The countdown is on for Women's Euro 2025, set to kick off next year in Switzerland, where England's Lionesses will aim to retain their European Championship crown.
While winning a major international tournament is an incredible feat, defending the crown brings an entirely different challenge. Sarina Wiegman guided England to their first-ever major title in 2022, but the Lionesses will face the test of retaining their trophy next summer in Switzerland.
Following their narrow defeat to Spain in the 2023 World Cup final, the Lionesses will arrive at the 14th edition of the competition, which began in 1984, with something to prove and a burning desire to reclaim their status as Europe's best.
As anticipation builds, GOAL has a complete guide to the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw, including how it works, the teams involved, seeding details, and where you can watch the event live.
When is the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw?
| Date: | Monday, December 16, 2024 |
| Time: | 5 pm GMT / 12 noon ET |
| Venue: | Swiss Tech Convention Centre |
| Location: | Lausanne, Switzerland |
| TV & stream: | UEFA.com |
The draw for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final tournament is set to take place at 18:00 CET on Monday, December 16, at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland. During the event, the 16 competing nations will be divided into four groups, each consisting of four teams.
Host nation Switzerland will headline the tournament, joined by eight teams that earned direct qualification through the league stage and seven additional squads that secured their spots via the play-offs.
From the group stage, the top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout rounds, moving one step closer to continental glory.
What time is the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw in your country?
The local 6 pm CET start time in Switzerland translates into the major territories around the planet:
| Date | Start Time | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | Mon, Dec 16 | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Mon, Dec 16 | 12:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Mon, Dec 16 | 5:00 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Mon, Dec 16 | 4:00 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Mon, Dec 16 | 10:30 p.m. IST |
| Hong Kong | Mon, Dec 16 | 1:00 a.m. HKT |
| Malaysia | Mon, Dec 16 | 1:00 a.m. MYT |
| Singapore | Mon, Dec 16 | 1:00 a.m. SGT |
| New Zealand | Mon, Dec 16 | 6:00 a.m. NZDT |
How to watch the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw - live stream & TV channel
The Women's Euro 2025 draw ceremony will be streamed live online on UEFA's official website, YouTube channel and other social media websites worldwide.
If you cannot watch the draw, GOAL will be running a live blog with updates.
Which teams are in the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw, qualification & seeding?
The 16 teams that will make it to the final tournament include:
- The host nation, Switzerland
- The four group winners from European Qualifiers League A
- The four runners-up from European Qualifiers League A
- The seven winners from Round 2 of the play-offs
Women's Euro 2025 confirmed teams
- England (holders)
- Switzerland (hosts)
- France
- Italy
- Netherlands
- Spain
- Denmark
- Germany
- Iceland
- Sweden
- Norway
- Belgium
- Finland
- Poland
- Portugal
- Wales
As alluded to above, Switzerland have automatically qualified for the group stage as hosts – they have been joined by reigning European champions, England. A strong lineup of teams already confirmed for Women's Euro 2025 includes France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Germany, and Iceland.
The final seven teams were decided through a two-stage qualification play-off format. The opening round of the qualification playoffs, held in October, largely went as expected. The noticeable gap in quality between many teams led to some lopsided scorelines, with Norway routing Albania by 14 goals and Sweden netting a dozen against Luxembourg. However, there were a few closely contested ties that caught the eye, such as Ukraine's 3-1 victory over Türkiye, Northern Ireland’s narrow 2-1 triumph over Croatia, and Wales' thrilling 3-2 win against Slovakia.
The real excitement, however, was reserved for the decisive final round. While there were still some one-sided encounters, with Sweden and Norway combining for 15 unanswered goals and Belgium cruising to a 4-1 win over Ukraine, other matches were far more competitive.
Finland capitalized on its goalless draw in Scotland by securing a 2-0 home victory to punch its ticket. Meanwhile, drama unfolded in Teplice, where Diana Silva struck twice to guide Portugal to a 2-1 win and a 3-2 aggregate triumph over the Czech Republic. In Austria, Ewa Pajor celebrated her birthday in style, scoring the decisive goal in Poland's 1-0 away win to seal a 2-0 aggregate success and secure their qualification.
Seeding for the draw
The seeding for the draw is based on the UEFA coefficient rankings of the teams, which considers their performance in recent international competitions.
Following the conclusion of qualification playoffs, we now know how the four seeded pots will be arranged, with the rankings from the Women's European Qualifiers league stage determining the placements. As hosts, Switzerland is automatically assigned to position A1 in Group A.
Sarina Wiegman's England, despite holding the title of reigning champions, find themselves seeded in Pot 2. Pot 1 features heavyweights Spain, Germany, and France. Sharing Pot 2 with England are Italy, Iceland, and Denmark, while the Netherlands land in Pot 3.
Joining the Dutch in Pot 3 were Sweden, Norway, and Belgium, all of whom secured their spots through qualification playoffs. Pot 4, on the other hand, is entirely composed of playoff teams: Finland, Poland, Portugal, and Wales.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | England | Netherlands | Finland |
| Spain | Italy | Sweden | Poland |
| Germany | Iceland | Norway | Portugal |
| France | Denmark | Belgium | Wales |
How does the Women's Euro 2025 group stage draw work?
The draw will include teams that have qualified through the league stages and playoff rounds, culminating in a total of 16 teams competing for the championship.
The draw kicks off with Pot 1, where teams are assigned the first position in each group. The first ball drawn places a team in Group B, position 1. The next ball assigns a team to Group C, position 1, followed by the final ball, which determines the team in Group D, position 1.
The process then moves to Pot 2, beginning with a ball drawn to assign a team to Group A. To decide the team's exact position within the group (A2, A3, or A4), a ball is drawn from Pot A. This is repeated for each group: the second ball from Pot 2 assigns a team to Group B, with their position determined by a draw from Pot B, and so on through Groups C and D. This continues until all teams in Pot 2 have been allocated and their positions confirmed.
The same methodology is followed for Pot 3 and Pot 4, with teams being placed into groups and their positions finalized through subsequent draws.
If certain restrictions apply, such as "prohibited team matchups" as determined by UEFA's Executive Committee, teams will still be drawn in the same sequence. However, any team that creates a clash will be placed in the next eligible group. For situations where potential clashes arise with the final teams in a pot, the teams will be drawn and assigned to the appropriate groups in compliance with the restrictions.
When does Women's Euro 2025 start?
The UEFA Women's Euro 2025 tournament is set to take place from July 2 to July 27, 2025. This prestigious event will be hosted in Switzerland, marking the first time the country has hosted the Women's Euro since its inception.
Host Venues
The tournament will be played across eight venues located in various Swiss cities. Here are the confirmed host venues:
- St. Jakob-Park - Basel
- Stadion Wankdorf - Bern
- Stade de Geneve - Geneva
- Stadion Letzigrund - Zurich
- Stadion St. Gallen - St. Gallen
- Allmend Stadion Luzern - Lucerne
- Arena Thun - Thun
- Stade de Tourbillon - Sion