England, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands are the teams to beat but the tournament in Switzerland will be incredibly tight
You only have to wind the clock back two full major-tournament cycles, to Euro 2017, and there were no fully professional women’s leagues in Europe. Thanks to increased investment in the women’s game, there are now more than 3,000 full-time female players across the continent, and that professionalisation is why my overriding feeling about this summer’s Euros is that the quality is going to be so much higher than we have seen before. And it will be so tight.
In Spain, England and Germany there are three strong favourites who are all capable of going on to win it and I would add the Netherlands to the top four. I was so impressed when we [the United States] played the Dutch in December. They will need everybody fit but, on their day, they are a top side. Beyond that, this tournament is going to show the prowess of the Nations League, which was introduced since the most recent Euros, and the impact that tournament is having on equality.
