Alexandra Popp and Beth Mead monopolize all the protagonism in the final of the European Championship (Sunday at 6:00 p.m.). They arrive at the party like the two referents of your selection. No one needed to shine at the European Championship as much as the top two scorers. They had a lot to prove after difficult months for both. And they have done it in spades.
Con six goals in five games, have already surpassed Inka Grings as the top scorer in this continental tournament (2009) and any of them could continue to write history this Sunday. They are also the only players to score in all three group stage matches.
Popp’s vindication
Alexandra Popp has waited 10 years to dispute this European Championship. Injuries have hampered him in recent years and have prevented him from being in the big events with Germany. A ligament tear in her ankle prevented her from attending the 2013 competition and another tear in the meniscus kept her out of the competition again in 2017. Four years later, in the middle of the previous season, she broke her cartilage, an injury that left out of the tournament for the third time. But the pandemic forced UEFA to delay the competition for a year, which It has allowed him to be in England and vindicate himself with his country.
The German footballer will complete 120 caps in the final. After many considered her career over, she has established herself as the great reference from germany and has guided the team to its ninth final. “Many people had already ruled me out and I was able to show that I am still a player to be reckoned with,” she explained emotionally after finishing the first match against Denmark. Her character and temperance on her field have encouraged her teammates to compete at the highest level. At 31 years old, she has overcome her internal battle against injuries and is ready to continue making history.
She is the finisher that Germany needed to be able to play their football and recover their coveted crown. is the only player to score in five consecutive matches at a European Championship. The security shown in the rival area, and the six goals scored, have been transversal to being able to reach the final. It was his brace that qualified the team for the Wembley final. Although her injuries put her in the background for many months, they have not managed to separate her from it, neither from the national team nor from football. And she this Sunday she can continue writing the history of Germany.
Beth Mead convinces in England
Arsenal’s right winger is the revelation of this competition. She reaches this final as the top scorer and top assister in the European Championship after scoring six goals and assisting for another five. She is the most decisive footballer for England, participating in 11 of the 20 goals that the team has scored in the five games played.
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But the European Championship has not only helped her to stand out as the top scorer, but has also earned her personal revenge. Hege Riise, the previous Norwegian coach and current coach, did not call her up at the last Olympics due to lack of quality. “The player’s report has not been so good,” she explained at the time. And Mead and England showed her potential. Winning and hat-trick of the player.
Although her call was initially considered as a shock to the team, she is already the benchmark for the English team. With six goals and five assists, she has guided the national team to the European Championship final. Sarina Wiegman has given her the confidence she needed to become the top scorer. Her record is from 20 goals and 13 assists in the last 18 games with the ‘Lionesses’. Better numbers than those of the entire season with Arsenal, where he scored 14 goals and gave 19 assists. This Sunday, he could break Inka’s record and continue making England’s history.