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Lina Magol and Alexandra Pope (Reuters)
After the women’s Euro broke spectator records, the highlight of the tournament arrives: the final between the host England and Germany at Wembley Stadium. The Manschaft holds the record for winning the European Championship with eight such – far from all others (Norway has two wins and Sweden and the Netherlands one each) – while the team of the Three Lionesses is fantasizing about history because it has never won the Euro. Yes, just like the men’s team.
In fact, of the last seven Euro tournaments since 1995, six have ended with Germany lifting the trophy. The only one who managed to avoid a similar fate in the last Euro in 2017 is also at this time in the final at Wembley: this is Serena Wichman, coach of the England team. So it ended with 2:4 over Denmark in the Netherlands, at the end of a tournament where the host celebrated with the title. Will it happen this time too?
Historically, German dominance in the Euros is clear, but the gaps have narrowed due to the progress of women’s football and in particular in England. In the last final of the Three Lionesses team, they were defeated 6:2 in 2009 and this time they hope to be on the winning side. They have even already played several times at Wembley Stadium and also hosted Germany there for a friendly match in 2019.
The overall balance between the teams is also clearly in favor of Germany: 21 wins, four draws and only two losses, but there is nothing like a final at Wembley to start rewriting history. It also brings together the two queens of goals on the eve of the final: England’s Beth Mead and Germany’s Alexandra Popp who each found the back of the net six times before the moment of truth.
first half
The composition of the German national team: Merle Fromms, Julie Gwynn, Kathryn Andrich, Marina Hagering, Pelistas Rauch, Lina Oberdorf, Sarah Debritz, Lina Magol, Sabnia Huth, Julie Brand and Alexandra Pope.
The composition of the England team: Mary Hurps, Lucy Bruns, Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, Rachel Daly, Georgia Stanway, Kyra Walsh, Fran Kirby, Beth Mead, Lauren Hemp and Ellen White.
