2025 Women’s EUROs Final Leg Qualifiers
The seven final sides who qualified for next summer’s 2025 Women’s EUROs in Switzerland were determined following the two legs at the end of November and early in December—Belgium, Finland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Wales. For the first round of the qualifiers previously this fall, see our recent column: The Week in Women's Football: Reviewing Euro qualifiers; backing hosts Switzerland - TribalFootball.com). We review each of the seven ties below.
Portugal (League B) vs. Czechia (League A) (1-1, 2-1; 3-2 on aggregate)
On November 29 in Porto, Portugal was held at home 1-1 by Czechia, who took the lead through Katefina Svitkova (29) in the 33rd minute. Svitkova, who returned home this season to Slavia Prague after two seasons in the WSL with Chelsea and before that spending two seasons at West Ham, is closing in on 50 caps with the Czech Republic. Portugal’s Kika Nazareth tied the game in the 47th minute. Nazareth has one goal in 11 games this season for Barcelona in Spain, after she moved from Benfica this summer.
In the second leg on December 3, Diana Silva scored two goals—the second coming in the 76th minute—as UEFA Nations League B side Portugal defeated League A side Czech Republic 2-1 away in Teplice and took the tie 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the 2025 EUROs. Svitkova again scored the only goal for Czech Republic in the 35th minute from the penalty spot. The Czech Republic also lost at the last stage for a 2022 EUROs spot, losing 3-2 to Switzerland on penalties after a 2-2 tie in two tremendous games. With Poland advancing to the EUROs Finals for the first time, we do expect the Czech Republic and other nations from Eastern Europe to break through to the EUROs or a Women’s World Cup Final over the next tournament cycle or two.
Scotland (League B) vs. Finland (League A) (0-0, 0-2; 0-2 on aggregate)
Scotland put themselves behind the eight ball on November 29 with a 0-0 tie against Finland in Edinburgh in the first leg. In the second leg on December 3, Finland wrapped up the tie in Helsinki with two early goals from Finnish defenders Natalia Kuikka (29) of the Chicago Red Stars and Nea Lehtola (26) of Brann of Norway, who spent the last two seasons in Denmark with Brondby, for a 2-0 match victory. League A Finland thus advanced to the EUROs Finals over League B Scotland.
Spanish native head coach Pedro Martinez Losa named 23 players for the two legs against Finland, with 11 playing for clubs in England, one each based in Germany, Spain, Sweden and the USA, and eight playing in Scotland:
Scotland 2025 EUROs Playoff Squad versus Finland:
Eartha Cumings—FC Rosengard (SWE)
Jenna Fife—Rangers
Lee Gibson—Glasgow City
Jenna Clark—Liverpool (ENG)
Kelly Clark—Celtic
Nicola Docherty—Rangers
Sophie Howard—Leicester City (ENG)
Rachel McLauchlan—Brighton & Hove Albion (ENG)
Emma Mukandi—London City Lionesses (ENG)
Kirsty Smith—West Ham Utd (ENG)
Erin Cuthbert—Chelsea (ENG)
Lisa Evans—Glasgow City
Sam Kerr—FC Bayern Munich (GER)
Chelsea Cornet—Rangers
Shannon McGregor—Celtic
Jamie-Lee Napier—Bristol City (ENG)
Amy Rodgers—Bristol City (ENG)
Caroline Weir—Real Madrid (SPA)
Claire Emslie—Angel City (USA)
Kirsty Hanson—Aston Villa (ENG)
Brogan Hay—Rangers
Martha Thomas—Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Emma Watson—Manchester Utd (ENG)
For Finland, head coach Marko Saloranta (42), who played professionally in Finland, named 24 players for the Helmarit’s final European Championship qualifiers. Almost half of the squad (11) play in Sweden, which has long been a traditional destination for top Finnish players as the Damallsvenskan has always been viewed as a higher level league than Finland’s Kansallinen Liiga (National League). Other imports came from England (3), Italy (3), Norway (2) and one each play in Denmark, Spain, Switzerland and the USA. Only one player is based at home. After the team was announced, Katariina Kosola had to step aside due to illness.
