Of course, Hull and Henseliet could be crushed and Europe could still ultimately prevail. On the Costa del Sol, Pettersen’s favourites were swept 4-0 in the foursomes but fought back to go into Sunday’s singles at 6-6. It seemed as though the Americans were mentally melting in the heat. Only two of their 12 players were in a successful Solheim dozen and Stacy Lewis, the USA captain, is honest enough to admit there are psychological hurdles to overcome.

“That’s our biggest challenge this week – the majority of this group is still over the hump,” Lewis said. “We’ve been close in the last three games (losing 14&1/2-13&1/2 in 2019 and 15-13 in 2021, 14-14 last year) and it would mean a lot to get over the finish line this week. But we still have a lot of work to do before we get to that point.”

12:05 BST

Charley Hull (Eng) & E Henseleit (German) vs Nelly Korda & Allisen Corpuz
Nelly the Elegant versus Charley the Unique. A great opening match, although it could be their partners who decide the outcome. Henseliet was extremely impressive in her rookie year and Corpuz showed her penchant for the big stage by winning the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach last year. She beat Hull that day. Charley can get a little revenge.
Prediction: Europe 1up

12.17 pm

Celine Boutier (Fr) and Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland) against Rose Zhang against Lauren Coughlin
Boutier, the top-ranked European and world number 10, had a terrible time last year, losing all three of her matches. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine her and rookie Valenzuela, ranked world number 63, defeating former amateur prodigy Zhang and another rookie, Coughlin. The latter was a revelation in 2024, winning twice and breaking into the top 14. They seem to be a great pairing.
Prediction: US 3&2

12.29 pm

Emily Pedersen (Den) and Maja Stark (Switzerland) against Ally Ewing and Jennifer Kupcho
Pettersen sees a lot of herself in the dynamic Dane Pedersen and will count on her fighting qualities to expose the nervousness that Kupcho was brave enough to admit in her first two matches. But she has a good partner in Ewing and the European Championships could struggle, although Stark finished 10th at the Olympics and finished second at the first major of the season.
Forecast: US 2&1

12.41 pm

Linn Grant (Switzerland) & Carlota Ciganda (Sp) against Lilia Vu & Sarah Schmelzel
Vu, the world No. 2, has a lot to prove after losing all three foursomes and soccer matches in Spain last year. Schmelzel is inexperienced and could be targeted as one of Lewis’ weaker players. Ciganda was the heroine in Spain, beating Korda in the singles to ensure Europe retained the trophy. Grant has wonderful momentum and Pettersen will fancy a good chance in her final pairing.
Forecast: Europe 2&1