Tyers here, I look forward to introducing you to this exciting occasion. Without further ado, here’s women’s football guru Tom Garry:
The sea of red and white outside Wembley is unlike anything I’ve seen before at a women’s game, and that’s no surprise as tonight’s attendance of around 87,500 will set a new record for any Euro, men’s or women’s.
There were thousands of people thronging around even at 10 and 11 in the morning, but now the atmosphere has completely gone up a few notches. And the mood is such a remarkable contrast to last year’s men’s final, with such a safe, happy feel to the vibes outside that stadium.
Bands play music, families enjoy packed lunches and everywhere you look there are red and white jerseys and flags.
There will be a flyover of Royal Air Force Typhoons over Wembley moments before kick-off and we understand the planes will be piloted and crewed entirely by women.
Luke Edwards, meanwhile, soaks up the atmosphere on his way to earth.
On my journey from South West London to North London on public transport I have seen England T-shirts absolutely everywhere, many with our Lionesses’ names on them.
I’ve been saying since the tournament that we needed a breakthrough moment to achieve true crossover success in the mainstream. We already had it – I think that probably came with the semi-final win over Sweden and Alessia Russo’s back heel – but now we have to win the tournament. Nothing will have a bigger impact than that.
As for the game itself, the Germans, who beat France 2-1 in the semi-finals, have won the title an incredible eight times – including a 6-2 victory over England in the 2009 decider – and are on course to steal Wembley from under the English, according to Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who said yesterday: “Wembley will be English in the beginning and I hope it will be ours in the end.”
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