The Women’s Euro 2025 Begins: Heat, Fans, and Expectations
The Women’s Euro 2025 is already underway, and from Alofoke Deportes we bring you the most complete coverage. We inform you about what has happened, what you missed, and what is to come in this exciting tournament. Stay tuned for our daily updates with the latest reports, analysis, and the most outstanding stories of the competition.Switzerland Suffocates: The Start of the European Championship Amidst a Heatwave
Basel, Switzerland – If you’re planning to attend Euro 2025, don’t forget the sunscreen and a fan, because the heat is being relentless. Although the high temperatures at the men’s Club World Cup in America have grabbed headlines, Europe is also in the midst of a heat wave, just in time for the continent’s most important international women’s tournament. While enjoying the sun is a pleasant change from the usual gray skies of England, the predicted 36 degrees Celsius have turned the early stages into an incredibly sweaty event. However, this has not deterred fans from attending en masse. A record 600,000 tickets have already been sold for the tournament, surpassing the figures for the 2022 European Championship before the first match began, with 22 of the 31 matches sold out. Many sought to cool off and float in the crystal-clear waters of the Limmat River while traveling from Zurich to Basel. The journey seemed tough for anyone without air conditioning in their car, as traffic came to a standstill on the way to St. Jakob-Park for Switzerland’s opening match against Norway. In Basel’s fan park, anticipation was palpable as many Swiss fans, and some Norwegians, gathered to watch the opening match of Euro 2025, Iceland against Finland (also in Group A), although much of the hustle and bustle was probably due to the indoor air-conditioned area. Some even ventured inside the stadium four hours before the start. UEFA has issued guidelines for fans amid the heatwave, encouraging them to bring reusable bottles to the stadium and to use shaded areas. To combat the heat for the players on the field, it has also implemented cooling breaks, one for each half, if the temperature exceeds 32 degrees Celsius at the end of the team warm-ups. If the temperature drops below the threshold, the water breaks will be at the referee’s discretion.Fortunately, the weather is expected to cool down before the end of the week, which will be a relief for fans and players alike.“For me, water is really important. Shade, putting your feet up before the match, but still going out once a day to get used to the temperature, because otherwise it almost hits you. It’s something you can’t influence, [but] we are already preparing to play in these temperatures,” declared Swiss captain Lia Wälti.
Lia Wälti
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Basel Transforms for the European Championship
Basel, Switzerland – The city of Basel has undergone a transformation for Euro 2025, as its green trams have turned purple and light blue (to match the tournament logo), while on pedestrian crossings the green light men have been replaced by female football players. Good luck avoiding the Euro this summer if you’re not a football fan!
England’s scouting center
Zürich – Watch out for anyone in the stands at the Euro 2025 scribbling furiously in a notebook as the matches unfold… they might be wearing an England tracksuit under their coat. As they have done in previous men’s and women’s tournaments, England will launch their “scouting center”, a group of route coaches who have been deployed in Switzerland to help the Lionesses claim their European champion crown. The coaches are tasked with gathering information on the other 15 teams, providing a condensed summary of a team’s strengths and weaknesses, for future use. Among the scouts will be the coach of the England women’s under-23 team, Emma Coates, and her assistant, Gemma Davies. Their function will have a double purpose: they will provide key information for the Lionesses staff in this tournament, but they will also observe firsthand the best players in Europe and use that experience to help develop England’s young prospects.“Being on the field in a senior tournament provides valuable information about current trends and demands of the game at that level. This will inform our work next season with the U-23s, helping us ensure that our pathway players are ready to make the jump to senior international football,” said Coates.
Emma Coates
The comforts of France at home
Zürich – As always during a major tournament, the French headquarters (which this year is located near St. Gallen, right next to the Swiss border with Austria) is full of things to occupy the players during their free time.This time, in addition to the PlayStation, the ping pong table, board games, and card games like Uno, you can also find a library where players can relax with a book. Among the options are a biography of French male football legend Zinedine Zidane, the autobiography of NBA legend Kobe Bryant “Mamba Mentality,” and a book about the career of photographer Annie Leibovitz.
On a large table in the game room, Polaroid cameras are available to tell the story of your adventure. And on the wall, there’s a massive message that says: “Together, invincible.” France is ready to try to win its first major tournament.Netherlands Delay Due to Storm
Thun, Switzerland – The Dutch team arrived in Switzerland yesterday; they have set up their camp in the village of Spiez, but they train in Thun. The first day was mainly about acclimatizing, although a strong storm caused a change in the program. It was supposed to be that the team would train outside on the field for half an hour, but it quickly went inside when it became too dangerous and completed an indoor program before returning to the field.
Analysis of Upcoming Matches and Odds
Belgium vs. ItalyOdds (via ESPN BET): Belgium (+333), Draw (+280), Italy (-130) Belgium, in its third consecutive European Championship, aims to reach the semi-finals for the first time in its history. But it’s a big task in a difficult group with Spain, Portugal, and Italy. With the experience of Tessa Wullaert, the leader and star of the team, Belgium will rely on victory in its first match, but Italy’s coach, Andrea Soncin, has made his team younger after the disappointment of a poor Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup. Manuela Giugliano, Italy’s best player, will lead by example and hopes to at least get her team out of the group.Spain vs. Portugal
Odds (via ESPN BET): Spain (-1200), Draw (+900), Portugal (+1700) BERN – World champions Spain begin their campaign against Portugal with the aim of securing an elusive first European Championship crown. They haven’t even reached a semi-final since 1997, so they’ll be desperate to make more history this summer. A 7-1 victory over Portugal in the UEFA Nations League in April suggests they should have no trouble starting with three points at the Stadion Wankdorf, but there are also reasons to believe it won’t be easy. Coach Montse Tomé has doubts about the fitness of Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí, who returned to training this week after being affected by viral meningitis on Friday, and captain Irene Paredes is serving a suspension for a red card received in a qualifier a year ago. Meanwhile, Portugal will be stronger than it was in April, with Jéssica Silva returning from an eye problem and Barça midfielder Kika Nazareth pushing for minutes after a rapid recovery from an ankle ligament injury suffered in March.
