Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: November 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights

UEFA Women's Euro logo

The year’s final qualifying matches for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 ended in disappointment for the Republic of Ireland and Portugal, who both saw late equalizers dash their hopes of full points, as well as Spain and Wales, who were each held to scoreless draws.  Top contenders, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Austria all finish the year on full points, as all are yet to concede a draw or lost.

Qualifying for the 2021 Women’s Euro, which will be hosted by England, resumes in March 2020, although most of the top contenders do not restart their qualifying campaigns until April 2020.

England, was also in action this window, playing two friendlies:  First, hosting Germany at Wembley in front of a home attendance record of 77,768 on Saturday, and then an away friendly at the Czech Republic on Tuesday.

Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: November 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights

UEFA Women's Euro logo

Qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 continued this month, with no significant surprise results among the top teams.  That said, the October window was not without drama:

In Group A, the Netherlands needed a 78th minute goal to separate themselves from Slovenia.  Elsewhere, Kazakhstan held expected Group G winner France scoreless for over 55 minutes.  And, in Group B, minnow Malta kept Italy off the scoresheet for even longer, at almost 70 minutes.

But the match of the window was the Republic of Ireland’s 3:2 victory over Ukraine, which saw Ukraine equalize at 2:2 just fifteen minutes after Ireland took a 2-nil lead.  The tie did not last for long, as a deflected blocked shot led to a decisive own goal in favor of the home team.

Host England was also in action, playing two friendlies, losing to Brazil in Middlesbrough and defeating Portugal 1:0 on the road.  The victory against Portugal snapped a five-game winless streak that stretched back to the Lionesses semifinal loss to the United States in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: August-September 2019 Group Stage Window Recap

UEFA Women's Euro logoQualifying for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021, which will be hosted by England, got underway last week, as 30 matches were played over six days.  None of the top favorites stumbled, as Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Iceland, and Russia each earned two wins out of two matches, while other notable teams, such as Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria each won their only qualifying match of the window. Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: August-September 2019 Group Stage Window Recap”

Mexico: Roster For 2012 City of São Paulo Tournament Includes Sofia Huerta and Two Under-17 Players

Mexico’s head coach, Leonardo Cuellar, has called up 21 players for the upcoming City of São Paulo International Tournament (Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo), including a first-time invite for Under-20 standout forward Sofia Huerta of Santa Clara University, which caps off a whirlwind year for Huerta.  Of the 21 players called up, besides Huerta, five other currently attend American universities: Renae Cuellar, Oklahoma; Alina Garciamendez, Stanford; Anisa Gujardo, Pepperdine; Arianna Romero, Nebraska; and Bianca Sierra, Auburn. From Mexico’s U-17 Women’s National Team, two players have been invited into the senior camp: captain Karla Nieto, and midfielder Paulina Solis, who is only 16 years-old (1996 birthday). Also among the twenty one is 2011 MAC Hermann Trophy winner Teresa Noyola. Continue reading “Mexico: Roster For 2012 City of São Paulo Tournament Includes Sofia Huerta and Two Under-17 Players”

Women’s Euros 2013: The Final Draw

On Friday, November 9th, the final draw for the 2013 UEFA Women’s Championship was held in Göteborg, Sweden. The twelve qualified teams were divided into three round-robin groups of four, with host Sweden being paired with Italy, Denmark and Finland in Group A. Group B features five-in-a-row reigning champion German, along with Norway, the Netherlands and Iceland.  In Group C, France will face England, Spain, and Russia.  As there are only twelve squads, the top two teams from each group, along with the top two third place teams will qualify for the knock-out stage. Continue reading “Women’s Euros 2013: The Final Draw”

USWNT Rival Watch: Japan at the 2012 Algarve Cup (Catch-up)

At the 2012 Algarve Cup, Japan’s Women’s National Team won all three of its group matches, including its final group match versus the United States. By topping the group, Japan played in the placement match for first place, where they lost 4:3 in a match that saw 3 goals scored in the final few minutes.

Continue reading “USWNT Rival Watch: Japan at the 2012 Algarve Cup (Catch-up)”