Women's soccer world champion Spain drawn with Italy, Belgium and Portugal in Euro 2025 group

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — World Cup winner Spain will chase a sweep of major women's soccer titles at the 2025 European Championship after drawing a group with Italy, Belgium and Portugal on Monday.

A European title would complete the set for Spain women after winning the inaugural UEFA Nations League in February for coach Montse Tomé, who took over when the team and federation was in turmoil after the 2023 world title win in Sydney. Tomé is the only female coach in Spain's Euro 2025 group.

Euro 2025 host Switzerland will open the 16-nation tournament against Norway on July 2 in Basel. The group also includes Iceland and Finland.

The past two European champions, titleholder England and Euro 2017 winner the Netherlands, landed in a strong group with top-seeded France and Wales.

France and England reunite next July 5 in Zurich after coming through the same qualifying group, in which they traded away wins in a five-day spell and France finished on top of the standings.

“We had some beautiful matches in May and June. It’s a very good challenge,” France coach Laurent Bonadei said.

Germany, the record eight-time European champion, was drawn with Denmark, Poland and Sweden, the inaugural winner in 1984.

Basel’s St. Jakob Park stadium also will host the final on July 27.

More than 700,000 tickets are publicly available for the 31 games being hosted in eight Swiss cities.

Switzerland has the responsibility to continue the momentum in European women's soccer after three successful major tournaments.

France hosted the 2019 Women's World Cup, won by the United States; host England won the Euro 2022 final against Germany watched by more than 87,000 fans at Wembley Stadium; and Spain and England played for the 2023 world title at the first 32-team tournament, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

“For me it is the perfect moment for this tournament to come here,” said retired Swiss great Lara Dickenmann, a two-time Champions League winner with Lyon.

“It will be a game-changer for us,” Dickenmann told The Associated Press. “It’s going to be really important for the Swiss population but also for the Swiss media, Swiss politics, on any level that takes part in football.”

Switzerland will start against Norway — which lost the 2023 World Cup opening game against New Zealand — one month after the same teams meet in a Nations League group that also includes Iceland.

Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage said she aimed to field her best team in what will be a final competitive warmup for Euro 2025.

“Confidence can take any team anywhere,” said Sundhage, the Swedish veteran who led the U.S. to back-to-back Olympic titles in 2008 and 2012.

England coach Sarina Wiegman has won the past two Euros titles, after leading her native Netherlands to the 2017 title, and suggested it will be an open and exciting tournament in Switzerland.

“It's not just three or four countries” who can win, Wiegman said. “You can’t predict anymore.”

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The coaches of Finland Marko Saloranta, Norway Gemma Grainger, Iceland Thorsteinn Halldorsson and Switzerland Pia Sundhage, from left, pose with the tournament trophy at the end of the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Italian soccer player Leonardo Bonucci draws England during the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

UEFA deputy general secretary Giorgio Marchetti, on the video screen, hosts the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

The coach of France, Laurent Bonadei, a representative of Wales, England coach Sarina Wiegman and the Netherlands coach Andries Jonker, from left, pose with the tournament trophy at the end of the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Swiss former soccer player Lara Dickenmann draws Spain during the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Swedish soccer player Caroline Seger draws Norway during the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

The tournament trophy is on display at the end of the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

The coaches of Belgium Ives Serneels, Italy Andrea Soncin, Spain Montserrat Tome and Portugal Francisco Neto, from left, pose with the tournament trophy at the end of the UEFA Euro 2025 European women's soccer championship final draw at the Swiss Tech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)