Western Europe and several overseas regions and territories.
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Sarina Wiegman RON, also known as Sarina Wiegman-Glotzbach, is a Dutch former footballer and current head coach of the Netherlands women's national football team. She played as a central midfielder and, later in her career, as a defender. In 2001, she bec
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by