Finland’s Final WNT Squad for the Final 2025 EURO Qualifiers against Scotland:
Tinja-Riikka Korpela, Servette FC CF (SUI)
Anna Tamminen, Hammarby IF (SWE)
Anna Koivunen, Brommapojkarna (SWE)
Natalia Kuikka, Chicago Red Stars (USA)
Joanna Tynnilä, SK Brann (NOR)
Eva Nyström, Hammarby IF (SWE)
Emmi Siren, FC Nordsjaelland (DEN)
Emma Koivisto, AC Milan (ITA)
Nora Heroum, U.C. Sampdoria (ITA)
Nea Lehtola, SK Brann (NOR)
Katariina Kosola, BK Häcken (SWE)
Vilma Koivisto, Linköpings FC (SWE)
Eveliina Summanen, Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
Oona Siren, West Ham United (ENG)
Anni Hartikainen, FC Rosengård (SWE)
Olga Ahtinen, Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG)
Ria Öling, FC Rosengård (SWE)
Emmi Alanen, Kristianstads DFF (SWE)
Sanni Franssi, Real Sociedad (SPA)
Linda Sällström, Vittsjö GIK (SWE)
Heidi Kollanen, Vittsjö GIK (SWE)
Oona Sevenius, AC Milan (ITA)
Dana Leskinen, IFK Norrköping (SWE)
Lilli Halttunen, HJK
Finland defeated Montenegro 6–0 on aggregate in the first round of the European Championship qualifiers in October.
Ukraine (League B) vs. Belgium (League A) (0-2, 1-2; 1-4 on aggregate)
Ukraine hosted the home leg in Antalya, Turkey on November 29 and fell 2-0, surrendering a goal in second half injury time which was a huge blow going into the second leg in Belgium in Leuven. On December 3, Belgium won 2-1 to take the tie 4-1, as Tessa Wullaert (31) of Fortuna Sittard in the Netherlands scored the winner in the 90th minute, after scoring in the 92nd minute in the first leg.
Wales (League B) vs. Republic of Ireland (League A) (1-1, 2-1; 3-2 on aggregate)
Wales and the Republic of Ireland tied 1-1 in the first leg on November 29 in Cardiff as Lily Woodham (24)—who played eight games for the Seattle Reign this season and is now with WSL promoted side Crystal Palace on loan—gave the home side the lead in the 20th minute. However, the Irish were given a lifeline when Wales goalkeeper Olivia Clark (23)—who has played six matches thus far this season with Twente in Netherlands after playing last season with Bristol City (WSL) and Watford FC (English Championship)—put the ball through her own net in the 35th minute and the scores remained level for the rest of the match. Wales was optimistic going into the second leg in Ireland as they defeated Ireland 2-0 in a friendly match in February in Dublin’s Tallaght Stadium, home of the Shamrock Rovers. All-time, before the two legs, the Irish led the series 13-5-3 (W-D-L) with the first game ever being in Llanelli in May 1973 as Ireland won 3-2. Ireland’s FIFA ranking entering the ties was (#24) with Wales five places behind (#29).
More than 13,000 tickets had been sold in advance for the first leg at the Cardiff City Stadium, with the FAW hopeful of breaking the attendance record of 15,200 for a home women’s international match, which they did with a crowd of 16,845 in Cardiff.
In the second leg on December 3 in Dublin, Wales scored twice in the second half from a penalty kick by forward Hannah Cain (25), who has been at Leicester City for five seasons, in the 50th minute after Irish defender Anna Patten’s handball in the box and midfielder Carrie Jones (21), who moved from England to Norkopping of Sweden during the summer transfer window, added a second goal in the 67th minute. Anna Patten (25), who plays with Aston Villa in the WSL, pulled a goal back in the 86th minute. Ireland could not score a second goal despite dangerous attempts to tie up the aggregate scores and Wales qualified for their first ever senior finals with a 2-1 win to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
The game was tremendous to watch and Denise O’Sullivan’s curling long-range shot in the first half which bounced off the goal-post could have changed the tenor of the tie if it had gone in. The match attracted another record crowd in Dublin for the women’s national team of 25,832 at Aviva Stadium. Wales joined Portugal as the second League B side to qualify against a League A side.
As with Finland, many of the Republic of Ireland squad play in a nearby top league in England’s WSL (15), with three in the USA, and one each in Belgium, Italy, Scotland and Switzerland, with one based at home in the Irish League, which is now in the off-season so Julie Ann-Russell (64 caps and 7 goals) has had to train with men’s teams in Galway (see more in: The Week in Women's Football: Reviewing Euro qualifiers; backing hosts Switzerland - TribalFootball.com).
