The 2005 UEFA Women's Championship, also referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2005, was a football tournament for women held from 5 June to 19 June 2005 in Lancashire, England and Cheshire, England.[1] The UEFA Women's Championship is a regular tournament involving European national teams from countries affiliated to UEFA, the European governing body, who have qualified for the competition.[2] The competition aims to determine which national women's team is the best in Europe.[3][4]
Germany won the competition for the fourth consecutive tournament, and the sixth time overall (including one win in the predecessor tournament, the European Competition for Representative Women's Teams). Their championship win was the last for coach Tina Theune-Meyer, who months earlier had announced her retirement effective at the end of the tournament. In her nine years in charge of Germany, they won three European titles, two bronze medals in the Olympics, and the 2003 World Cup.[5]
Finland made its debut in the competition.
Eight national teams participated – seven of which qualified from earlier stages, plus England, which received an automatic berth as the host nation. They were split into two groups of four: Group A and Group B. Each team in a group played each other once, with the top two teams in each group progressing to the semi-finals. The winner faced the runner-up of the other group in a play-off, with the winner of each semi-final advancing to the final to determine the champion.[6]
A qualifying round ran from 22 March to 3 October 2004.[7] The teams which were entered played in a group stage, with the winners advancing to the final, and the runners-up being given the chance of qualification through a play-off. England, as the host nation, qualified automatically for the tournament. This was the first time in which the hosts qualified automatically for the final tournament.
The following teams were eliminated at this stage:[8]
Three teams were also eliminated in play-offs for the tournament:
More information on the qualification format at UEFA.com
For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 2005 UEFA Women's Championship squads
Top two teams in each group advanced to the semi-finals
Note:
Sanna Valkonen (playing against England)The tournament was viewed as a successful one by The Football Association.[9] The tournament is credited with popularising women's football in England.[10][11][2][12]
