- Germany beat France 2-1 in the semi-finals of the Women’s EURO in Milton Keynes and advanced to the final.
- Alexandra Popp scores both of Germany’s goals and is the woman of the match.
- In the final on Sunday (live on SRF) Germany meets the hosts England at Wembley.
Her coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg affectionately referred to her as a “header monster” after the second European Championship game against Spain. Now her prowess on high balls saw her become the woman of the match in the semi-final against France. We are talking about the German striker Alexandra Popp.
Thanks to her header to make it 2-1 in the 76th minute, she secured her team a place in the final. After a supposedly clarified situation, Popp started again, got a run-up and climbed one floor higher than France’s central defender Griedge Mbock. The 31-year-old’s header landed, then the ball wriggled in the goal net. And Germany cheered, finally about the participation in the European Championship final.
record extended
The German captain had already made it 1-0 – also after a cross. Skillfully using a volley, she scored the opening goal in the 40th minute after the Germans had had a little more of the game before. The European Championship debutant Popp scored in each of her first 5 games of the finals – and thus extended her record. A player has never scored a goal in the first 4 games of a European Championship. In addition, no player has managed to score in the first 5 games of a major tournament.
However, the response from the French was not long in coming. Kadidiatou Diani plucked up courage 5 minutes later and hit the post. The ball then hit the back of goalie Merle Frohms and from there into the goal to make it 1-1. The goal came on the break whistle and gave France a boost for the second half. The French had better chances to make it 2-1. Wendy Renard, for example, almost headed in Popp style (63rd). But the power and determination of Popps in her 59th goal in the national jersey (119 appearances) should ultimately decide the game.
8-time European champion or home team?
In the final, the Germans will meet England at Wembley and thus the second team, which was extremely convincing. The English also won all games and have a goal difference of 20:1. The Germans, who have already lifted 8 European Championship trophies in the past, can still use a Popp in top form.