The Independent
·2 Juli 2025
Euro 2025 live: Warnings issued as tournament kicks off in scorching heat in Switzerland

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Yahoo sportsThe Independent
·2 Juli 2025
Women's Euros 2025 video diary: Opening day
Euro 2025 kicks off today in Switzerland, with the tournament braced for a scorching start as England continue their preparations for their opening game against France on Saturday.
The action gets underway later with the first two games from Group A. Unusually, the host nation is not involved in the curtain-raiser, with Iceland and Finland playing in the opening match this afternoon. Switzerland then take on dark horses Norway in Basel, seeking a strong start on home soil.
With Switzerland experiencing a heatwave and heat warnings declared in the country, Uefa have made the decision to relax their rules around fans bringing bottles of water to the stadium for the first couple of days, while players will be allowed cooling breaks if temperatures reach 32C.
The Lionesses arrived in Zurich on Monday and head into the European Championships as the holders, but face a challenging group that includes contenders France, Netherlands and debutants Wales.
As England’s players packed up their belongings and said their goodbyes to friends and family at Leicester's King Power Stadium, ahead of flying to Switzerland on Monday, Sarina Wiegman and her coaching staff started to consider the biggest question that remains ahead of England’s opening game. After a sparkling 30-minute cameo against Jamaica in their Euro 2025 send-off, just what part will Lauren James play against France on Saturday?
After a timely and eye-catching appearance off the bench in her first minutes in three months, just what part will James play in England’s opener against France on Saturday?
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 14:25
England enter Euro 2025 as the holders as the Lionesses look to become European champions for a second time in Switzerland.
Sarina Wiegman’s side face a tricky group, with France, Netherlands and European championship debutants Wales all draw in a blockbuster Group D.
World champions Spain and record winners Germany will be among the favourites, while Norway and Sweden bring talented squads into the 16-team tournament.
England won the Euros on home soil in 2022, before reaching the World Cup final the following year, but the pressure will be on when they face France in their opening game on July 5.
Defending champions England take on France, Netherlands and debutants Wales in the ‘group of death’
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 14:05
Train station Basel Bahnhof SBB ahead of the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 (Getty Images)
St. Jakob Park is the scene of Switzerland's opening game at Women's Euro 2025 (Simon Peach/PA Wire)
Jack Rathborn
Beth Mead said she wants her partner Vivianne Miedema to play well at Euro 2025, just not when the Netherlands striker lines up against England for their Group D match on July 9.
Miedema and Mead began a relationship while they were teammates at Arsenal.
Mead said there was an air of inevitability that England and the Netherlands would be drawn together at the tournament in Switzerland.
"When the draw was made, we both sat there and said 'of course that's happened," Mead saud.
"We're both very, very competitive and professional. We're both excited for the tournament and to be able to play in it again.
"We keep in contact but when it gets closer to our games, we don't talk football whatsoever. Obviously, we want each other to do well but not against each other."
Beth Mead (PA Wire)
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 13:35
Euro 2025 will offer record prize money of €41m (£34m) as Uefa confirmed an increase of 156 per cent from Euro 2022, but there remains a significant gap of almost €300m between men’s and women’s European Championships.
Switzerland will stage the 16-team tournament following a record-breaking Euros won by hosts England in 2022, and Uefa are hoping to smash viewership figures and sponsorship revenues amid the wider growth of women’s football in Europe.
The total prize money available to teams at Euro 2022 was €16m, with England taking just over €2m by beating Germany at Wembley. The prize money on offer at Euro 2025 will be more than double what it was three years before, and the champions can win up to €5.1m when performance bonuses are added.
Uefa confirmed prize money will be more than double what it was when England lifted the Women’s Euros in 2022
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 13:20
Switzerland's Alisha Lehmann adjusts her hair during a training session (AP)
Norway's Elisabeth Terland, center right, and Celin Bizet Ildhusoy try to catch a ball (AP)
Jack Rathborn2 July 2025 13:03
As 16 squads travel to Switzerland with hope, amid all of the usual excitement that invigorates any tournament’s giddy build-up, there is an unusual concern well away from Euro 2025. Figures within the American women’s game insist they are worried about a distinctive power shift in terms of playing talent. The States may not be consistently producing the best any more.
While so much of the women’s game is constantly framed by questions about growth, these Euros could genuinely represent a historic landmark; a moment. This could be the summer where Europe finally completes a rise over the USA, as the new centre of power for the women’s game. The matches themselves may well end up as testament to that.
After years of American dominance within the sport, the balance of power has shifted to Europe with world champions Spain leading the way
Miguel Delaney2 July 2025 12:35
After a three-year wait, the Women’s Euros Championship is back, and this time, Switzerland will be hosting the female football teams in eight different stadiums across the country.
Back in 2022, England hosted the games after a delay due to Covid, seeing the Lionesses win their home tournament for the first time in women’s (and men’s) Euros history.
The 2025 championship will kick off on 2 July in Thun, sitting on the banks of a deep blue lake in the heart of the country, with the final then scheduled on 27 July in Basel, which has just hosted the Eurovision Song Contest.
Throughout the month, matches will be held in some of Switzerland’s most breathtaking destinations, from the chocolate artisan haven of Geneva to the town of Sion tucked away in the Rhone Valley between the snowcapped Swiss Alps.
The charming lakeside towns and cities of Switzerland are set to host this year’s Women’s Euros
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 12:05
Women’s Euro 2025 is almost here – so there’s not much time left to join the action with our interactive prediction widget.
Think you know how the tournament will play out? Use the tool to pick who you think will top each group, then chart your knockout stage all the way to the final in Basel on July 27.
Can England defend their crown? Will debutants Wales pull off a fairytale run? Or is it finally France’s time to lift a major trophy? This is your chance to call it all.
With Europe’s top talent on display – from the Netherlands and Germany to Spain, Sweden, and Norway – the tournament promises big drama across Switzerland.
England’s blockbuster opener against France, Wales' historic debut, and heavyweight clashes throughout the group stage set the stage for a summer of unforgettable football.
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 11:35
England midfielder Ella Toone believes “healthy competition” within the side can push the Lionesses on to glory at the Euro 2025 this summer.
Sarina Wiegman’s side earned a convincing 7-0 victory over Jamaica in their final game before they aim to defend their European crown in Switzerland starting on Saturday against France.
She told the England website: “It’s nice to send ourselves off to the Euros in that style.
“I’ve waited a while for another goal in an England shirt and two came today, so obviously I’m really happy with that. But overall, the team performance was great and we’re excited now going into the Euros.
“We’ve got a very talented squad, a very exciting group, and for us, we’re going to take each game as it comes, we’re going to step out and give our all as we always do, and hopefully we can make the nation proud.
“There’s so much talent, there’s players who have been to tournaments, players who are going to their first, and no matter what role I have in the tournament I’ll make sure that I give my best for the team – we’ll all be pushing each other and it’s healthy competition.”
(Getty)
Jamie Braidwood2 July 2025 11:05