Best of 2022: The Year Ahead - International

There’s a lot to look forward to in 2022 in the world of women’s football. Here’s some highlights to keep an eye on.

INTERNATIONAL

Euro 2022

This year’s showpiece is without doubt the European Championships.

Held in England across ten venues – Old Trafford; Academy Stadium; Brentford Community Stadium; Bramall Lane; St. Mary’s Stadium; the Amex; Stadium MK; New York Stadium; Leigh Sports Village; and Wembley Stadium for the Final – from 6^th-31^st July 2022, it will be the biggest tournament to hit these shores.

The 16 qualified teams have been separated into four groups with England taking on Austria at Old Trafford in the opener. Germany v Spain, Netherlands v Sweden, France v Italy and England v Northern Ireland are just a handful of the stand-out group games on offer.

Check out the full schedule and more information here.

 

2023 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

Qualifying for the 2023 FIFA World Cup is finely in the balance with all international federations’ allocated spots still to be filled.

Europe is a little over halfway through their qualifying that resumes 23^rd February and runs through to 6^th September 2022. Eleven sides qualify directly for the World Cup, while one enters the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs.

The Lionesses are currently flying, unbeaten at the top of Group D. Things are a little more complicated for Scotland in Group B. They should be capable enough to secure a play-off spot, but results have been inconsistent of late.

Republic of Ireland and Wales are both having solid campaigns in their respective groups but have little wiggle room for bad results. Ireland sit second in Group A, just one point ahead of Finland. Wales also sit second in Group I, having opened a two-point gap over Slovenia. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland are going strong in Group D with goal difference separating them from Austria in second.

You can find the full UEFA qualifying schedule here.

Around the rest of the world:

• The Asian Cup kicks off later this month (20^th January-6^th February) with five teams qualifying direct and two heading to the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs. Australia have already qualified as hosts.
• The African Cup of Nations will take place in Morocco in July (2^nd-23^rd July) with four teams qualifying direct and two heading to the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs.
• The CONCACAF W Championship also takes place in July (9^th-24^th July) with four teams qualifying direct and two heading to the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs.
• The 2022 Copa América for the CONMEBOL nations will take place from 8^th-30^th July. Three teams qualify direct and two head to the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs.
• The OFC Women’s Nations Cup will take place from 5^th-31^st July. New Zealand as co-hosts have already taken the direct spot. One team will, therefore, qualify for the Inter-Confederation Play-Offs.

The Inter-Confederation Play-Offs will take place in February 2023 to determine the final three sides to take a spot at the World Cup later that year.

 

 

U17s + U19s aim for the European Championships

U17s:

Round 2 of Qualifying takes place early this year, with all games set to be played by 31^st March.

England and Republic of Ireland sit in League A and have the opportunity of qualifying to the European Championships. Ireland are in Group 1 alongside Iceland, Finland and Slovakia; England are in Group 6 alongside Poland, France and Croatia.

The seven group winners and Bosnia + Herzegovina will progress to the 2022 U17 Euros to be held in Bosnia from 3^rd to 15^th May.

Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland sit in League B and will competing for promotion to League A for next seasons Round 1 of qualifying.

Find out more information here.

 

U19s:

Round 2 of Qualifying for this year’s U19 European Championships takes place between 4^th-12^th April.

England and Wales share Group 3 in League A, alongside Belgium and Iceland. Republic of Ireland are in Group 7 alongside France, Czech Republic and Greece.

The seven group winners (or Group 7 runner-up if Czech Republic finish top) and hosts Czech Republic will progress to the 2022 U19 Euros to be held from 27^th June to 9^th July.

Northern Ireland and Scotland sit in League B and will competing for promotion to League A for next seasons Round 1 of qualifying.

Find out more information here.

 

 

FIFA U20 World Cup

The U20 FIFA World Cup returns this summer with Costa Rica hosting the tournament from 10^th to 28^th August.

With qualification for this edition suspended in some regions, three governing bodies have selected the teams to move forward to compete.

Spain, France Germany and the Netherlands will be the four UEFA teams. North Korea, South Korea and Japan will represent the AFC while New Zealand has been selected as the OFC’s side.

CAF (two spots) and CONCACAF (three spots + Costa Rica) have qualifying tournaments taking place this year to determine the final nations.

 

FIFA U17 World Cup

The U17 FIFA World Cup will take place later this year in India (11^th-30^th October).

UEFA has three spots that will be decided from this May’s European Championships. Equally tournaments will decide the nations representing CAF (three spots), CONCACAF (three spots), and CONMEBOL (three spots).

With qualification suspended, the AFC have nominated Japan, North Korea, and India (hosts) to play. New Zealand will represent the OFC.

 

February Internationals

To date, three international friendly tournaments have been announced for the first international window of the year:

 

Arnold Clark Cup

The inaugural Arnold Clark Cup will be held from 17^th to 23^rd February across England.

The Lionesses, Spain, Germany and Canada will face each other in double-headers at Middlesbrough, Norwich and Wolves to get their hands on the inaugural trophy.

Here’s the full fixture list:

Thursday 17^th February 2022:

• Germany v Spain (Riverside Stadium; 14:30 GMT)
• England v Canada (Riverside Stadium; 19:30 GMT)

Sunday 20^th February:

• England v Spain (Carrow Road; 15:15 GMT)
• Canada v Germany (Carrow Road; 20:15 GMT)

Wednesday 23^rd February:

• Spain v Canada (Molineux Stadium; 14:30 GMT)
• England v Germany (Molineux Stadium; 19:30 GMT)

Find out more and buy your tickets here.

 

 

SheBelieves Cup

The seventh edition of the SheBelieves Cup will take place in America from 17^th to 23^rd February.

Full schedule is:

Friday 18^th February 2022:

• Iceland v New Zealand (Carson, California; 01:00 GMT)
• USA v Czech Republic (Carson, California; 04:00 GMT)

Sunday 20^th February:

• USA v New Zealand (Carson, California; 20:00 GMT)
• Czech Republic v Iceland (Carson, California; 23:00 GMT)

Wednesday 23^rd February:

• New Zealand v Czech Republic (Toyota Stadium, Frisco; 23:00 GMT)

Thursday 24^th February:

• USA v Iceland (Toyota Stadium, Frisco; 02:00 GMT)

Find out more here.

 

Tournoi de France

The Tournoi de France will be held in Caen and Le Havre from 16^th to 22^nd February, featuring France, Netherlands, Brazil and Finland.

Full schedule is:

Wednesday 16^th February 2022:

• Brazil v Netherlands (Stade Michel d’Ornano; 17:00 GMT)
• France v Finland (Stade Océane; 20:10 GMT)

Saturday 19^th February 2022:

• Finland v Netherlands (Stade Michel d’Ornano; 17:00 GMT)
• Brazil v France (Stade Océane; 20:10 GMT)

Tuesday 22^nd February 2022:

• Brazil v Finland (Stade Michel d’Ornano; 17:00 GMT)
• France v Netherlands (TBD)

 

Euro 2025 host decided

UEFA will select the host for the 2025 European Championship at the end of this year.

So far, there have been five confirmed bids. Poland, France, Switzerland and the Ukraine have all signalled their intention to apply, while a combination of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, with support from the Faroe Islands and Iceland, are seeking to host the tournament.