The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

Executive Committee meeting in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and the Finnish proposal won over the Dutch proposal. The

UEFA Women's Championship The UEFA European Women's Championship, also called the UEFA Women's Euro, held every four years and one year after the men's UEFA European Championship first held in 1984, is the main competition in women's association football between nationa ...

is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to

, the European governing body, who have qualified for the competition. The competition aims to determine which national women's team is the best in Europe. The 2009 tournament was won by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

for a seventh time in ten events and fifth straight time. They beat

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, appearing in their first final since 1984, 6–2 in the final. The Germans also boasted the tournament's leading goalscorer in

Inka Grings Inka Grings (born 31 October 1978) is a German former international Association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. She played sixteen years for FCR 2001 Duisburg before joining FC Zürich Frauen. She al ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

made their debut.

Format

Twelve teams competed in the competition, an increase of 4 teams from 8 teams that played in previous tournaments. After a preliminary round, 30 teams competed in a qualifying group stage. Those teams were divided into six groups of five, with teams playing each other on a home-and-away basis. The six group winners advanced to the final tournament. The six runners-up and the four best third-placed teams played a qualification playoff. Those 11 teams and the hosts completed the 12-team lineup for the competition.

Qualification

45 teams competed for the eleven available places in the final tournament; the qualifying teams together with the host were: :

¹ Bold indicates champion for that year. ''Italic'' indicates host for that year

Venues

The tournament was played in four cities in Finland:

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

and

Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...

Tournament review

Matchday 1 – 23–25 August

In the opening round of Group A matches,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and the

showed that they would be contenders for qualification beyond the group stage. In the opening match of the tournament goals from Kirsten van de Ven and Karin Stevens would give the Dutch women a 2–0 victory over

. The evening fixture in the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki saw the host nation Finland begin their campaign with a 1–0 victory over

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. Maija Saari scored the first goal of the campaign, her first international goal. In Group B defending World and European Champions

set the marker, dispatching fellow contenders

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

4–0. The champions and favourites to defend their title stuttered early on as they took a 1–0 lead, but in stoppage time three more goals helped the Germans to their victory and their lead in Group B. In the other match in Group B,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

began their campaign with a win, recovering from a goal down to beat

3–1. Group C opened with a surprise, World Cup quarter-finalists

beaten 2–1 by Group C outsiders

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. England led 1–0 thanks to a Williams penalty just before half-time; however, goals from Panico and Tuttino gave Italy the victory. England finished the game with ten women after Casey Stoney was dismissed. In Group C's other match 2003 World Cup finalists

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

opened their challenge with a comfortable 3–0 win over

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Matchday 2 – 26–28 August

Finland continued their good form in Group A, following up their 1–0 victory with a 2–1 win against the Netherlands. Kalmari scored twice as the home nation moved into the quarter-finals as winners of Group A with a match to spare. The win for Finland would prove to be the end for Ukraine. Earlier on the Ukrainian team had been beaten by Denmark 2–1, and a result of the Dutch and Danes' meeting in the next round of Group games could no longer qualify for the quarter-finals. Maiken Pape scored three minutes from time to devastate the debut nation. Group B saw holders Germany progress after another victory, this time a 5–1 success against the French. Norway recovered from their opening defeat to edge past Iceland by a single goal, a result which eliminated the Icelandic team. In Group C; Sweden booked their place in the last eight with a 2–0 win over Italy arguably the surprise package of the tournament so far. Two goals in the first twenty minutes killed the game for Sweden who now meet England in their final group match. Sweden's win in Turku meant that if England lost their match against Russia then their hopes would be over at the Group stage for the third successive Euro. Russia knowing a win would kickstart their campaign appeared certain to condemn the English to an exit as goals from Ksenia Tsybutovich and Olesya Kurochkina gave the Russians a 2–0 lead. However, that wasn't the end of the tale. England player Karen Carney reduced the gap and then just ten minutes later Carney dinked the ball through to Aluko who equalised for the England team. Two minutes before half-time

Kelly Smith Kelly Jayne Smith (born 29 October 1978) is an English former football forward who spent three spells with FA WSL club Arsenal. After moving to the United States, Smith broke records with Seton Hall University then played professionally with ...

scored the fifth goal of the half and what proved to be the winner in a result which gives both sides a chance of qualifying.

