Anita Asante featured at three Women's European Championships, and big-stage experience makes the former England defender a shrewd judge of the teams that will go for glory this month.
The Euro 2022 finals kick off when England face Austria at a sold-out Old Trafford on Wednesday, with the tournament climaxing in the July 31 final at Wembley.
Spain start as many people's favourites, but defending champions the Netherlands, hosts England, France, Germany and Sweden are also firmly in the frame.
Stats Perform sat down with 71-cap star Asante ahead of the tournament getting under way.
The 37-year-old spoke of how a Dutch striker reminds her of the great Dennis Bergkamp, her hopes for England and belief in the Lionesses' Dutch boss Sarina Wiegman, and why Spain are such an exciting proposition.
Asante Asanta's verdict on...
... why England are serious trophy contenders this time
"I think England have a really great chance. We have a fantastic squad. They've got to three semi-finals consecutively [2015 and 2019 World Cup, Euro 2017]. So this is an England team that is competing at the highest level. Of course, they're going to have to challenge the Dutch, the French, the Spanish, who are also an ascending force, Germany with a kind of historic legacy of winning major tournaments. But I think they've got all the components to do that. And they've shown that in previous tournaments, it's just those fine margins.
"We saw with the men's Euros, just how the whole nation kind of stops, gets to a standstill. And it's all about the team and whatever everyone can do to support the team and put good vibes into the universe for them. Hopefully, we can emulate that and get a great mass of support behind the women's England team."
...Sarina Wiegman, champion coach with the Netherlands at Euro 2017 who now bosses England's Lionesses
"She seems a very assured manager. She really knows what she's about and what she wants to impart on the squad. In tournaments, you just never know what can happen with your squad: illnesses, injuries, lots of different challenges from outside. So you need everyone to pull together and have a good relationship as well in terms of communication.
"She wants the team to be confident in possession and that they really enjoy having the ball and utilising their threats. And that's the thing I've enjoyed about watching the England team."
... the mighty Spain team that could take Euro 2022 by storm
"You can see that they are a very fluid kind of team where they are very composed in possession. They don't really adjust the way they play to other teams, they're more the sort of team that go and take their games to the opposition. I think that's what we've seen domestically. And it's kind of what we're probably expecting with the Spanish national team as well, because a lot of those players obviously play in the national team as well. So they have a good understanding of each other from club level.
"I think, arguably, the biggest criticism may be that they maybe have lacked the kind of clinical finishes that we've seen with other European sides in like an Ada Hegerberg, for example, for Norway, but they are definitely an exciting outfit with incredible players. And obviously Ballon d'Or winners to look out for, so they'll definitely be hot contenders."
... the brilliance of Netherlands and Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema
"What can you say about Miedema? She's a prolific number nine, but we also know, she can play as a false nine and kind of as a 10. She has that versatility to her game as well as her vision. She can pick out passes that the other players and maybe even pundits don't see. So that's an incredible skill to have.
"In and around the box, she's lethal. Left foot, right foot, she can finish. But with her, it's the finesse. She kind of reminds me of that Bergkamp-esque finesse where she just chops players and you think she's going to shoot, and then she puts you on the floor and checks back in and takes a strike or slips someone in."
... the thrill of playing tournament football
"As a young girl, my ambition was always to play for England. Walking out the tunnel, getting in your shirt, playing in international competitions that are viewed globally, is such an incredible thing as a female athlete.
"It's all the young girls and all the younger players now who get to do that. They're really living a dream, essentially. And it's a fantastic thing that the younger generation have role models to look up to, to help them see that that dream can be a reality."
... who she considers the favourites
"I have to say England. I actually really believe that we have enough quality in the squad to reach a final and hopefully build that belief as we go along in the competition to really get over the line. Hopefully that home support will give them extra energy throughout the tournament."
Gravenberch ready to show off Liverpool form ‘to the world’, says Gakpo
Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo expressed his pride in seeing compatriot Ryan Gravenberch show off his qualities ‘to the whole world’ after a fine start to the Premier League season.
Though the Netherlands pair did not become teammates at Liverpool until late summer of 2023, Gakpo knew well Gravenberch’s talents from their respective Eredivisie spells with PSV Eindhoven and Ajax.
Now in his second season at Anfield, Gravenberch has drawn widespread plaudits for his form in a new deeper-lying midfield role under new head coach Arne Slot, having largely been used as a substitute under Jurgen Klopp.
Gravenberch is the only midfielder in Europe's big-five leagues to both make 30+ tackles (30) and 30+ interceptions (33) in all competitions this season, and Gakpo insisted that his Netherlands team-mate can continue to go from strength to strength, starting against Southampton this Sunday.
“We [the Dutchmen at Liverpool] knew Ryan already from the Eredivisie when he played at Ajax, and I think everybody knew already that he is this good,” Gakpo recently told Men in Blazers.
“After that, he made a move to Bayern Munich, and maybe he didn’t play that much over there, but still everybody in Holland knew how good he could be when he was playing.
“And I think maybe the manager [Slot] also knew this. At the beginning of the season, he put him in a slightly different position, but he gave him the confidence to play there.
