Chloe Kelly’s extra-time strike gave England a 2-1 win over Germany in the 2022 European Championship earlier this year. This was the women’s side’s first-ever European crown, a feat the Lionesses managed before a crowd of 87,192 fans at Wembley.
This was the most attended fixture across both the men’s and women’s Euro.
Germany was without captain Alexandra Popp — the team’s leading scorer with six goals — after she reported a muscle problem in the warmup. She was replaced in the lineup by Schüller while Svenja Huth took over as captain.
After the final whistle, the England players danced and the crowd sang their anthem “Sweet Caroline.” The good-natured atmosphere inside the stadium Sunday drew contrasts with the violent scenes when the England men’s team lost its European Championship final to Italy at the same stadium a year ago.
The last time England and Germany played for a continental title in the women’s game was 13 years ago.
On that occasion, Germany surged to a 6-2 win over an England team which still relied on part-time players. Two years later, England launched its Women’s Super League, which has professionalized the game and grown into one of the main competitions worldwide.
That has meant increasing competition for Germany, which was a pioneering nation in European women’s football and increasingly faces well-funded rivals in England, Spain and France.
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