Qualifying stage for the second UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO has been set! Spain has won the inaugural Women’s EURO held in Portugal in 2019 and hunt for the new European title has begun.
It is yet to be decided where will the final tournament being held, but we already know how will the national teams progress to the tournament that will be held in the first part of February 2021.
From 5-10 May a preliminary qualifying round will be played consisting of three groups, while only the winners of each group will progress to the main qualifying round. This qualifying cycle will have two debutants: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Gibraltar, latter being a host to preliminary Group C.
Group A will be hosted by Lithuania and other teams will be Serbia, Slovakia and Northern Ireland. Serbia is the favorite to win the group, however, it will be very interesting to see if Lithuania can use the home advantage to create an upset.
Moldova will host Netherlands, Armenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Group B. It is expected that Armenia and Netherlands will fight off for the top spot, but one should keep a close eye on Moldavian hosts and debutants Bosnia and Herzegovina who will be given an opportunity to shine.
Already mentioned Group C will be held in Gibraltar and will only include two more teams – Kazakhstan and Belgium. Being a debutant, Gibraltar’s quality is still a mystery, but the Kazakh team stands as a favorite in this group.
The main qualifying round for the UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO 2021 will be held from 1-6 September of this year. Only winners of each of four groups will qualify for the final tournament in February 2021.
Winner of preliminary group B will join hosts Belarus, Hungary and Russia in Group A. Russia is a firm favorite as they will look for a way to best their 3rd place on the last EURO, while Hungary will hope for any window of opportunity.
Croatia will host Group B where they will try to upset strong favorites Portugal who will undoubtedly be focused on reaching the finals once again, having to fall short against Spain in the first-ever final match played in Porto. However, these two teams will have to fight through Polish and Slovenian defenses first.
Group C will be hosted by Ukraine, who will welcome Finland, Czech Republic and winner of preliminary Group C. Having reached the final tournament in 2019, Ukraine will want to build on that success but their task won’t be an easy one.
Sweden, in Group D, will host current champions Spain, a strong Italian side and a winner of preliminary group A. Most pundits believe Spain has everything it takes to bring it all the way to the end one more time, but they will not be permitted to jump over any steps along the way.
One of the four teams that qualify for the final knock-out stage will host the final tournament of UEFA Women’s Futsal EURO 2021!