Matchday 3 – 29–31 August

With both Ukraine and Finland knowing where they would finish in the Group, the hosts made four changes to their line up for the final group game. The Ukrainian side took advantage of the changes and signed off from their first UEFA Women's Euro with a 1–0 victory. With everything to play for in the other Group A match, The Netherlands with goals from Sylvia Smit and Manon Melis took a 2–0 lead over Denmark. Rasmussen reduced the arrears however the Dutch would hold on to take second place and leave Denmark relying on results from Group B and Group C to now progress to the quarter-finals. In Group B; Germany through Inka Grings took top spot and the maximum nine points from three matches as they ended the Icelandic challenge with a 1–0 victory. Iceland, making their debut in the tournament showed renewed spirit but could not secure their first point in the European Championships. In the other game a 1–1 draw between Norway and France secured both teams their place in the quarter-finals. The first round concluded on 31 August with the final games in Group C. Played simultaneously as are all final group matches. Italy secured their passage in the tournament with a 2–0 win over Russia, eliminating the Russians from the competition. Russia aware that a three-goal win would guarantee a place in the knock-out stages held out until 13 minutes from the end. In Group C's final game Sweden secured top spot in the group with a 1–1 draw against England, a result which saw the English side qualify. The result also eliminated Denmark in Group A as the side in third place with the worst record.

Quarter-finals – 3–4 September

In the opening quarter-final in Turku, Group A winner Finland took on second-best third-place and Group C qualifiers England. England, seeking to reach the last four following their early elimination in 2005 started well; Aluko giving them a 1–0 half-time lead. A Williams goal put England 2–0 up on 49 minutes and in total control. The home team rallied a goal from Sjölund recovering the deficit to 2–1 before Aluko put England 3–1 up and with one foot in the last four a minute later. A Sällström goal proved mere consolation for the Home nation who went out of the tournament 3–2. In the second quarter-final held between the runners-up of Group A and Group B France took on Netherlands. In a tight match no goals would be scored in normal time or extra time forcing the first shootout of the tournament. After eight perfect penalties making the score 4–4, both teams missed their next two efforts as the tension continued to mount. However, the Dutch would prevail 5–4 to send out France, and book a date with England in the semi-finals. In Friday's quarter-final matches, Germany took a 2–0 lead thanks to Two goals from Grings, making her top goalscorer in the tournament so far. Patriza Panico scored for Italy, and for a couple of moments it seemed that the holders may be in trouble. However, Germany soon regained control in possession and would win 2–1 to book their place in the semi-finals yet again. In the final match of the round, Norway began to impress. Two goals in 7 minutes meant that the Norwegian women led 2–0 at half-time against a very strong and very impressive Swedish side. Cecile Pedersen's goal on the hour meant Norway led one of the favourites in Sweden 3–0. Even though Sandell Svensson scored for Sweden it would prove to be no more than consolation as Norway won 3–1 to secure a semi-final spot with Germany and a chance to avenge the 4–0 loss suffered against the Germans in their opening game.

Semi-finals – 6–7 September

In the opening semi-final England faced the Netherlands; Both teams having caused surprises to reach this stage of the tournament. England took the lead in the 61st minute with a goal from Kelly Smith. Marlous Pieëte levelled the scores at 1–1. The score at the end of 90 minutes was indeed that and extra-time started with the Dutch, who had advanced already via that method as favourite. However, with four minutes left and with Penalties looming Jill Scott scored the winner to send England into the final.

Final (England vs. Germany) – 10 September

England tried from the start to take the game to the favourites, Germany. But after missing several chances, England found themselves behind after 20 minutes of play when Germany scored in their very first attack (

Birgit Prinz Birgit Prinz (born 25 October 1977) is a German former footballer, two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion and three-time FIFA World Player of the Year. In addition to the German national team, Prinz played for 1. FFC Frankfurt in the Frauen ...

), and immediately scored a second—a long-range shot from Melanie Behringer to go 2–0 up. Two minutes later, England pulled one back ( Karen Carney) and the game remained delicately balanced until half-time. The second half initially continued much the same as the first, with England generally attacking and Germany content to play a counter-attacking game. In the second half, Germany added a third ( Kim Kulig) and England responded with their second (

), but when Grings scored Germany's fourth, England seemed to lose heart, and Germany were able to seal the win with a further two goals (Grings and Prinz getting their second goal each).

Gallery

File:Euro 2009 - Germany-Norway - Goal Scrum 239.jpg, Germany playing Norway in Tampere, 24 August File:LauraKalmari.jpg, Laura Österberg Kalmari scored two goals for hosts Finland File:Faye White crop.jpg,

Faye White Faye Deborah White, (born 2 February 1978) is an English former footballer who captained Arsenal Women in the FA Women's Super League and is the longest-serving female captain of England to date. Her Lionesses career spanned 15 years and fi ...

suffered a fracture in the quarter-final, but returned for the final File:UEFA Women's Euro 2009 final (ceremony before the match).jpg, Women's Euro 2009 final (ceremony before the match)

Results

''All times local ( EEST/

UTC+3 UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a UTC offset, time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours ahead of the Coordinated Universal Time, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Following the ISO 8601 standard, ...

