The German national women’s side will begin the defence of their European Championship crown in the 2017 qualifiers, when they will face Russia, Hungary, Turkey and Croatia. The draw took place today at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland. The EUROs will take place in 2017 in the Netherlands.
There are eight groups of five teams. Each winner and the six best runners up will qualify alongside hosts Holland. The other two second place sides will face each other in a playoff for the final spot in the competition. The DFB women’s, who won their eighth title (sixth in a row) in Sweden in 2013 were drawn from pot A, which meant they couldn’t be drawn against France, Sweden, Norway, England, Italy, Spain and Iceland.
Before the qualification kicks off, the German side still have the summer’s World Cup in Canada. From 7th June, the Silvia Neid’s team kick off their campaign in Group B against the Ivory Coast, Norway and Thailand.
The groups
1. Iceland, Scotland, Belarus, Slovenia, FYR Macedonia
2. Spain, Finland, Ireland, Portugal, Montenegro
3. France, Ukraine, Romania, Greece, Albania
4. Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Slovakia, Moldova
5. Germany, Russia, Hungary, Turkey, Croatia
6. Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, Georgia
7. England, Belgium, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia
8. Norway, Austria, Wales, Israel, Kazakhstan