England’s female footballers won the European Championship for the first time. In today’s final in London’s Wembley, they defeated the eight-time champions from Germany 2:1 after extra time.
Chloe Kelly decided the match in front of a record attendance of the men’s and women’s European championships of 87,192 spectators in the 110th minute. The game ended 1-1 in normal time after goals from Ella Toone and Lina Magulla.
The Germans had to do without captain Alexandra Popp at the last minute. The striker, who eventually became the top scorer of the tournament with six goals, along with England’s Beth Mead, was injured during the warm-up.
Her absence was noticeable in the game of the visiting team, and England had the upper hand in the first half. However, the Germans had the first big chance, but a corner kick in the 26th minute did not end with a goal. On the other hand, White failed after counterattacking.
The second half belonged to Germany, but they threw away two big chances in the beginning and England punished it in the 62nd minute. Toone got the ball behind the defense and opened the scoring with a brilliant arc.
Germany could have equalized shortly after, but Magullova hit the post from a good position. In the 79th minute, however, the visiting team was waiting. Magullová ran onto Wasmuthová’s pass and ran the ball under the crossbar.
Another goal did not fall in normal playing time and the match went into overtime. In it, the title for England was decided in the 110th minute by Kelly, who got through from the goal post after a corner kick.
England thus achieved their first triumph at the Euros after two second places in 1984 and 2009. Germany, on the other hand, lost in the final for the first time at the European Championship. His worst result at the championship is a quarter-final exit in 2017.
In addition, with the title, England underlined a successful championship in all respects, which broke records from start to finish. Already halfway through, he broke the maximum in attendance at stadiums and the record in television viewership.
In the end, he also took care of the highest attendance in the history of European championships. Today’s match at Wembley was watched by 87,192 spectators, the previous high was 79,115 fans at the men’s Euro final in 1964 in Spain.
Mead was named the best player of the tournament, adding five assists to six goals and helping England to a record 22 goals. “I don’t know what to say. We’re in shock. I’ve already gone through it with my family,” Mead said.
Women’s European Championship – Final at Wembley:
England – Germany 2:1 after extra time (1:1, 0:0)
Goals: 62. Toone, 110. Kelly – 79. Magull. Viewers: 87,192.