)''

Group stage

The top two teams from each group progress to the quarter-finals along with the two best third-placed teams. If two or more teams are level on points they are split by, in order of precedence: (a) higher number of points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question, (b) superior goal difference from the matches played between the teams in question (c) higher number of goals scored in the matches between the teams in question, (d) superior goal difference from all matches played, (e) higher number of goals scored, (f) Fair Play ranking (from during the tournament), (g) the drawing of lots.

Group A

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group B

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Group C

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Third-placed qualifiers

At the end of the first stage, a comparison will be made between the third placed teams of each group. The two best third-placed teams advance to the quarter-finals.

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

----

Final

Goalscorers

;6 goals *

;3 goals *

Eniola Aluko Eniola Aluko (born 21 February 1987) is a British football executive, football broadcaster and former professional player who played as a winger and striker. Aluko has been a regular broadcaster for live football on ITV, BT Sport, Amazon Prim ...

* Fatmire Bajramaj * Victoria Sandell Svensson ;2 goals * Karen Carney *

Fara Williams Fara Tanya Franki Merrett (born 25 January 1984), known professionally as Fara Williams, is an English former Women's association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. A consistent goalscorer and set-piece specialist, Williams was co ...

* Laura Österberg Kalmari *

Camille Abily Camille Anne Françoise Abily (born 5 December 1984) is a French Association football, football manager and former player, who featured prominently for both the France women's national football team, France women's national team and for Olympiq ...

* Melanie Behringer * Linda Bresonik * Simone Laudehr *

Patrizia Panico Patrizia Panico (; born 8 February 1975) is an Italian former footballer who is formerly the manager of Fiorentina in the Italian women's Serie A. A prolific goalscorer, Panico is a longstanding member of the Italy women's national team; she wo ...

Kirsten van de Ven Kirsten may refer to: * Kirsten (given name) * Kirsten (surname) * Hurricane Kirsten (disambiguation), two tropical cyclones in the Eastern Pacific Ocean See also * Kirsteen * Kirst * Kristen * Kirsty Kirsty or Kirstie is a feminine giv ...

* Cecilie Pedersen ;1 goal * Camilla Sand Andersen * Maiken Pape * Johanna Rasmussen * Jill Scott *

* Maija Saari * Linda Sällström * Annica Sjölund * Sonia Bompastor * Louisa Nécib *

Gaëtane Thiney Gaëtane Iza Laure Thiney (born 28 October 1985) is a French former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder or Forward (association football), striker. She spent most of her career with Première Ligue club Paris FC (women), ...

* Annike Krahn * Kim Kulig * Anja Mittag * Célia Okoyino da Mbabi *

Hólmfríður Magnúsdóttir Hólmfríður "Fríða" Magnúsdóttir (born 20 September 1984) is an Icelanders, Icelandic association football, footballer who plays as a winger (football), left winger or as an attacking midfielder. Hólmfríður was a part of Iceland women' ...

* Melania Gabbiadini * Alessia Tuttino * Tatiana Zorri * Manon Melis * Marlous Pieëte * Sylvia Smit * Karin Stevens *

Anneli Giske Anneli is a female given name common in Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Norway. It originated as a variation of the name Anna (given name), Anna. It is listed by the Finnish Population Register Centre as one of the top 10 most popular female given ...

* Isabell Herlovsen * Lene Storløkken * Olesya Kurochkina * Ksenia Tsybutovich * Kosovare Asllani * Charlotte Rohlin *

Lotta Schelin Charlotta Eva Schelin (born 27 February 1984) is a Swedish former Professional sports, professional Association football, footballer who most recently played as a Striker (association football), striker for FC Rosengård of the Damallsvenskan. S ...

Caroline Seger Sara Caroline Seger (born 19 March 1985) is a Swedish former Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder and club captain for Damallsvenskan club FC Rosengård. She was the long-standing captain of the Sweden women's national foo ...

* Daryna Apanaschenko * Lyudmyla Pekur ;own goals * Stina Segerström (playing against Norway)

Squads

References

External links

Women's Euro 2009 – UEFA Official PageOfficial technical reportDedicated Finnish Site for Euro 2009 (Finland F.A)
{{DEFAULTSORT:UEFA Women's Euro 2009

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

August 2009 sports events in Finland September 2009 sports events in Finland