The Women’s European Championships have finally arrived and some of the world’s biggest stars are set to light up the tournament as it gets underway in England this month.
There’ll be plenty of names familiar to English fans from the Women’s Super League and others who have stamped their mark all over the Champions League in recent seasons.
Here are our ten to watch...
Beth Mead (England)
Mead was left out of the Team GB squad for Tokyo by Hege Riise last summer, but the Arsenal forward has bounced back in terrific fashion this term and the Arsenal forward finished it by being perhaps harshly overlooked again, this time for the WSL Player of the Year award.
The 27-year-old has more than doubled her international goal tally since new Lionesses coach Sarina Wigeman’s arrival with 12 goals in her last ten appearances. With in-form Man City star Lauren Hemp on the opposite flank and all-time Lionesses top scorer Ellen White through the middle, she forms part of a potentially lethal attack.
Alexia Putellas (Spain)
Spain’s squad relies heavily on a core of the Barcelona side that has enjoyed so much recent success, with the likes of Jennifer Hermoso and Aitana Bonmati among 11 Barca players named in their provisional squad.
Putellas, however, stands above them all, the reigning Ballon d’Or Feminin winner who has been the standout player in European club football over the past two seasons.
The 28-year-old was part of the Barca side that lost their Champions League crown when being upset by Lyon in May’s final, however, and will be desperate to make amends by leading her nation to a first major tournament success.
Marie-Antoinette Katoto (France)
Katoto will make her major tournament bow having been controversially left out of the 2019 World Cup despite being the French league’s top scorer the previous season.
Still just 23, the forward is already Paris Saint-Germain’s all-time leading goalscorer but is out of contract this summer, has reportedly turned down an offer that would have made her the best-paid female player in the club’s history and has no shortage of suitors.
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands)
The Arsenal forward and all-time leading scorer in the WSL is nearing a century of goals for the national team and needs little introduction.
The 25-year-old, who recently signed a new Gunners deal to end speculation over her future, has been the spearhead of this Dutch side’s recent success, scoring twice in their triumph in the Euro 2017 final and a record-breaking ten times during last summer’s Olympic Games.
Lea Schuller (Germany)
Germany boast a wealth of attacking talent and technical prowess in midfield but Schuller is their most potent threat and her goals will be key if they are to end a recent run of underwhelming major tournament performances.
The 24-year-old scored 16 times in 22 league outings for Bayern Munich this term to finish as the Frauen-Bundesliga’s top scorer and has been prolific for the national team, too.
Stina Blackstenius (Sweden)
Increasingly familiar to English fans after her switch to the WSL with Arsenal in January, Blackstenius is regarded as one of the best strikers on the planet.
The 26-year-old has an excellent record in major tournaments, scoring the winner in Sweden’s last-16 and quarter-final wins at the 2019 World Cup, before finding the net five times at the Olympics in Tokyo, where Sweden picked up silver.
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway)
All eyes will be on Ada Hegerberg, the former Ballon d’or winner who is back in the side and will play at her first major tournament in five years, but teammate Graham Hansen will be just as crucial to Norway’s hopes.
Considered one of the best players on the planet, the winger has been a crucial part of the Barcelona side that has dominated Spanish football in recent years, winning last season’s Champions League before losing this year’s final to Hegerberg’s Lyon.
Pernille Harder (Denmark)
The 2017 finalists might be considered dark horses for the tournament were in not for the fact that they are drawn in the group of death, alongside Spain, Germany and Finland. If they are to get out of it, Chelsea star Harder will be key.
Her move to the Blues from Wolfsburg in 2020 broke the world record for a women’s transfer and she has been an integral part of the side that have dominated English football since, following a domestic treble with a WSL and FA Cup double this term.
Cristiana Girelli (Italy)
Girelli has been scoring goals for this Italian side for the best part of a decade but at the age of 32 remains its chief goal threat, with nine in ten games during qualifying.
Italian football had been in the doldrums across the first half of her international career, but head coach Milenia Bertolini has been gradually improving the team’s fortunes and they will be confident of qualifying for the quarter-finals ahead of the likes of Iceland and Belgium.
Nicole Billa (Austria)
Austria surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals five years ago on their first major tournament appearance and will be looking to spring another shock when they play England on opening night at Old Trafford.
Billa is among the most prolific forwards at the entire tournament, having scored 35 goals across the last two Frauen-Bundesliga seasons, despite playing for a Hoffenheim side who have been some way off the big two of Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich.
