England wins the title for the first time

They seemed a bit battered, the English women. They had to accept the 1:1 equalization late in the 79th minute. And after that they didn’t have much to oppose Germany for a long time, they seemed to lack the energy.

Chloe Kelly felt that. She repeatedly asked the audience in the extension to create a better atmosphere. These 87,192 spectators at Wembley Stadium in London, who seemed frozen for a long time. But Kelly woke her up in the 109th minute. There were now ovations, cheers, a sizzling atmosphere. Seconds later, Manchester City striker Kelly, 24, steered the ball over the line. And sent Wembley and a whole nation into ecstasy.

The failure of the star player Alexandra Popp

In an intense, sometimes nervous final game, England were slightly favored before kick-off. And the evening had already got off to a bad start for Germany: eight minutes before kick-off, Alexandra Popp had to declare forfait. The absence of Popp, 31, together with Beth Mead the top scorer of this tournament with six goals, complained of muscular problems and had to be replaced.

The national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg nominated a high-class replacement: Lea Schüller, the Bundesliga top scorer and current German Footballer of the Year. Schüller had her chances, but she wasn’t able to counter the English team’s lucky punch.

Despite the disappointing end, it was a strong tournament for eight-time European champions Germany. After all, the team started this European Championship with little credit – especially in their own country. Before the first game, the “Spiegel” wrote that Germany was in danger of falling behind in an international comparison: “The national team had not even qualified for the Summer Olympics in Japan. The EM could end similarly miserably for the DFB selection. Even an end after the group phase is conceivable. » The fact that only a bit of competition luck was missing for the title on Sunday – that is a very respectable result. Svenja Huth said on ARD: “It hurts like a pig to lose so late.”

The English women, on the other hand, managed what the men’s team has failed to do in ten attempts so far: crowning England number 1 in Europe. «It’s coming home», the 90s hit by the Lightning Seeds, has been the soundtrack of the English national teams for a long time. For once the chorus was right: the trophy has actually come home, to the motherland of football.

Only last summer, the men had reached for the title at the same place, but had to admit defeat to Italy in the penalty shoot-out. The women’s triumph is tantamount to England’s first title since the 1966 World Cup. Unbeaten at that tournament, England also managed to avenge the 6-2 debacle against Germany in the 2009 European Championship final in Helsinki. After the Netherlands in 2017, the hosts triumphed for the second time in a row.

Also Beth Mead with bad luck with injuries

Not everything went according to plan for the English team on Sunday either. Beth Mead, the outstanding player of this European Championship, was injured after almost an hour while straddling and had to be cared for. While the coach Sarina Wiegmann prepared the inevitable change, Keira Walsh played a pass for eternity. He was of such a quality that Germany’s entire defense was undermined. Ella Toone used the template with a remarkable lob to make it 1-0. It was the first English highlight of a historic night that Chloe Kelly immortalized.

England 2-1 Germany (1-1, 0-0) aet Wembley,London. 87 192 spectators. – Gates: 62.Toone 1-0. 79. Magullus 1:1. 110.Kelly 2-1.