This Wednesday evening, the Old Trafford stadium in south-west Manchester – a time-honored cathedral of English football – will be sold out to the last seat.

And not because the home side of Manchester United would play a Premier League game there, but because it is the opening game of a competition that will break records: it is the start of the 2022 European Women's Football Championship, hosts England against Austria 71,300 viewers (9 p.m., in the FAZ live ticker for the women’s football championship, on ARD and on DAZN)

To put this into context: A total of a good 240,000 fans came to the games of the EM 2017 in the Netherlands, and in England they are now rightly confident of being able to attract more than twice as many people to the stadiums this summer.

England in front of a full house

A certain amount of anticipation could already be felt in the days leading up to the start of the tournament: many bars and pubs in Manchester's nightlife areas want to show the games of the English team;

all matches will be broadcast live on the various BBC channels.

However, if you spontaneously want to buy a ticket for one of the group games of the English women, you are out of luck: The "Lionesses" (lionesses) will play against Austria, Norway and Northern Ireland in front of full ranks.

On the other hand, there are still tickets for games without English participation;

the prices were deliberately set low – as a full-payer you can get into the stadium for ten pounds in the cheapest category.

Meanwhile, the 87,200 tickets for the final at London's Wembley Stadium are already sold out.

This also has to do with the expectations in the country.

According to many commentators in the media and former players, England is one of the favorites to win the European Championship - although nations such as Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands are also arriving with the highest ambitions.

England coach Sarina Wiegman took charge of the team last September and they have gone 14 straight games unbeaten.

In February, England won the newly introduced four-nation tournament, which also included Olympic champions Canada, Spain and Germany.

England won the three European Championship friendlies in June convincingly 3-0 against Belgium, 5-1 against the Netherlands and 4-0 against Switzerland.

Former international Kelly Smith told the BBC she saw "an air of arrogance, a confidence and an ego" in the team that she had never seen before.

Obsessed with detail and tactically variable

The strong form of the English women is credited to Wiegman.

The 52-year-old Dutchwoman led her home country to the 2017 European Championship and the 2019 World Cup final, which they lost to the United States.

She prefers to set up her team in a 4-3-3 formation and encourages them to attack from behind.

Nevertheless, she is considered to be obsessed with detail and tactically variable, which makes her team more difficult to calculate for the opponent.

In the run-up to the opening game, she did not publicly commit to a starting XI, but emphasized the depth of her squad - so clever substitutions often made the difference in the friendlies.

"It's a good result," said Wiegman after the win against Switzerland: "We've shown again that we're a very fit team.

We also showed again that we don't only play with eleven players.

We have so many more players in our squad who can make a difference in the second half.”

All eyes on Lauren Hemp

However, there are key players in the English squad from whom fans and observers expect special performances.

Chief among these is Lauren Hemp, the 21-year-old Manchester City left winger.

She is fast, dynamic and good at dribbling with a distinctive pull towards the goal.

Defender Millie Bright said of Hemp: “With her pace, any defender is afraid to go one-on-one against her.

We try to give her the ball as often as we can."

25-year-old Arsenal defender Leah Williamson, who can be used in a variety of ways, was surprisingly appointed as the new captain under Wiegman, which means that she has a special responsibility on her shoulders.

Much also depends on iconic striker Ellen White, who at 33 may be facing her last major international tournament.

One thing is already certain: the European Championship will be the biggest event in the history of women's football in Europe.

The organizers expect up to 100,000 international fans to travel to England, and more than 250 million could follow the games on television worldwide.

In England it is also hoped that this will have a positive effect on the Women's Super League (WSL), the national professional league.

It is considered to be the best league in the world - even if the US National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) sees it differently - with some of the currently best players.

But public interest fluctuates: 49,000 fans came to the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City in May, and the best-attended WSL game last season was Manchester United against Everton with over 20,000 spectators.

But the average is far below, teams like Birmingham City or Reading FC only played their home games in front of a few hundred interested people.

The European Championship is therefore also an opportunity for the sport.

Should England thrill the crowds at Old Trafford in the opening game, should they advance to the final at a packed Wembley Stadium and triumph there, it may persuade more and more people to buy a season ticket at their nearest women's football club next season.