Ireland WNT Squad for 2025 EURO Qualifiers against Wales
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton—ENG), Grace Moloney (London City Lionesses—ENG), Sophie Whitehouse (Charlton Athletic—ENG)
Defenders: Jessie Stapleton (Sunderland—ENG, on loan from West Ham United—ENG), Diane Caldwell (FC Zurich—SUI), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool—ENG), Caitlin Hayes (Celtic—SCO), Anna Patten (Aston Villa—ENG), Megan Campbell (London City Lionesses—ENG)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal—ENG), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Carolina—USA), Megan Connolly (Lazio—ITA), Lily Agg (Birmingham City—ENG), Tyler Toland (Blackburn Rovers—ENG), Ruesha Littlejohn (London City Lionesses—ENG), Heather Payne (Everton—ENG), Marissa Sheva (Portland Thorns—USA), Izzy Atkinson (Crystal Palace—ENG)
Forwards: Kyra Carusa (San Diego Wave—USA), Abbie Larkin (Crystal Palace—ENG), Amber Barrett (Standard Liege—BEL), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool—ENG), Julie-Ann Russell (Galway United)
Goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse has yet to be capped at the full level. On the other end of the scale, three players have over 100 caps: midfielder Denise O’Sullivan (117 caps with 21 goals), defenders Niamh Fahey (113 caps with 1 goal) and Diane Caldwell (102 appearances with 4 goals). Midfielder Katie McCabe is nearing the century mark with 91 caps and 29 goals while midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn has 83 caps with 6 goals.
For Wales (Cymru), former Canadian international player and now head coach Rhian Wilkinson named 26 players for the two leg EURO qualifier playoffs against the Republic of Ireland. Midfielder Ellen Jones returned to the squad for the first time since July and was the only change in the squad from the play-off semi-final victory over Slovakia as she replaced Charlotte Lee, who was in Cymru’s UEFA Women’s U-19 EURO qualifying campaign. Two of Wilkinson’s selections were uncapped at the senior level: Mared Griffiths and Tianna Teisar. Centurion Sophie Ingle (33) of Chelsea in the WSL remained absent as she continues to recover from an ACL injury, along with Elise Hughes (23) of Crystal Palace and Esther Morgan (22) of Hearts of Scotland.
Most of the players for Wales were with clubs in England (19), with three based in the States (two in the NWSL and one in the USL Super League) and one each in Netherlands, Spain and Sweden, with one playing with a Welsh club, but it actually plays in an English league.
Wales (Cymru) Squad for the 2025 EURO Qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland
Olivia CLARK (FC Twente—NED), Laura O’SULLIVAN-JONES (Gwalia United—Cardiff City, who actually play in the FAWNL Southern Premier Division—the third tier of England), Safia MIDDLETON-PATEL (Manchester United—ENG), Rhiannon ROBERTS (Real Betis—SPA), Josie GREEN (Crystal Palace—ENG), Charlie ESTCOURT (DC Power—USA in the USL Super League), Hayley LADD (Manchester United—ENG), Gemma EVANS (Liverpool—ENG), Mayzee DAVIES (FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division side Liverpool Feds ENG—Dual contract with Manchester United—ENG), Lily WOODHAM (Crystal Palace—ENG – On loan from Seattle Reign—USA), Ella POWELL (Bristol City—ENG), Anna FILBEY (Watford—ENG), Alice GRIFFITHS (Southampton—ENG), Angharad JAMES (Seattle Reign—USA), Ellen JONES (Sunderland—ENG), Lois JOEL (Newcastle United—ENG), Rachel ROWE (Southampton—ENG), Carrie JONES (IFK Norrköping—SWE), Ffion MORGAN (Bristol City—ENG), Jess FISHLOCK (Seattle Reign—USA), Ceri HOLLAND (Liverpool—ENG), Kayleigh BARTON (Charlton Athletic—ENG), Mary MCATEER (Sunderland—ENG), Hannah CAIN (Leicester City—ENG), Mared GRIFFITHS (Manchester United—ENG), Tianna TEISAR (Bristol City—ENG).
Poland (League A) vs. Austria (League A) (1-0, 1-0 and 2-0 on aggregate)
On November 29, in a tie between two UEFA League A teams, Poland won 1-0 in Gdansk from Marina Georgieva (27) of Austria’s own goal in the 57th minute. Georgieva is in her second season with Fiorentina in Italy’s Serie A after many years in Germany as well as four games with PSG in France in 2022-23. Poland won the second leg in Vienna on a 94th minute goal from Ewa Pajor (28) of Barcelona in Spain to qualify for their first ever EUROs Finals.
Northern Ireland (League B) vs. Norway (League A) (0-4, 0-3; 0-7 on aggregate)
Norway defeated Northern Ireland 4-0 in Larne on November 29 as Caroline Graham Hansen of Barcelona in Spain scored two goals, with the ultimate winner coming after only seven minutes. In the second leg in Oslo on December 3, Graham Hansen again scored the ultimate game winner early, this time in the 13th minute, as Norway coasted 3-0 and took the tie 7-0 on aggregate.
Serbia (League B) vs Sweden (League A)—(0-2, 0-6; 0-8 on aggregate)
On Thursday, November 28, Hanna Bennison (22) of Juventus—who she joined for the 2024/25 season after three seasons with Everton of the WSL—and Rusul Kafaji (21)—in her first season with Arsenal of the WSL after three seasons each at home at Hacken and AIK of Stockholm—gave Sweden a crucial first leg advantage away in Leskovac.
