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Chloe Kelly England win Women’s Euro Germany

LONDON (AP) — England beat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship final after extra time on Sunday to win their first major women’s soccer title.

Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal following a comeback in second-half extra time after Germany failed to clear a corner. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium, with Germany’s Lina Magal canceling out Ella Toun’s goal for England.

After the final whistle, the English players danced and the crowd sang their anthem ‘Sweet Caroline’. The good-natured atmosphere at the stadium on Sunday contrasted with the scenes of violence when England’s men’s team lost their European Championship final to Italy at the same stadium a year ago.

The tournament record crowd of over 87,000 highlighted the growth of women’s football in Europe since England and Germany last played for the continental title 13 years ago.

On that occasion, Germany cruised to a 6-2 victory over an England side still reliant on part-time players. Two years later, England launched its Women’s Super League, which professionalized the game and became one of the major competitions worldwide.

It means increased competition for Germany, which was a pioneering nation in European women’s football and is increasingly facing well-funded rivals in England, Spain and France.

Ella Tone latched on to a long pass from Kiera Walsh to get in behind the German defense in the 62nd minute and cleverly flicked a header over goalkeeper Merle Fromms and into the net for the opener.

Thune’s goal, six minutes after she came on from the bench, sparked celebrations as England manager Sarina Wiegmann – the winning coach with the Netherlands in 2017 – raised her arms in joy.

Facing their first defeat in nine European finals, Germany went close when Lea Schuller hit the post and then equalized in the 79th when Lina Magal crossed low past England goalkeeper Mary Earps to send the game into extra time.

As the game went into extra time, there were echoes of another European Championship final at the same venue the previous year, when England’s men’s team led 1-0 but lost on penalties to Italy.

Germany were without captain Alexandra Popp – the team’s leading scorer with six goals – after she reported a muscle problem in the warm-up. She was replaced in the lineup by Schüller, while Svenja Huth took over the captaincy.

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