How many substitutes can be used at Women's Euro 2022?

Women's Euro 2022 trophy
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Women’s Euro 2022 is just a matter of days away, and excitement is building ahead of what promises to be a thrilling tournament in England.

The squads have been named, stadiums prepared and routes to the final drawn up by day-dreaming fans, but the attention will soon turn to the action itself.

Hosts England get things underway on Wednesday night, when they face Austria in the opening Euro 2022 game at Old Trafford.

Sarina Wiegman had a tough task on her hands in naming a 23-strong squad, but competition rules mean she will be able to count on a large pool of players for every game.

How many substitutes can be used at Women’s Euro 2022?

All 12 of the squad members who aren’t picked in the starting line-up will be available from the bench.

A maximum of five substitutes will be allowed, and a sixth can be used when a game goes into extra time.

However, each team has a maximum of three stoppages in play to make their changes. An additional stoppage can be used in extra time.

Half-time and full-time don’t count as stoppages in play though, neither does half-time in extra time.

What about squad changes? 

The final Women's Euro 2022 squads have been submitted, but changes could still be made in certain circumstances.

If a player is seriously ill or injured before her team’s first match, she can be replaced in the squad by another player – as long as a UEFA doctor and team doctor both confirm that it’s sufficiently serious a problem.

A player testing positive for Covid-19 would count as serious illness, but if they are replaced in the squad, they wouldn’t be able to later re-join proceedings once they have recovered.

Goalkeepers can be replaced during the tournament in the event of “physical incapacity”, even if one or more other keepers are still available.

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio. 

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