Euro 2022 preview: England expects, but many in with a shout

All eyes will be on whether England women can finally end their major trophy drought as they go into their home Euros as one of the favourites, led by 2017 winning coach Sarina Wiegman.

The tournament, postponed last year due to Covid-19, is expected to be one of the most open in history with established nations such as Sweden and Germany contending with rising powerhouses like Spain and holders the Netherlands.

Wiegman led the Dutch to their first ever title five years ago and took charge of England last September looking to achieve the same feat for a team who have twice finished runners-up in the Euros (1984, 2009) but never won.

The 52-year-old has already worked her magic on a side who reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2019 and have not yet tasted defeat in 13 games under the Dutchwoman.

The Lionesses' squad is stacked with talent, bearing the fruits of England's top tier Women's Super League having turned fully professional in 2018.

Attendances at club games have greatly increased in recent years and the tournament opener, Group A's England v Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday, is already a sell-out and is expected to be the first of many spectator records broken over the next month.

Sweden captain Magda Eriksson, who plays for domestic champions Chelsea, tipped the hosts to be her country's main rival to lift the trophy at Wembley.

"If I don't have to say Sweden, I would say that England have a really good team, an exciting team with a lot of talent," Eriksson told Reuters.

However, Ireland's World Cup qualifying opponents, ranked second in the world, have experience of going the distance having won the inaugural edition in 1984, before it was organised by European soccer's governing body UEFA.

Their squad