MANCHESTER, England — The women's European Championship got under way with pre-game fireworks for a tournament record crowd but there was little sparkle from hosts England as they laboured to a 1-0 win over Austria at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The crowd of 68,871 was the largest for a European Championship game and the enthusiasm of the heavily youthful and noisy supporters fired England to a lively start.

Tonight's attendance is the in Women's EURO history

Spain, the 7/2 favorite to triumph at the upcoming Women's European Championship in England, has suffered a massive blow to its campaign ahead of its opening match against Finland on Friday. On Tuesday, Spain's national team confirmed that 2021 Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas had suffered a sprain in her left knee during training.

Putellas was then taken to the hospital to discover the extent of her injury.

On Wednesday, July 6 at Old Trafford, England and Austria kick off the opening match of what's expected to be a thrilling and highly competitive Women’s European Championship. When looking at the groups, it's stunning to see just how many blockbuster matches are lined up. In anticipation, we’ve picked out our top five games you definitely need to circle on the calendar.

Netherlands vs. Sweden

Date: Saturday, July 9 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN2

The UEFA Women's European Championship tournament will draw a record attendance in England this summer with 500,000 tickets already sold, UEFA said on Friday.

The tournament, postponed last year due to COVID-19, is expected to draw an audience from at least 99 countries, with 20 percent of the purchases coming from outside England.

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Record-breaking sales
More than double #WEURO2017
Purchasers across 99 countries

More than half of all players at the finals of last year's European Championship and Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were subjected to some form of discriminatory abuse online, a report published by global soccer governing body FIFA has revealed.

The 2022 Women’s Euro begins on July 6 and will be the biggest soccer event happening this summer. Germany has won eight of the last 10 Euro tournaments but as the women’s game grows in Europe teams like France, Spain, England and defending champions Netherlands look to make Germany’s dominance a thing of the past. If you're wondering how to watch Women's Euro 2022 this article provides every game.