Some 56 years ago, when England last won a major international tournament, they thought it was all over. This time you feel it’s just the beginning.
How else to characterize the scale of this achievement of these women who now call themselves champions of Europe? How else to contextualize the magnitude of Chloe Kelly’s winner, laced with the tenacity she, her teammates and their predecessors had to show to earn the acclaim they now enjoy?
Kelly’s 110th-minute strike not only won the European Women’s Championship, but also gave the Lionesses their first tournament success in their history. The belief is that it will do much more than that, building on the rapid growth that a once-illegal sport has seen in recent years, capitalizing on the sheer joy of this summer to inspire wider change. Of course, win or lose, Sarina Wiegman and her players may have already accomplished that. But now they have a trophy to hang it on.
Most of the 87,192 at Wembley – a record European Championship crowd, whether men’s or women’s – celebrated at the final whistle but were made to wait.
Ella Toone’s superb opening goal looked set to send England on their way to glory, only for Germany to deservedly equalize through Lina Magull. It was not a classic spectacle, especially in extra time when both sides were tired. Yet in drama it was unparalleled. Whoever managed to break free and make their way across the line would win the day.
That honor would go to Kelly, who latched on to Lucy Bronze’s corner kick and attempted to stab England’s second from just a few yards. Her first swing was a miss, but she connected on the second, past goalkeeper Merle Fromms to make history. And make no mistake, this is it.
Leah Williamson and Millie Bright lift the trophy as they celebrate with teammates after winning Women’s Euro 2022
(Reuters)
Leah Williamson now joins Bobby Moore as the second England captain to lift a major international trophy, Sarina Wigman joins Sir Alf Ramsey as the second winning coach, but in their wider impact off the pitch, these women have achieved what no one English country so far has.
If England’s line-up was predictably unchanged, there was a shock late switch to Germany’s. Their captain and tournament top scorer Alexandra Popp was forced off with a muscle problem picked up during the warm-up, with Leah Schuller replacing her. Pop lined up in the pre-match huddle with the rest of his team-mates, still in full kit, and made his way to the bench with a smile on his face, but the loss of such a talismanic figure undoubtedly dented Germany’s chances of a ninth Euro title before it was the kicked ball.
Pop’s injury almost guarantees that Beth Mead will take home the Golden Boot, but it doesn’t guarantee anything else. Even if Germany were shaken by the sudden loss of their captain, England will still have to take advantage. Ellen White’s first chance came with a header in the third minute after good work from Fran Kirby and Rachel Daly down the left, but it was straight at goalkeeper Merle Fromms. It was the only clear goal the Lionesses had before Germany began to regain their composure.
Lionesses parade around Wembley with their winners’ medals
(Reuters)
When Daley slipped and fired a desperate shot into his own penalty area, Lucy Bronze had to block Sarah Dabritz’s shot. If they could continue through the first chance, they should have continued through the second. How Marina Hegering didn’t turn around can only be explained by the mass of bodies in front of her. A frantic goalmouth scramble began with a Mary Earps save, included Leah Williamson being cleared off the line and only ended when Earps pounced on the ball.
England could consider themselves lucky to have survived in a place with questionable defense from set pieces, but then this battle was befitting the game this final was becoming. Already small and grueling, the race began to be punctuated by fouls, some soft but some silly. When referee Katerina Monzul tried to get control, she cautioned White and Georgia Stanway for separate fouls within about 30 seconds. Stanway could have picked up a second yellow towards the end of the half as Germany began to rack up bookings.
Whyte went close just before the break, firing over after being found in space by Mead, but it was Germany who really threatened as both sides re-emerged. Tabea Wasmuth, brought on at half-time, tried to capitalize on Millie Bright’s pass which allowed her to break in behind and go one-on-one with Earps, but as the blood rushed to her head, her shot was straight into the England goalkeeper’s body . Lina Magull fired just wide of the post shortly after. The momentum was shifting. Germany was discovering and exploiting spaces that England simply wasn’t.
Ella Toon celebrates after opening the scoring for England
(FA via Getty)
Keira Walsh changed all that. The Manchester City midfielder – one of the most unpredictable players to impress at this tournament – has shown a remarkable array of passes over the past three-and-a-half weeks, but none better than the ball over the top to set Toone free. Occupying an awkward space on the right, filling it while Meade received treatment and England were down to 10 men, Toon slipped past the German defense to score. Her decision to chip Fromms was the definition of audacity, but executed to perfection, the ball landing on a flawless par and over the line.
Yet if there has been a pattern to England’s big matches in recent years – in both the men’s and women’s competitions – it has been discomfort when wanting to sit back, take the pressure and protect a lead. It would be like that again. Magull had already sent a warning shot crashing into the outside of the woodwork before the equalizer 11 minutes from time which, although well worked, could also have been prevented. As Williamson followed Wasmuth’s run, she left a Muggle unnoticed on a nearby pillar. Bright didn’t step up quickly enough to cover, perhaps expecting Muggle to miss a low cross at the near post. Except that’s exactly what she was doing.
Fortunately for England, once parity was restored the pressure eased. That quest for an equalizer had taken a toll on Germany, but the Lionesses looked just as tired. The highlight of the first half of extra-time was another scrum in the England box that reflected how stretched and tired much of the game had become. There would be another in the second half, only this time in the German penalty area. Kelly made sure to capitalize on and secure the common legacy of this England team as a winner and as an innovator.
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