UEFA Euro 2022 Trivia Quiz

Answer: England

England was the host nation for the 2022 European Women's Football Championship - generally referred to as the Women's Euro 2022 or just Euro 2022. It was the second time the country had hosted the tournament (having first done so in 2005) and the difference in the public reception and interest in women's football between the two tournaments held 17 years apart was stark. Back in 2005, the matches were all held in the north-west of England in front of audiences of just a few thousand people (excepting those involving England and the final, which just over 20,000 attended); in 2022 the final was held at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of nearly 90,000.

This question was written by the quiz host for this Phoenix Rising event, England's Fifiona81.

Answer: Portugal

England qualified for the final tournament as hosts. The remaining 47 countries were drawn into the qualifying group stage as two groups of six and seven groups of five (Groups A - I). The winners of each group were awarded a place in the final tournament, as were the top three ranked runners-up. The remaining six runners-up faced off in a round of play-offs, the winners of which also progressed. Russia advanced out of Group A as runners-up, then bested Portugal in the play-offs to secure a spot. However, they were later banned from FIFA and UEFA international competition after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As such, Portugal qualified instead.

Runners-up Northern Ireland (Group C) won a play-off against Ukraine. Runners-up Switzerland (Group H) defeated runners-up Czech Republic (Group D) in their play-offs.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon deftly dribbled this question into the quiz.

Answer: Iceland

In the group stage, each team was placed into a group with three other teams and all teams in that group played each other. Points were awarded according to how each match ended. A team won 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw and no points for a loss. Although Iceland was undefeated, they also had no wins, all of their matches having ended in a draw. This gave them only 3 points in their group with France scoring 7 points and Belgium scoring 4 points. Both France and Belgium advanced but Iceland was left out of the knockout.

This question was drawn into the quiz by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.

Answer: Italy

The Italian women struggled during the Euro 2022 tournament. During their first Group D match, they were down 5-0 to France before striker Martina Piemonte scored the team's only goal in the 76th minute. Next, the ladies took on Iceland and again were only able to score one goal, this time by mid-fielder Valentina Bergamaschi, ending the match in a draw. Italy's final group D match was a 0-1 loss to Belgium, giving the Italians only one qualifying group point for advancement. France and Belgium went on to qualify for the knockout stage with 7 and 4 points respectively.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who knows the best place to get a uniform is in New Jersey.

Answer: England

England came into the tournament ranked 3rd in the FIFA Women's World Rankings. They were drawn into Group A with Norway (12th), Austria (21st), and Northern Ireland (48th). England and Germany were the only two teams in the tournament to make it through the Group stage without conceding a goal. England did so by dispatching Austria 1-0, Norway 8-0, and Northern Ireland 5-0. Star forward Beth Mead scored a hattrick in the fixture against Norway.

Phoenix Rising's JCSon is looking forward to the day that women's football gets as much coverage as the men's game does.

Answer: Spain

The Spanish team was in Group B, and during the tournament played 4 games, winning two and losing two, garnering four yellow cards (but no red cards) on the way. In the group stage Spain was matched against Finland (winning 4-1), subsequently losing 0-2 to Germany and winning 1-0 against Denmark. This was enough to see them advance to the quarter finals. Each of the six goals achieved by Spain in the competition was scored by a different player.

In the quarter-final match Spain played the host country, England, in front of just under 30,000 spectators at the Falmer Stadium, home of Brighton & Hove Albion. England won the game in extra time, relegating Spain to sixth place in the tournament.

This quiz question was scored by Phoenix Rising's VegemiteKid.

Answer: Germany v France

Germany defeated France 2-1 in a very close match. German striker and captain, Alexandra Popp scored first in the 40th minute. France soon equalized due to an own goal recorded against German goalkeeper, Merle Frohms, following a shot from France's Kadidiatou Diani that ricocheted off the post and then off Frohms. Scores remained equal until Popp scored again for Germany in the 76th minute, resulting in the final score line of 2-1. In the other semi-final a day later, England easily accounted for Sweden 4-0.

This question was fired into this quiz by MikeMaster99 who of course credits his teammates with very important assists!

Answer: England won 2-1 after extra time

Over a century's worth of footballing history between England and Germany - albeit the vast majority of it relating to the men's game - has led to matches between the two countries being viewed (by England fans at least) as a meeting of arch-rivals. In the women's game, prior to the 2022 tournament Germany had won the title eight times (once as West Germany) and never lost a final, while England's best result had been taking the runners-up position twice. The two countries had also met in the final at the 2009 tournament, which Germany went on to win 6-2.

The 2022 final proved to be a close match. England took the lead thanks to a goal by substitute Ella Toone after just over an hour of play, but Germany's Lina Magull scored an equaliser in the 79th minute, sending the match into extra time. The first-half of extra time was goalless, but England's Chloe Kelly (another substitute) scored the winning goal in the 110th minute of the match to secure England's women their first major championship title.

This question was kicked into the back of the quiz net by Phoenix Rising's Fifiona81.

Answer: Lena Oberdorf

Born in December 2001, Lena Oberdorf is a midfielder who signed with Verein für Leibesübungen (VfL) Wolfsburg in 2020 and who was the winner of the inaugural UEFA's Young Player of the Tournament award in 2022. The award is made by the UEFA technical observers to the best performing player throughout the tournament. The player is considered to have been outstanding individually and as part of a team, making a major impact on her team's performances. Not surprisingly, Lena Oberdorf was also named in the 'UEFA Team of the Tournament', a team comprising the best players from all the competing teams.

Oberdorf is known for her proficiency in winning the ball from the opposing side, her range of passing skills, and ability to read the game in which she passes to just the right person to create scoring opportunities. Analysis of her play shows that she wins around 63% of the duels in which she engages.

This question was awarded a place in the quiz by Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid, whose vast (!) knowledge of the game of soccer...er...football... is handed down from her kids.

Answer: Beth Mead

Beth Mead is an English professional footballer who plays forward for Arsenal in the Women's Super League (WSL) and on the English National Team. She led England to their first major tournament win ever. In the tournament she won the Golden Boot, Player of the Tournament, and Top Assist Provider.

Her accomplishments in the UEFA Tournament should not have been a complete surprise as Mead excelled years earlier in the WSL playing for Sunderland, becoming the youngest WSL Golden Boot winner ever in 2015. That year she also won the FA WSL Player's Player of the Year Award, the PFA Young Player of the Year Award, the England Young Player of the Year Award, the inaugural North East FWA (Football Writers' Association) Ladies Player of the Year Award, the Sunderland Player of the Year Award, the Sunderland Supporters' Player of the Year Award, and the SportsByte Sports Person of the Year Award.

This question was kicked into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's tazman6619. He shoots! He scores!