Biggest Women's EURO crowds: Attendance records being smashed

The 2022 edition smashed the total attendance record for the Women's European Championship.

The Women's Euro 2022 had a total of 248,075 spectators, including the 8,173 who watched France's 2-1 victory against Belgium at the New York Stadium in Rotherham on Thursday.

That beats the previous record of 240,055 established at the finals in the Netherlands in 2017.

The average attendance for the first 16 matches of Euro 2022 has been 15,505, which shows massive improvement in women's football.

The host nation of England defeated Austria in the tournament's opening match at Old Trafford in Manchester, drawing 68,871 spectators, breaking the competition's single-game attendance record.

The largest attendance previously recorded was 41,301 when Germany defeated Norway in the 2013 Euro final in Sweden.

The previous record for a Women's European Championship group game was 29,092, set in England's 3-2 victory over Finland at the City of Manchester Stadium in 2005. It also broke the mark for a group match.

Even though the record was just broken, it is expected to be broken again during this tournament alone, with the final taking place on July 31 at the 90,000-seater Wembley Stadium. Eight teams are set to battle it out in the quarterfinals, and betting fans can obtain the Betwinner promo code to bet on any of the remaining matches of the tournament.

In recent weeks, two new attendance records for non-final games involving the home team have already been set.

16,819 people in Milton Keynes watched Spain defeat Finland first. The Netherlands and Sweden drew in Sheffield the next day, which was watched by 21,342 people.

Fans thronged the stadium to watch France defeat Belgium and advance to the tournament's knockout round when the record-breaking event took place.

Kadidiatou Diani opened the scoring for France with an early goal, converting a Sakina Karchaoui cross with a back-post header.

However, despite all odds and in the face of intense French pressure, Belgium managed to draw even.

Tessa Wullaert's superbly timed through-pass was in position for Janice Cayman to squeeze the ball past the sprinting goalie to restore parity, much to the amazement of many. This came after some deft play up the left side of the field.

That didn't last long, though, as just over five minutes later, Griedge Mbock Bathy put France ahead once more to seal the win.

France applied sustained pressure in the second half but failed to capitalize on any of its opportunities. In the last seconds, a video assistant review showed that Belgium defender Amber Tysiak had handled the ball, and France was awarded a penalty. Tysiak received her marching orders after her second booking.

Even though captain Wendie Renard's penalty was saved, France qualified for the quarterfinals as the Group D champion with one match remaining after thrashing Italy 5-1 in its opening match.

In Group C, the Netherlands are now in first position, only ahead of second-placed Sweden on goal differential since the two teams are tied on points.

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