In the second leg in Stockholm on December 3, Sweden built a 4-0 lead by halftime with Stina Blackstenius of Arsenal of the WSL scoring twice. Sweden won the home leg 6-0 and took the tied 8-0 on aggregate.
2024 CAF Women’s Champions League Review
The 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League title—the fourth edition of the continental club tournament—was determined in Morocco with a surprise winner from DR Congo. Five of the eight teams were debutants for this season’s CAF WCL (noted below). In Group A, AS FAR of Morocco finished top of the group with 9 points, followed by TP Mazembe of DR Congo (6 points), while the two debutants to the tournament in Group A: UWC Ladies of South Africa (3 points) and Aigles de la Medina of Senegal (0 points), were both eliminated from the tournament.
In Group B, Edo Queens of Nigeria and FC Masar of Egypt (a Right to Dream club) tied for top spot with 7 points, but the Nigerians were awarded a top seed for the knockout stage with a +4 goal difference to +2 for FC Masar. Reigning champions Mamelodi Sundowns (3 points) finished third and CBE of Ethiopia (0 points) in fourth were both eliminated. Sundowns, who won the title in 2021 and 2023 and finished runner-up to Morocco’s AS FAR in 2022, was the only team in the group that had played in the continental tournament in the past.
The match of the round was the Sundown’s final game against Edo Queens, when the South Africans took the lead in the 24th minute from South African international Melinda Kgadiete (32), but then went into a very defensive bunker type of approach and the Nigerians capitalized with two stunning second-half stoppage time goals from forward Emen Essien (23) in the 95th minute and 17-year-old Mary Mamudu in the 101st minute. Essien told CAFonline.com after the match that her goal against Sundowns was: “My most unforgettable moment (of the CAF WCL)… It was an incredible experience.”
Essien grew up playing street football in Nigeria.
In the knockout stage, TP Mazembe upset Edo Queens 3-1 after extra time while host nation side AS FAR defeated FC Masar of Egypt 2-1. FC Masar tied the match in the 97th minute from the penalty spot by Egyptian midfielder Maya Abouelwafa (19)—on a retake after her first attempt was saved as Moroccan international goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi (35) but a VAR review ruled that she had moved early off her line; she also saved an earlier penalty kick attempt by Abouelwafa in the first half—and then Moroccan youth international Doha El Madani (19) scored two minutes later for the winner for AS FAR.
El Madani won the Golden Boot title for the tournament with 6 goals and played at the 2022 U-17 FIFA WWC in India and 2024 U-20 WWC this past summer in Colombia. For the tournament title, TP Mazembe upset African Women’s powerhouse AS FAR 1-0 with a 10th minute penalty from DR Congo international Marlene Kasaj (28) in front of a crowd of 15,000 in El Jadida. She has previously played with AC Leopards in the Republic of the Congo, for Amani in DR Congo and since 2022 in Turkey with ALG Spor, Adana Idmanyurduspor and Beylerbeyi SK.
Looking at the rosters of the eight teams, in Group A, Aigles de la Medina of Dakar, Senegal used an entirely home based roster. University of Western Cape FC of South Africa also used an all-domestic based roster. AS Forces Armees RC of Morocco had only one import—defender Maureen Tovia (25) of Nigeria.
For TP Mazembe of DR Congo, their imports came from Equatorial Guinea (2) and one each from Cameroon, Ghana, Angola, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Malawi—midfielder Chimwemwe Madise (32)—for their Moroccan head coach Lamia Boumehdi (41). Boumehdi is thought to be Morocco’s youngest ever full international at age 16 and played at home and in Lebanon at the club level. She coached Morocco’s WNT in 2020. Note: Another Malawian—forward Sabina Thom—could not travel with the side to Morocco due to visa issues.
In Group B, CBE (Commercial Bank of Ethiopia) FC used an all-domestic roster as did Edo Queens of Benin City, Nigeria. Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa had one import: goalkeeper Maitumelo Sedilame (26) of Botswana, who has compiled over 20 senior caps. Midfielder Boitumelo Rabale (28) was born in South Africa but plays internationally for Lesotho. Rabale played collegiately in North America at Lewis and Clark Community College in Illinois and the Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia.
FC Masar of Cairo, Egypt had two imports from Uganda and one each from Tanzania and Burundi—forward Sandrine Niyonkuru (24), who is a full international for Burundi. Lars Vind (42) of Denmark, who coached for many years at home with Esbjerg fB in a variety of roles, was on the Masar coaching staff and has a UEFA Pro coaching license.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey