The anticipation of the European Football Championship in England, which starts this Wednesday, could hardly be greater, after all, the host has a good chance of fulfilling their dream of winning the first women's football title.
Tens of thousands of fans should carry the selection through the tournament.
Doubts about superstar Lucy Bronze spoil the good mood.
The English world footballer of 2020 threatens to fail due to a stubborn cold for the opening game against Austria in the evening (9 p.m. / TV: ARD).
Bronze, 30, is a right-back and the key player in the title contender's team.
Recently, the Manchester City player had numerous offers from top international clubs.
She has now signed a contract for next season with FC Barcelona, probably the best team in the world at the moment.
You want to see a top footballer like that in the opening game.
Also the 73,200 people who will be present at the opening duel in the legendary Old Trafford.
The game has been sold out since April.
And not just them.
The demand for the tournament is high.
There are also no more tickets for the English women's other group games against Norway in Brighton and Northern Ireland in Southampton.
The final at Wembley Stadium in London is also sold out.
With an estimated 87,200 spectators, the tournament on July 31 will celebrate a record: It would be the European Championship game with the most visitors in history - including men's tournaments.
The whole country is tailwind.
The tournament in England continues the trend of breaking records in women's football.
According to Uefa, half a million tickets have been sold so far, more than twice as many as for the previous 2017 European tournament in the Netherlands.
80 percent of buyers come from England, and Uefa registered orders from a total of 99 countries.
Joy about sales figures, anger about small stadiums
"It's already crazy how great the interest has become," said 34-year-old Uefa official Nadine Kessler, who also used to play for Turbine Potsdam.
"It's the biggest stage we've ever had at a tournament like this." This means Old Trafford, Wembley or the stadiums in Brighton, Southampton and Sheffield.
But there are also tiny stages: the Leigh Sports Village (8100 seats) in a poorly connected suburb of Manchester or the youth stadium of Manchester City (4700 seats).
"Shocking, embarrassing." This is how Iceland midfielder Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir describes the fact that her side have had to play two group games "at the Manchester City training ground" while women's football "explodes" and "gets better and better".
"I don't understand what's going on in their heads or whether they follow women's football at all," is their verdict on the EM organizers.
However, the Football Association (FA) and Uefa could only choose venues that had applied.
And there were no applications from places like Newcastle with its imposing St. James' Park.
Manchester City's large men's stadium was also not available.
Everyday life in the league attracts only a few fans
The reluctance may also have something to do with the fact that the demand for tickets for everyday use in the English league is rather low.
City's women's selection is expected to play their home games in front of an average of just 1,390 fans.
The eleven other English first division clubs achieve similar figures.
The FA has set itself the goal of raising the average attendance in the English league to 6,000 fans per home game by 2024.
The enthusiasm around the EM could help.
The FA has already made some amazing progress.
It managed to double the number of women and girls actively playing football between 2017 and 2020 to 3.4 million.
In Germany, on the other hand, there are almost 187,000 female soccer players, according to the latest DFB membership statistics - almost 100,000 fewer than five years ago.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf calls this number “alarming”.
In Germany, shortly before the European Championships, a concept was launched that is intended to initiate a trend reversal.
In England there have long been campaigns to further develop women's football.
"Time for change" is the name of the association's concept.
It's also about visibility - and results can be seen during the European Championship.
Major media such as the Guardian have produced special supplements worth reading and are expanding their range of podcasts, while the BBC is showing all games live.
Celebrities show up with the team, Prince William recently visited the selection in their EM quarters.
The English team recently reached a semi-final three times in a row, at the 2015 World Cup, the 2017 European Championship and the 2019 World Cup. With the successful Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman, a harmonious mix of experience and youth and the home advantage, the "Lionesses" want to go one step further go and win their first major title ever.
The expectations in the country are so great even before the start that anything other than the European Championship victory should be seen as a disappointment, as a missed opportunity - although the tournament is extremely open and the group of favorites includes at least four or five other teams.
A healthy Lucy Bronze would be the prerequisite for being able to play the hoped-for role in this tight field.
In any case, the English audience is ready for a summer fairy tale.
