UEFA Women's EURO 2022 set to get under way
Wednesday July 6 is the opening day of UEFA Women's EURO 2022 in Manchester. We are going to be keeping a close eye on the tournament because no less than 13 Barça players are there, a record number from the Club for a competition of such magnitude. In fact, FC Barcelona is second for player representation at the tournament, only behind Juventus with 15.
The 13 Barça Women players are spread across five national teams: Norway, with Engen and Graham Hansen; Sweden, with Rölfo; Switzerland, with Crnogorcevic; hosts England, with recent signing Lucy Bronze; and Spain with Paredes, Mariona, Guijarro, Paños, Maria León, Pereira and Pina.
The entire tournament is being played in England at the following stadiums: Brighton & Hove Community Stadium (Brighton), Brentford Community Stadium (London), Manchester City Academy Stadium (Manchester), Stadium MK (Milton Keynes), New York Stadium (Rotherham), Bramall Lane (Sheffield), St. Mary's Stadium (Southampton), Old Trafford (Manchester), Leigh Sports Village (Manchester) and Wembley Stadium (London).
Let's take a look at the potential first games for Barça players in the group stages:
England
The tournament's opening game will be played on Wednesday at 9pm CEST and will feature one Barça player, the recently signed Lucy Bronze. The England side will begin group A by playing Austria at the legendary Old Trafford stadium.
The host's other group games will see them face Engen and Hansen's Norway at 9pm CEST on July 11 in Brighton, before the last group stage game against Northern Ireland at 9pm CEST on July 15 in Southampton.
Norway
Ingrid Engen and Caroline Graham Hansen are in group A with Lucy Bronze's England. Their first match is against Northern Ireland at 9pm CEST in Southampton. They face England in the second game at 9pm CEST on July 11 in Brighton, before the final group stage game is against Austria at 9pm CEST on July 15 in Brighton.
Spain
The Spanish national team play their first game at 6pm CEST on July 8 in Milton Keynes. Jorge Vilda's side will play Finland in the opening game of group B. The second match sees them face the team with the most Euro trophies, Germany, at 9pm CEST on July 12 at the Brentford Community Stadium in London, which will also be the venue for the final group stage game against Denmark at 9pm CEST on July 16.
Switzerland
Group C features two squads containing Barça players. Switzerland and Crnogorcevic are the first to play, taking on Portugal at 6pm CEST on July 9 in Manchester. The second game will see them take on Sweden and Rölfo at 6pm CEST in Sheffield, before facing the current European champions, Netherlands, at 6pm CEST on July 17 in the same city.
Sweden
The Swiss national team, featuring Fridolina Rölfo, play their first game against Netherlands at 9pm CEST on July 9 in Sheffield. As mentioned earlier, the second game will also be played in Sheffield against Switzerland at 6pm CEST on July 13. Their final group stage game is against Portugal at 6pm CEST on July 17 in Manchester.
Group D doesn't feature any Barça players and comprises Belgium, France, Iceland, and Italy.
The road to the final
The quarter finals come next, which will be played on successive dates from July 20 to 23, each game kicking off at 9pm CEST at the venues in Brighton, London (Brentford Community Stadium), Rotherham and Manchester.
The semi-finals will be played at 9pm CEST on July 26 and 27 in Milton Keynes and Sheffield respectively.
Lastly, the big final to see who will be crowned European champions will be played at 6pm CEST on July 31 at Wembley Stadium in London. A fitting venue for a final in a legendary stadium for all FC Barcelona fans.