The 2022 Euros officially began today as England and Austria played the opening match at the iconic Old Trafford stadium in Manchester. Over 68,000 fans attended the match, which is a new attendance record for a women’s Euros match. UEFA reports that over 500,000 tickets have been sold for the 2022 Euros, which is another record for the tournament.
England was the favorite to win today’s match, as they had a 7-0-0 record against Austria prior to kickoff. However, this didn’t mean that it would be an easy match for England, as they barely beat Austria 1-0 in their last meeting in 2021. Austria is known for their strong defense, which caused problems for opposing teams during the 2017 tournament.
Match Notes
Austria started off strong and contained England with a high press for the first ten minutes of the match. The momentum shifted when Beth Mead chipped the ball over Manuela Zinsberger for a goal in the 16th minute. England almost scored again before the end of the first half, when Zinsberger denied Ellen White‘s goal attempt in the box. In the second half, Mary Earps saved two great shots from Barbara Dunst and Julia Hickelsberger, therefore securing the win for England. The final score was 1-0 in England’s favor. Although England won, Austria showed a lot of promise and will likely cause trouble for other teams in the tournament.
Moments of the Match
England: Mead’s game-winning goal.
Beth Mead scores the first goal of Euro 2022 🔊
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 6, 2022
(via @TUDNUSA)pic.twitter.com/aNpn7O9q4O
Austria: Zinsberger’s save on White.
Zinsberger’s save #ENGAUS pic.twitter.com/i2zsXue0ot
— miedemastuff (@miedemastuff) July 6, 2022
The Euros will continue with Norway and Northern Ireland facing off on July 7 at 3:00 pm EST. Here is the complete schedule for the tournament. American viewers can watch the Euros on ESPN and TUDN, and viewers in other countries can find the broadcasting rights for their countries here.
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