4️⃣ days to go: The 4️⃣ nations to win the Euros to date | OneFootball

It is now just four days until Euro 2022, the Women’s European Championships, gets underway in England.

So far there have been four nations to lift the trophy to date, so here is a lowdown on all the past winners.

🇸🇪 Sweden

Sweden made history by becoming the first winners of the inaugural European Championships in 1984 in a competition consisting of 35-minute halves and a final played over two legs.

Pia Sundhage’s strike gave them a first-leg lead over England before the tie ended up heading to penalties after the second leg. Sundhage ended up becoming the hero for the Swedes, scoring the decisive penalty to lift the trophy.

Ulf Lyfor’s side followed that up by getting to the final in 1987 but fell short in a defeat to Norway.

Sweden have earned a reputation of becoming the nearly women of international football, experiencing defeat in the 1995 and 2001 finals to Germany and more recently reaching four of the last five semi-finals in major tournaments.

There was also the heartbreak of losing the Olympics final on penalties to Canada last summer. They head into this year as one of the favourites for the competition so will the pain of being so near, yet so far from glory in the past work in their favour this time?

🇳🇴 Norway

Between 1987 and 1993, Norway had a real stranglehold on international football.

Trude Stendal’s brace earned a final win over Sweden in Oslo in 1987 before there were two consecutive defeats to Germany in 1989 and 1991.

They wouldn’t be denied a third time and a Hege Riise-inspired team overcame Italy to lift the Euros trophy on a second occasion in 1993.

But the success enjoyed in this competition didn’t stop there and there were two further final appearances in 2005 and 2013.

151-cap defende Maren Mjelde will be pivotal to their hopes of a third crown, as will Chelsea midfielder Guro Reiten and there’s also the small matter of the return of Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg to the side to spearhead an attack that also boasts the talents of Caroline Graham Hansen.

🇩🇪 Germany

To say the Euros is Germany’s competition would be putting it lightly.

They’ve won it a record eight times, including a run of six consecutive wins between 1995 and 2013, but recent history may not be in their favour.

Last time out, in 2017, Germany had their worst Euros performance as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals, meaning Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side fly to England with a point to prove.

Bayern Munich forward Lea Schüller heads into the tournament with the hope of a nation on her shoulders after finishing as the top goalscorer in the Frauen-Bundesliga on 16 goals.

Can Die Nationalelf restore their dominance over the rest of Europe?

🇳🇱 Netherlands

So, to the reigning champions.

Netherlands go into the competition as holders after their success on home soil in 2017 and off the back of a World Cup final appearance in 2019.

However, they no longer have the mastermind behind those success in Sarina Wiegman, who now coaches England.

It was a ground-breaking showing five years ago and although draws with Czech Republic have suggested that the Dutch may no longer be at the peak of their powers, any team with Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema is always in with a chance of glory.