She was the tragic figure of the final evening!
Eight minutes before the start of the game, the DFB announced that super striker Alexandra Popp (31) could not play in the Wembley final against England (1-2).
The Wolfsburg player had to pass with thigh problems and could only watch the bitter overtime bankruptcy from the bench.
BILD tells the whole pop drama!
The injury
On the eve of the final, the DFB team will complete their final training session at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
At the end of the session, our women practice their goal again and bolt on the box.
Ironically, the very last shot Poppi pinched in the left thigh!
The warm up
The thighs don’t really play along on the final day either. But Popp still wants to try it during the warm-up and definitely wants to be on the pitch for the final.
After 15 minutes, however, she notices that even walking is difficult for her. Passing, shooting and sliding tackle are not even to be thought of.
The first tear drama
Popp knows that she cannot play and goes to national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (54). In tears, she tells MVT that it just isn’t enough for an assignment.
At 5.34 p.m., 26 minutes before kick-off, panic broke out on the pitch. Voss-Tecklenburg rushes to team manager Maika Fischer and kit manager Steve Smith.
Background: Since the line-up has to be submitted 70 minutes before kick-off, Popp is still in the German starting line-up. That has to be changed.
Kit manager Smith is already preparing the jersey for Popp replacement Lea Schüller (24).
The second tear drama
The problem: Anyone who is removed from the starting XI after the 70-minute deadline may no longer be used at all!
Means for Poppi: Substituting for a few minutes is not possible.
When the supervisors tell her this, tears flow again from our storm heroine. Nevertheless, she does not stop warming up. Probably so as not to let opponents England know sooner that she is out.
The game
During the finale, Popp only remains a spectator. Again and again she stretches and stretches herself on the sidelines, although it is no longer possible to play.
During the half-time break, she talks to relatives on the pitch and points to her thigh, which prevents her from playing in the final.
On the bench she and her team were shocked after the 0:1, then cheered exuberantly when they equalized and finally mourned like her colleagues on the field after the bitter 1:2 in extra time.
The Goalscorer Trophy
Twice as bitter for Poppi: after the game she has to watch the jubilant English women as well as Beth Mead (27) receiving the trophy for the tournament’s top scorer. And that despite the fact that, like Popp, she ended the European Championship with six goals.
The reason: Mead wins the hit crown because she has more assists than Popp. Crazy!
Die Doping-Probe
That rounds off the bitter pop evening. After the final whistle, she of all people is drawn for the doping control. It’s hated by the players. Although she hasn’t even played, Poppi joins in without a murmur.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg on the bitter Popp failure: “We tried everything. We were surprised at the final practice just before the end that there were problems. We couldn’t count on the effects. It looked better in the morning, but we support the decision 100 percent. During the warm-up she said that she felt something, she couldn’t shoot properly. For saying I don’t play in a final and in this tournament, and in this particular story, she deserves the utmost respect. That is what distinguishes great personalities.”
