When host nation England take on Germany in the European Championships final on Sunday, it will have a tournament-record crowd of around 90,000. Overall Euro 2022 will easily be the best attended one so far. It surpassed the previous mark of 240,000 part-way through the group stage.
“It’s going to be a big festival of football,” German coach Martina Vos-Tecklenburg said on Wednesday. “It’s a classic in soccer, England-Germany.”
England are aiming to win their first major women’s tournament title at the site where the English men’s national team defeated West Germany to win their only major title, the 1966 World Cup.
Germany has won all eight European finals it has played – and defeated England 6-2 in the 2009 final – but its momentum seemed to be slowing in recent years as other countries invested heavily in the women’s league.
What does it mean
England have scored a tournament-leading 20 goals on their way to the final, more than halfway in two stormy victories over former European champions, 8–0 against Norway in the group stage and 4–0 against Sweden in the semi-finals. Is.
Beating eight-time winners Germany would be the perfect way for England to write history.
England showed it was possible in February, winning 3–1 at Wolverhampton for their first win against Germany on home soil.
Germany fans are accustomed to winning their team’s title, even if it is not a once-winning dynasty. Since Germany won Olympic gold in 2016, Euro 2022 has gone past the quarterfinals of a tournament for the first time.
Key Players
Forwards Alexandra Pope and Alessia Rousseau have made very different contributions. Captain Pope has scored in each of Germany’s five matches – a new record – and started all but the opening game against Denmark. Rousseau hasn’t started anything but the final impact option.
Having missed the 2013 and 2017 European Championships with injuries, Pope is making up for lost time as joint top scorer with Beth Mead of England on six goals. Pope has his club mate, one of five Wolfsburg players in the starting lineup for a 2–1 win over France, when he scored twice.
Pope started out as a full back at the now-defunct FCR Duisburg and won his first European club title at the age of 18. She attended a sports-focused high school, which had special permission for her to take football classes as the only girl with boys. The men’s club Schalke also has an academy, and a fully qualified zookeeper.
Russia’s explosive influence from the bench has been significant. The Manchester United forward, who plays college football at the University of North Carolina, has scored four goals as a substitute at Euro 2022, including a backheel through the goalkeeper’s legs against Sweden in the semi-finals. Equally valuable was his assist to Ella Toon’s goal to send the quarterfinals against Spain into extra time.
“I think you play your best when you’re enjoying your football. Maybe[the backhill against Sweden]shows a little bit of confidence – but I just love playing football,” Russo said.
coach
England’s Sarina Wigman and Germany’s Voss-Tecklenburg have already made history as players and coaches.
Vos-Tecklenburg has been a driving force in German football for decades – winning 125 games and four European titles for the national team, a UEFA Women’s Cup (now the Champions League) title in 2009, even five years as coach. Editing of Women’s Football magazine till .
He noted England’s slow start against Sweden in the semi-final, when the hosts were on the defensive. “The first 30 minutes against Sweden showed you can hurt (England), and that will be our job,” he said.
Wegmann played 99 times for the Netherlands and coached the Dutch to the 2017 European title before joining England, and is still unbeaten in 11 games as coach in the championship.
“We said that before the tournament and we still say it every time we want to inspire the nation.” “I think that’s what we’re doing and we want to make a difference, and we hope we all get so excited and proud of us that more girls and boys start playing football.”
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