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A dejected Alexandra Popp after losing the Euro 2022 final between England and
Germany at Wembley. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
A dejected Alexandra Popp after losing the Euro 2022 final between England and
Germany at Wembley. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
SportblogWomen's Euro 2022



ALEXANDRA POPP’S WARMUP WOES ROB HER OF FAIRYTALE FINISH WITH GERMANY

Injury shortly before kick-off denied the tournament’s best finisher the ending
she had craved for an entire career


Nick Ames at Wembley
@NickAmes82
Sun 31 Jul 2022 21.45 BSTLast modified on Mon 1 Aug 2022 05.09 BST
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While England danced along to “Don’t stop me now”, Alexandra Popp made a long
and lonely walk along the touchline to the pocket of Germany fans in Wembley’s
north-west corner. She had been stopped before she had even begun. Two or three
of the travelling support were able to catch the pieces of kit she tossed up: a
water bottle, a bag, perhaps a spare shirt.

Popp lobbed up several gifts although, true to form, there was not a towel in
sight. She has never thrown that in and it is why, even in an arena pulsating
with the glory of one of its most famous nights, everybody might have spared a
thought for the tournament’s best striker.


Sarina Wiegman: ‘It was so tight but who cares? We are European champions’
Read more

In the end Germany will feel that, sometimes, fate and fortune are simply not on
your side. They have tended to expertly steer clear of such a conclusion,
whether at this level or any other, down the years but thoughts will inevitably
turn to the cruellest of pre-match twists.

This had been Popp’s summer: she had been its best striker and, after she had
overcome a succession of cruelly timed injuries to perform with an enthralling
vigour and panache, a fairytale writer with little regard for host‑nation
headiness would have offered the ending she had craved for an entire career.

Instead she cut a distraught figure after pulling out with a muscle injury in
the warmup and there was an impression, even before a ball had been kicked, that
Germany’s narrative had run out of road. Perhaps, if those away fans had
collectively closed their eyes and wished hard enough, the match might have run
to penalties and Popp, dragging herself off the bench, might have slotted in the
winner. But reality painted a less romantic picture, even though Martina
Voss‑Tecklenburg will feel her team were by no means inferior on the night.

At an earlier point in the post‑match euphoria, Sarina Wiegman’s players were
belting out Sweet Caroline in a long line facing the seats occupied by their
friends and family. Halfway down the other end of the pitch, their beaten
opponents leaned in to a huddle. Voss-Tecklenburg, the coach whose calm
authority shone through in this tournament, stood at its centre and for a moment
her players straightened up.

Germany had slumped to the floor as one upon the full-time whistle as if drowned
by the tide of white-and-red emotion around them. Defeat in a European
Championship final would hurt anyone; here the pain came with an extra sting. No
German side had fallen short after getting this far, and then there was the fact
they had done so in such a storied fixture.


Chloe Kelly pounces to score the winning goal for England. Photograph: Tom
Jenkins/The Guardian

Soon enough there was cause to walk taller. The loud ovation Germany received
upon collecting their runners-up medals spoke beautifully of the good-natured
spirit in which this entire competition has been contested but it also told a
further truth. This is an outstanding side that stretched England to the limit
in a tense, taut, nervy and sometimes tetchy final, dictating much of the game
and not deserving to lose. For the home side, joy was heightened by the
knowledge victories come no more hard-earned than this.

Popp’s absence was telling at times, particularly when Germany failed to
capitalise on a succession of inviting positions before Lina Magull’s smart
leveller. There was a moment when Giulia Gwinn, their superb right-back,
marauded into the area and arrowed a waist‑high cross that evaded Sydney
Lohmann; it took little effort to imagine Popp flinging herself gladiatorially
at the ball and making sure.

There had also been cruel luck in the continued absence of Klara Bühl, the
flying winger out with Covid-19, and at times it was not hard to wonder what
their first‑choice attack might have achieved when the screw was turned. The
substitute Nicole Anyomi – tall, strong, quick and technically excellent with it
– made a difference, though, and nobody would seriously suggest this squad is
anything but deep in ability.

Those absences might make German hearts look back more fondly but, on the pitch,
this game was decided by two moments when things went askew. Ella Toone’s opener
was sublimely taken but followed a long stoppage for injuries to Marina Hegering
and Beth Mead, England reacting the quicker.

The winner by Chloe Kelly, who may not have had the chance to seize on confusion
at a corner if the commanding Hegering had not been substituted halfway through
extra time, came shortly after a curious sequence in which the keeper Merle
Frohms sidefooted away a speculative shot from Toone. In these small episodes,
the focus and application that marked an otherwise super‑assured performance
appeared to waver. Most teams would let you get away with it; England are not
most teams.

So Germany lick their wounds, but anyone zooming out will consider how important
their sweat and tears were to the success of this occasion. A record crowd, a
booming television viewership and a captive audience of new fans needed to see
an event of this intensity: a physical, technical tussle played at a rattling
pace by two heavyweights who both showed up on the night.

It takes a pair of marvellous football teams to make a final truly worth
winning. Popp, for one, may take some convincing of such consolation but Germany
contributed thrillingly to the sense women’s football will only soar in one
direction from here.


Topics
 * Women's Euro 2022
 * Sportblog

 * Germany women's football team
 * England women's football team
 * Women's football
 * features

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