The Germans will once again be the team to beat having won the last six editions of the tournament, including in 2013 when the competition was held in Sweden.

No other team has won the event since Norway in 1993.

They have been drawn to play Sweden, the Rio 2016 silver medallists, Italy and Russia in Group B.

The Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) was announced as host by the UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Nyon in 2014 and it is set to be the biggest women’s European Championship to date with 16 teams, up from 12 in 2013.

Action is due to take place in the cities of Breda, Deventer, Doetinchem, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Utrecht and Enschede.

England beat the Germans to finish in third place at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada and qualified for this tournament in sensational fashion, without losing a match.

They will play neighbours Scotland, who are making their European Championships debut, in Group D alongside Spain and Portugal.

Hosts The Netherlands will kick off the tournament tomorrow against the runners-up in 2013, Norway, in Utrecht.

They have been drawn in Group A along with Denmark and Belgium, who also meet on day one of the tournament.

Completing the line-up for the opening stage is Group C which features France, Iceland, Austria and Switzerland.

The French have been tipped as Germany's strongest challengers with a squad dominated by Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain, who played in this year's UEFA Women's Champions League final. 

The top two from each group will progress to the quarter-finals with the final on August 6 at FC Twente's Grolsche Veste Stadion in Enschede.