It’s coming home! England’s triumph was watched by a record number of spectators

What men could not do, women could. They won the Wembley final against Germany 2-1 after extra time. For England, this marks the first continental title in football history, as the men’s team does not even have a Euro win in its trophy cabinet.

There were many other favourites, there was talk of huge domestic pressure, yet they did it. After a smooth journey through the championship, England’s women footballers stood at the very top. They beat record holders Germany in the final with a 110th minute goal. In addition, Wembley set a spectator record for a Euro final, male or female.

The home team entered the match with an unchanged line-up, but their opponents had to make one. Germany’s top scorer and captain Alexandra Popp was injured during the warm-up and had to be replaced at the last minute by Lea Schuller.

The absence of Popp was noticeable for the Germans, in the first half despite their superiority on the ball they did not hit the space of the goal. But what the English girls came up with was caught again by the excellent Merle Frohms.

The goal came in the 62nd minute. Kelly Walsh sent a long pass behind the defence to Ella Thorne. She easily outmuscled Frohms and sent England into the lead with her second goal of the tournament.

But the Germans were able to respond. In the 79th minute, Tabea Wassmuth crossed to the front post and Lina Magull placed her pass under the crossbar to tie the game. The dramatic finale went into extra time.

The English dominated and it was only a matter of time before they struck. In the 110th minute, 24-year-old Chloe Kelly was the scorer. She used her strength in the penalty area to get to the ball after a corner and tipped it into the net. It was the first goal for the Manchester City striker in an England jersey.

England celebrate their first ever European triumph. In addition, the attendance at this year’s championship confirmed the rise of women’s football, which is receiving increasing attention.

England’s Bethany Mead was the top player and scorer of the tournament with six goals, while Lena Oberdorf of Germany was named the best young player of the tournament.

Source: UEFA