Newsletter

Germany in the final of the European Football Championship: Off to Wembley thanks to Alex Popp

Alexandra Popp, of course. With the head, of course, how could it have been otherwise? National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg ran jubilantly along the sidelines: her captain had made the decision, her goal in the 76th minute to make it 2-1 brought the German national team against France to the final of this European Championship, where it was at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday meets hosts England – and after difficult and disappointing years has the chance of a ninth European title.

“I can’t put it all into words. We really threw everything in and are so incredibly happy,” said Popp on ZDF. Her brief but apt assessment of her colleagues was: “The team is great.” Voss-Tecklenburg spoke of great “pride” in their players. “It’s so deserved, we worked so hard for it,” she thought, “we’ve become such a bunch here who support each other everywhere. I think we deservedly won this game.”

The Germans were warned of the ambush attacks of the French, who beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the quarter-finals but had 33 shots on target. They felt this offensive power now, especially down the left flank, where the fast Sakina Karchaoui and Delphine Cascarino kept raising the alarm.

The French pushed the Germans back, at times it seemed as if they were glued to the ball. The fact that they initially failed to score in front of the 27,445 spectators in Milton Keynes was due to the Germans’ alert defence, which excelled in this tournament: they were the only ones remained without a goal until this evening. Like a small swarm of bees, they ran towards the French women and kept separating them from the ball.

Out of necessity, Voss-Tecklenburg had changed their starting XI. After Lea Schüller, who has since recovered, Klara Bühl has now also been hit: her corona test was positive on Tuesday. Ironically, the 21-year-old would be missing, who had been a top performer on the offensive with her runs, ideas, an assist and a goal. The news, said the national coach at the press conference before the game, “has made us all quieter. We see that as the next challenge”.

This failure will only further weld your team together. And the tests of all other players and members of the DFB entourage were negative according to the association – so it stayed the same, only Bühl would be missing against France.

The German team is getting better and better at playing against France in the semi-finals

In front of goalkeeper Merle Frohms, Felicitas Rauch, Marina Hegering, Kathrin Hendrich and Giulia Gwinn started in the back line. Lina Magull, Lena Oberdorf and Sara Däbritz formed the midfield, Bühl representative Jule Brand, captain Alexandra Popp and Svenja Huth the offensive. “A lot will depend on us and what we allow,” Voss-Tecklenburg knew. France is strong, but also vulnerable: “It will take mentality and it will hurt.”

But her team was able to play freely, the greatest pressure was gone. After dropping out in the quarter-finals at the 2019 World Cup and the 2017 European Championship, the goal was to finish in the top four. And now the next step should succeed in the tenth European Championship semi-final.

Merle Frohms and Jule Brand: Two protagonists of this game – Frohms with saves in the second half, Brand as a tireless dribbler.

(Foto: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Gradually, the Germans got better into the game and also had chances. After a free-kick from Lina Magull in the 19th minute, it was a matter of seconds who would have the ball first: Alexandra Popp or France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin? The French hands won against the German head. The captain of the DFB women then had the next chance to take the lead with a free kick that she kicked precisely through the wall. But Peyraud-Magnin thwarted again (22nd). The attacks didn’t let up on either side, it was only a matter of time before either of these offensives would be successful. What then happened after 40 minutes matched the dramaturgy of the game as well as the dramaturgy of this European Championship.

Sara Däbritz initiated an attack via Jule Brand, the ball finally flew into the penalty area crossed by Huth. Lina Magull stood in the middle, jumped up and missed. But a few meters behind, Popp lurked and, after a kind of lunge, shot the ball in with his left hand to make it 1-0. For the 31-year-old it was the fifth goal in five games in her first European Championship. No footballer has ever done that before her. It was also the 100th goal by the DFB women at a European Championship, and no one else has achieved this record either.

While Popp celebrated this liberation with her teammates, her counterpart on the other side called everyone together with an energetic wave and a serious look. Wendie Renard decided it was high time for a meeting. And whatever the France captain said, it had an effect. Because they made a statement before the break.

Kadidiatou Diani got the ball, dribbled towards the German goal and, after not being pressed closely enough by Kathrin Hendrich and Marina Hegering, shot from the edge of the box. The ball hissed against the post and what looked like luck for the Germans turned out to be a trap. Because the ball bounced off goalkeeper Merle Frohms’ back and bounced into the net to make it 1-1 (44th). Germany’s number one was not only overcome for the first time, but overcame itself. Instead of euphoria, it was a damper in the dressing room.

After the break, the France coach replaced her central striker Melvine Malard with Selma Bacha. Clara Matéo came on for Delphine Cascarino after the hour. The two newcomers brought a lot of dynamism to the French game, Bacha had a good chance in the 62nd minute, just a minute later she put a corner on Renard who almost used her 1.87 meters, but Frohms was determined on both attempts in the way.

And then Alexandra Popp rose into the air for her next header.

After Brand and Huth also had good opportunities in their first start-up and Voss-Tecklenburg also brought fresh strength to Linda Dallmann (for Magull) and Sydney Lohmann (for Däbritz), Bacha almost equalized in the 79th minute. But Frohms didn’t let the ball through a second time that evening.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending