Euro 2022 Group C: Reigning champions out for more glory 🇳🇱🇸🇪🇨🇭🇵🇹 | OneFootball

Our preview of this summer’s Women’s European Championship continues, this time turning attention to Group C.

Who is in Group C?

The favourites

Reigning champions the Netherlands aren’t expected to encounter too many difficulties in the early going of their attempt to defend their crown.

Sweden are likely to join them in the knockout stage – although it remains to be seen if their unique new kit, in which they detailed the best way for opposing teams to beat them, will come back to bite them.

What’s the key game?

The Netherlands’ clash with Sweden in Sheffield on matchday one could blow the group wide open.

Whatever the result, at least one of the favourites for the group will drop points early and it could lead to the pressure increasing and an early tournament shock.

Can you give me a player to watch for every team?

In a side packed with superstars, the Arsenal striker is the standout and will be out to add to her all-time Dutch record tally this summer of 94 goals in 111 caps.

The 37-year-old may not be guaranteed a regular starting berth in every game these days but is still Europe’s record cap holder with 229 (and counting!) and will compete in her 13th international tournament this summer, where she will be desperate to exorcise last year’s Olympic Games ghosts after missing a penalty that would have delivered gold.

The Barcelona star will be key to Swiss hopes of success as they aim to build upon their debut showing five years ago and she has also recently eclipsed Lara Dickenmann to become her country’s record scorer with 67 goals in 131 games.

Although Ana Borges can also stake a strong claim, Costa is worth keeping an eye on for the way that she has stepped up to marshal the Portuguese defence after Cláudia Neto hung up her boots and is also now the nation’s most-capped player.

And the big storyline?

In 12 editions of the Women’s European Championship, the defending champions have retained their crown 50% of the time but no nation outside of Germany has ever managed it, which is something that a talent-packed Dutch side will be desperate to change.

With Mark Parsons able to call upon talents like Miedema, Sari van Veenendaal, Lieke Martens and Danielle van de Donk (who is still working her way back to full fitness), they have a huge chance of making history. The squad is so strong that Wolfsburg’s Shanice van de Sanden could only make the standby list.

Nothing would send out a bigger message about their credentials than to top a tricky group featuring a Sweden side who are fancied by many to take their crown.

Prediction