“Ryan showed his quality in that position, grabbed his chance as well and turned out to be a good match. He is playing outstandingly for us this season.
“I’m very happy that we can see Ryan, as we Dutchmen already knew, but now he can show it to the whole world. I’m very proud of him.”
Southampton, meanwhile, welcome the Reds to St. Mary’s on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Wolves ahead of the international break, leaving them bottom of the table after 11 games of the season.
The Saints are the lowest scorers in the Premier League this season (seven), while only Crystal Palace (5.1%) have a lower shot conversion rate than Russell Martin’s side (6.2%). Just 30.1% of Southampton’s shots have been on target this term (34/113), a league-low ratio.
However, the Southampton head coach is relishing the opportunity of facing Liverpool, with his players performing well against the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City already this term.
"I'm really excited about Sunday. We're playing the best team in the country at the moment, on their current form and what they have been doing with their manager, built on an incredible foundation from the previous manager, so I'm really looking forward to it,” Martin said.
"I think we showed the guys the Premier League table last season and how much it changed by the end and by the end of December. But it's honestly such an exciting month.
"People talk about the difficulty of the game and every competition we face in the next four or five games, but it's what we all worked so hard for. We should be excited about the challenge.
“I think teams have shown in the last few weeks that you can pick up big results against big teams, good opposition, and we are going to have to. Our level of performance against teams at the top end of the table has been good on the whole."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Southampton – Mateus Fernandes
Fernandes has become a mainstay in the Southampton team, starting the last eight Premier League games in a row, and has been one of Martin’s standout performers in a lacklustre start to the campaign.
In the Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Wolves last time out, the Portuguese contributed a team-high expected goals (xG) tally of 0.22 from his three shots, while only Yukinari Sugawara (10) and Flynn Downes (12) have created more chances in the top-flight than Fernandes (eight) this season.
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah has both scored and assisted in the same match 35 times in the Premier League (including four already this term), just one shy of Wayne Rooney’s record of 36 games with both a goal and an assist in the competition. The Egyptian has been directly involved in 11 goals (seven goals, four assists) in 11 Premier League appearances against Southampton.
He has also been directly involved in 67% of Liverpool’s Premier League goals this season (14/21 – eight goals, six assists), the highest ratio by a player for any side in the division in 2024-25. Indeed, only Matt Le Tissier for Southampton in 1993-94 (69% - 34/49) has scored or assisted a higher proportion of a side’s goals in a single season in the competition.
MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN
Liverpool have won nine of their 11 Premier League games under new head coach Slot (D1 L1). A win over Southampton will see the Dutchman become the joint-fastest manager to reach 10 wins from the start of a Premier League career (12 games), alongside Guus Hiddink in May 2009 and Carlo Ancelotti in November 2009 (both with Chelsea).
The Reds’ last Premier League game against the Saints was a 4-4 away draw in May 2023 – they conceded as many goals in that game as they had in their previous six visits to St Mary’s combined.
Southampton have won just one of their last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool (D3 L10), a 1-0 home victory in January 2021.
This will also be the first Premier League match between the side starting the day bottom of the table and the side starting the day top since April 2023, and Southampton’s 3-3 draw away to Arsenal. The league leaders are unbeaten in 14 such matches (W12 D2) since Wolves won 2-1 against Manchester United in February 2011.
However, Southampton have only lost one of their last eight Premier League home games against sides starting the day at the summit (W2 D5) and are unbeaten in their last four (W2 D2 – including a 1-0 win over Liverpool in January 2021) since a 0-1 defeat to Man City in May 2018.
But Martin’s side have lost nine of their 11 Premier League games this season (W1 D1). Only seven sides in English top-flight history have reached 10 defeats in 12 or fewer matches from the start of a campaign, with all seven going on to be relegated.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Southampton – 9.7%
Draw – 12.6%
Liverpool – 77.7%
Taylor proud of 'gritty' Man City display in Hammarby victory
Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his Manchester City players handled the atmosphere against Hammarby to secure their passage into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Khadija Shaw opened the scoring in the 31st minute before Ellen Wangerheim restored parity shortly after the interval with a finish from close range.
But Shaw continued her fine start to the campaign, scoring the winner to become City's all-time top scorer in the competition, surpassing Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie (both six).
The result saw City make it to the last eight of the competition for the first time since 2021, though the encounter was far from comfortable at the Tele2 Arena on Thursday.
Hammarby ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.15 compared to the visitors' 1.07, despite both sides having 14 shots throughout the match.
However, City maintained their unbeaten record against Swedish sides in the competitor (W6), and Taylor was proud of his side's "gritty" display in Stockholm.
“I’m really pleased. It was about qualification for us tonight," Taylor said.
"There were a couple of ways we could do it. Obviously, we knew a point was enough, but I don’t think the players were thinking that way.
“It was a really gritty performance on a really difficult on this pitch. It probably doesn’t look like that for the viewers at home watching it.
"But it was a really lively surface and we worked so hard.
“I felt there were some areas we could control the play better. I have to give credit to Hammarby, they were really aggressive.
"The referee was on our side a little bit in the first half and maybe not in the second.
“I’m really pleased and proud of the players, they really dug in tonight. You come away from a hostile environment with a win.”
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
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