Home nations, heatwave & Swiss 'heart' - what to expect from Euro 2025

The hold is astir over.

Euro 2025 kicks disconnected successful the stunning Swiss municipality of Thun connected Wednesday arsenic Iceland instrumentality connected Finland (17:00 BST).

Hosts Switzerland commencement their run aboriginal that time against Norway successful Basel (20:00 BST).

So what does the tourney person successful store? How volition the location nations fare? And who is apt to get their hands connected the trophy connected 27 July?

BBC Sport takes a look astatine the cardinal things to expect from Euro 2025...

In the UK, the attraction volition beryllium connected England and Wales, drawn unneurotic successful Group D.

A perchance decisive duel betwixt the 2 sides awaits connected 13 July (20:00 BST) successful their last radical game.

But 2 apical teams basal successful their mode of reaching the knockout signifier - the Netherlands, who won the tourney successful 2017, and France.

Wales mislaid conscionable 1 of their 10 games successful qualifying, but person struggled against stronger absorption precocious aft making the leap to League A successful the Nations League.

Rhian Wilkinson, who has guided Wales to their archetypal large tournament, has said her broadside "can vie with the champion teams".

England are defending champions, but getting retired of the radical is acold from guaranteed.

A decision by favourites Spain past period showed England person enactment to do, portion pre-tournament disruption caused by the planetary retirements of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby and the withdrawal of their World Cup skipper Millie Bright has not helped matters.

"There person been injuries, determination person been headlines and a batch of noise. All the tactics request to beryllium shutting retired the sound and focusing connected show and the opening game," erstwhile Scotland planetary Jen Beattie said.

However, Sarina Wiegman's squad volition consciousness amended aft a 7-0 thrashing of Jamaica successful their last warm-up game, with six antithetic goalscorers.

"I deliberation if you are a Lioness successful that dressing country now, past your assurance is done the extortion and you're acceptable to spell done a large tournament," Beattie added.

As the reigning satellite champions, and with a wealthiness of endowment successful their squad, Spain get successful Switzerland arsenic favourites to triumph a archetypal European crown.

They person lone reached the semi-finals of the Euros once, and ne'er the final.

La Roja won the World Cup successful 2023 contempt starting the tourney with a divided squad amid a inheritance of unrest.

Their triumph was overshadowed by Luis Rubiales, the past president of the Spanish shot federation, kissing subordinate Jennifer Hermoso connected the lips - a buss helium said was consensual, but she said was not. Rubiales was recovered guilty of intersexual battle and fined successful February this year.

Almost 2 years on, the players look to person emerged stronger and look much agreed than ever.

"The girls yet privation to enactment the extremity to that story," erstwhile Spain midfielder Vicky Losada told BBC Radio 5 Live's Euro 2025 preview.

"They are going to a large title successful a bully place. They are each saying they are going to beryllium capable to execute but besides bask which is thing they haven't done successful the past 2 large tournaments.

"They don't privation to speech immoderate much astir it. They person assurance with the caller manager and they are acceptable for it."

The highest-ranked squad are successful a radical with Belgium, Italy and Portugal, and Montse Tome's broadside should, if their caller signifier is thing to spell by, scope the quarter-finals unscathed.

The record-breaking June heatwave that has been affecting Europe is heading to Switzerland successful clip for Euro 2025.

Amber heatwave warnings person been issued for astir of this week by the Swiss authorities. Temperatures are expected to beryllium astir 10C supra mean with daytime temperatures peaking astatine astir 35C (95F).

The archetypal circular of matches instrumentality spot during the evening, erstwhile temperatures volition beryllium easing, but it volition inactive beryllium highly lukewarm for football.

For the 18:00 CET (17:00 BST) kick-offs temperatures volition hover betwixt 27-30C. The aboriginal 21:00 CET (20:00 BST) kick-offs are acceptable to beryllium played astatine temperatures betwixt 24-27C.

The vigor and humidity could spark immoderate thunderstorms with the accidental of a dense downpour towards the extremity of the week.

Like successful each Uefa competitions, drinks breaks whitethorn beryllium implemented astatine Euro 2025 if temperatures are high.

Uefa delegates volition measurement the somesthesia with a bedewed bulb globe somesthesia (WBGT) thermometer astatine the extremity of the teams' warm-ups. If it exceeds 35C, cooling breaks volition beryllium introduced for the match. If the somesthesia is beneath those thresholds, the implementation of drinks breaks is astatine the discretion of the referee.

A vigor informing has been issued by Uefa for each matches connected 2, 3 and 4 July. For these matches, fans tin bring a h2o vessel of up to 500ml into the stadium.

But however bash players consciousness astir playing successful the temperatures?

"Of people it's not casual but we person unit that are considering each of that," Switzerland midfielder Meriame Terchoun told BBC Sport. "We person everything we request for betterment similar cryotherapy oregon acold baths.

"For maine personally, I similar it erstwhile it's blistery truthful it's OK but we person everything we request to retrieve good from the heat."

Beth Mead won the Golden Boot astatine Euro 2022 with six goals, but could her Arsenal team-mate Alessia Russo bargain the amusement this summer?

The 26-year-old striker was the joint-top scorer successful the Women's Super League past word with 12 goals - 1 much than Mead had scored the play earlier the 2022 tournament.

Russo didn't commencement a crippled astatine Euro 2022 arsenic she was beneath Ellen White successful the pecking order, but she established herself arsenic a super-sub by scoring 4 goals aft coming disconnected the seat - including an outrageous backheel decorativeness successful the semi-final against Sweden.

"She is going to beryllium the 1 starring the enactment for England and with the prime players astir her creating chances, you would expect her to beryllium determination oregon thereabouts for the Golden Boot," erstwhile Wales planetary Danny Gabbidon told BBC Sport.

Five of BBC Sport's pundits person predicted Russo volition spell connected to triumph the Golden Boot, but determination were besides mentions of Spain's Claudia Pina and Esther Gonzalez.

Germany's Lea Schuller oregon France's Marie-Antoinette Katoto could apical the scoring charts if their teams spell acold into the tournament, portion Poland's Ewa Pajor and Belgium's Tessa Wullaert volition anticipation to play their portion for the underdog nations.

This volition beryllium the archetypal clip Switzerland has hosted a women's sporting lawsuit connected this scale.

It was selected arsenic big federation by Uefa successful 2023, beating Poland, France and a associated bid from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Set against the backdrop of Switzerland's iconic mountainous landscape, the tourney volition instrumentality spot crossed 8 cities: Basel, Bern, Geneva, Zurich, St Gallen, Sion, Lucerne and Thun.

Organisers person prioritised sustainability with escaped nationalist transport offered to immoderate summons holders travelling to and from games wrong the country, portion they've besides planned the lucifer docket to trim squad question during the radical stage.

They person besides created a program intended to treble the fig of girls and women playing shot successful Switzerland from 40,000 to 80,000 by 2027.

"For the tournament, it volition beryllium perfectly astonishing for the big federation to get retired of the radical and progress," erstwhile England guardant Ellen White told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It's going to beryllium immense for Switzerland arsenic a federation to get down this squad and propulsion them implicit the line."

Former Switzerland goalkeeper Kathrin Lehmann added: "We each cognize we person not that bully a squad similar England person but we person the champion fans.

"The anticipation is we privation to spot the squad putting their hearts connected the tract and beryllium creative. We cognize we don't person overmuch shot prime successful that team, but we person a batch of heart."