The task will not be easy for the Blues. The French women’s team inherited a complicated group for the Euro-2025 qualifiers, following the draw carried out on Tuesday March 5 at the headquarters of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), in Nyon (Switzerland). Hervé Renard’s daughters will battle with England, title holder and vice-world champion, Sweden and Ireland.
The French, who were soundly beaten by the Spanish last week in the Nations League final (2-0), will have to finish in the first two places in their group to qualify directly for the competition organized in Switzerland (2 to July 27, 2025).Otherwise they will have to go through play-offs against one of the eight best teams in League C.
The qualifying phase for the Euro takes place in the same format as the Nations League: the different teams have been divided into three divisions: 16 in League A, 16 in League B and 19 in League C.
“We will have to win against the best in the world.”
Beyond the English, the Blues will have a lot to do with the Swedes, 5th in the FIFA rankings, semi-finalists of the 2023 World Cup – beaten by La Roja. France has not faced the Scandinavians in a qualifying match for a major tournament since 2000, which ended in a victory (2-0).
“We have a big group, it’s a bit like the group of death! We have to work but we know that the Euro will only be big teams. And to be European champions we will have to win against the best in the world,” Sakina Karchaoui, defender of the French and Paris Saint-Germain, responded to Agence France-Presse.
For its part, Spain, world champion and winner of the last Nations League, will play its place against Denmark, Belgium and the Czech Republic. The qualifying matches will take place in April and July, before the Games Olympics.The journey of the French team at Euro-2022 ended in the semi-final, eliminated by Germany (2-1).