A scandal, said a Norwegian expert about the match schedule of the European Championship – England and Germany will have an exceptional advantage in the final climax

However, the teams that meet in the semifinals get to play their matches from essentially different starting points.

Tuesday 26.7. host England enters the semi-final between England and Sweden with fresh legs. The home team of the Games is allowed to spend five days off after the quarter-final match against Austria before the starting whistle of the semi-final match.

The advantage in recovery can rise to a significant position, as Sweden struggled in their own quarter-final against Belgium two days later. Sweden has only three days of recovery time before the important semi-final match.

The same situation will also repeat itself on Wednesday evening, July 27. in the second semi-final, where Germany and France face each other. The situation is particularly difficult for France, as the team played in its quarter-final against the Netherlands after the end of regular time without a goal.

Swedish captain Caroline Seger is aware that Sweden will give a handicap to its opponent in the semi-final match.

NRK’s ​​expert Carl-Erik Torp formulated his own opinion about the match schedule a little more directly.

– This is a scandal, bad planning by the competition organizer. This has a competitive effect on the tournament, Torp states and estimates that nothing similar would be seen in the men’s value tournament.

Urheilu’s football expert Maija Saari compas Torpia, stating that the difference between five and three days is significant not only physically, but also mentally.

– In tournaments, each match is more stressful in a certain way, and when matches are played at a close pace, recovery time is important. Even though the players are in top shape and used to playing, the rhythm is still tight, says Saari.

In Saari’s opinion, England benefits above all from the fact that, thanks to the longer recovery time, the team has much better opportunities than its opponent to train between games and prepare for the next match.

– In Sweden, it takes time between matches to get the players free for the next match. Training can therefore be lighter than in England. Sweden can hardly do game-paced exercises with the best possible lineup in the same amount as their opponents, Saari estimates.

Sweden’s captain Caroline Seger stated to NRK that the match programs usually favor the host country of the games, but the current EC tournament’s type of differences of several days in recovery times between matches have not been seen before.

For example, at the 2009 Finnish Games, two quarter-final matches were played per day. The difference in recovery times for the teams facing each other in the semifinals was only a few hours, because the teams on the same match day played against each other in the semifinals.

Even in the previous EC tournament, the home team Holland only got one extra day before their semi-final against England. The teams in the second semifinal played their quarterfinals within hours of each other.

The setup for these games has turned out to be very different. Although the quarter-finals were played on a match-per-day basis, England’s semi-final opponent could have been Germany, which played its own quarter-final a day after the host country. Now, however, Germany faces France, which also has to prepare for its semi-final match with two days less recovery time than its opponent.

In Maija Saare’s opinion, the match schedule of the playoffs with disproportionate recovery times gives food for speculation after the semifinals. However, the intensity of speculation largely depends on the final results of the matches.

– If England were to completely crush Sweden, there would certainly be a discussion about how important the uneven recovery time is.

– Small bumps and ailments easily occur in football matches. If the team has two days more time than the opponent to improve them, the team is in a much stronger position. In minor muscle injuries, even one day can make a really big difference, says Saari.

Saari still believes that the teams going to the semifinals with a shorter recovery are ready to play.

– The players who have reached the semi-finals are professionals and know what it takes to survive at a high pace. The physical capacity is enough for a fast pace of play.

In addition to a favorable match schedule, England will benefit from the fact that the team’s players are “like at home” at the European Championships. Saari, who played as captain of the helmets in the 2009 EC tournament, remembers that the home games offered the team a mental advantage.

– The venues were familiar, as was everything that happens around the matches, from hotels to bus transportation. It gives you a mentally calm and confident feeling when you know how things are going.

The semi-final between England and Sweden will be live on TV2, Areena and the app on Tuesday from 21:15. You can find everything about the European Championships on ‘s competition page here.