France scored on a penalty kick in overtime to beat the Netherlands. There is a time and a place for this. You can only be excited by what you are about to see when the Women's European Championship is over. England, Sweden, Germany and France are the best four teams in the tournament and will play in the final. Surprises, disappointments, overachievers, minnows, and so on are all part of life. This time, not. The four group winners facing each other in a dream pair of semifinals is what we have been waiting for since the tournament draw was made. Let's not get too excited. Before we eat our dessert, let's enjoy our two main dishes. On Wednesday, France and Germany will play a soccer match. There are four teams that are the best in Europe and four teams that are the best in this tournament. News, features, and a schedule are available on Euro 2022, which is live on Disney.
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Imagine the Wimbledon semifinals with five of the best players in the world. Imagine the last March Madness Final Four with four of the top five seeds. Two laps to go in a Formula 1 Grand Prix with Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso all competing for the checkered flag. This is what we're discussing here. The biggest prize of the season is at stake.
The narratives are all great. We can enjoy the drama, excitement and storylines. The 1966 men's World Cup was England's last major victory. Sweden has always been in the last four but never won. Germany, eight times winners of this tournament, are trying to get back to winning with some old heads. The last eight have been cursed by France. It's not easy to predict. It is very good. It's exciting to see what will happen.
The fact that England are there with the best group of players and the best manager they have ever had means that anything less than reaching this stage would be a failure. It's their biggest test in a long time because they are in a good position to beat Sweden.
The last two Olympics and a World Cup semifinals have been heartbreaking for the Swedes, and they want to win the trophy at Euro 2022, just like they did at the Olympics. Since taking over as coach, Peter Gerhardsson has done an amazing job.
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There's a beautiful game here. You can watch tournaments and teams.
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On Sunday, July 24th.
• Club Brugge vs. Genk (7:30 a.m. ET)
• Austin FC vs. NY Red Bulls (8 p.m. ET)
On Monday, July 25th.
• Santos Laguna vs. Pachuca (8 p.m. ET)
• Rayadas vs. Puebla (10 p.m. ET)
On Tuesday, July 26th.
• Euro SF: England vs. Sweden (3 p.m. ET)
On Wednesday, July 27th.
• Euro SF: France vs. Germany (3 p.m. ET)
It's a return to the big time for Germany. They didn't win an Olympic gold medal in the last two years. Now is their chance, with an incredible front three.
There is also France. They have taken the next step after five tournaments where their campaign ended in the quarterfinals. They will be able to use the talents of Kadidiatou Diani and Delphine Cascarino to take the handbrake off.
The best stories of the tournament have come from these four countries. Popp missed the last two Euros due to injury and had not scored for her country for over 1000 days prior to this tournament. Fran Kirby, the England forward, was not sure if she would ever be able to walk again after suffering from pericarditis and then extreme fatigue, but there is a miracle for her. Peyraud-Magnin lost her ex-boyfriend just before the start of the tournament and there has been grief for her. The captain of Sweden, who missed a penalty which could have won her country an Olympic gold medal, is still here for the Euros, probably her last tournament.
Four teams and two matches give us everything we need. There will be a lot of things at the event. There will be drama and goals. It will not be boring because all four teams like to play and attack.
The perfect line-up is in the home of football with full stadiums and great atmospheres. We only have a few more days.
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