England’s Chloe Kelly, right, celebrates after scoring her side’s second goal during the women’s Euro 2022 final soccer match against Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Alessandra Tarantino / AP
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Alessandra Tarantino / AP
England’s Chloe Kelly, right, celebrates after scoring her side’s second goal during the women’s Euro 2022 final soccer match against Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Alessandra Tarantino / AP
LONDON – England beat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship final after extra time on Sunday to claim their first major women’s soccer title.
Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal in a rebound in the second half of extra time after Germany failed to take the corner. The match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium when Germany’s Lina Magull destroyed Ella Toone’s goal for England.
After the final whistle, the England players danced and the crowd sang “Sweet Caroline”. The friendly atmosphere inside Sunday’s stadium contrasted with scenes of violence when England’s men’s team lost the European Championship final to Italy at the same stadium a year ago.
“I always believed I would be here, but to stay here and score is the winner, wow. These girls are amazing,” said Kelly, who returned from a serious knee injury in April. speak. “This is amazing, I just want to celebrate right now.”
Kelly took off her shirt to celebrate her goal, receiving a yellow card but also a shout out from Brandi Chastain, who celebrated in similar style when she took the penalty kick to win the World Cup for the US in 1999. “Enjoy free rounds of pints and dinners for the rest of your life from across the UK. Cheers!” Chastain wrote on Twitter.
The tournament’s record crowd of more than 87,000 has underscored the growth of women’s football in Europe since England and Germany last played for a continental title 13 years ago.
Taking that opportunity, Germany went ahead to win 6-2 against England, which was still dependent on part-time players. Two years later, England launched the Women’s Super League, which professionalized the game and developed into one of the major leagues worldwide.
That means growing competition for Germany, which is a pioneer in European women’s football and increasingly faces well-funded rivals in the UK, Spain and France. England’s title came 56 years after the nation’s only major men’s title, also an extra-time victory over Germany at the 1966 World Cup at Wembley.
Ella Toone received a long pass from Keira Walsh to break through the German defense in the 62nd minute and toss a deft lob past goalkeeper Merle Frohms, opening the scoring.
Toone’s goal, six minutes after she came on from the bench, sparked celebrations as England coach Sarina Wiegman – the winner with the Netherlands in 2017 – raised his hand. hands up for joy.
Facing their first defeat in nine European finals, Germany came very close as Lea Schüller hit the post and then leveled in the 79th minute when Lina Magull shot across the corner past Mary Earps keeper. England, bringing the game into extra time.
As the game entered extra time, the echoes of another European Championship final at the same venue the year before, when England’s men’s team led 1-0 but lost on penalties to Italy.
Germany are without captain Alexandra Popp – the team’s top scorer with six goals – after she reported a muscle problem during the warm-up. She was replaced in the squad by Schüller while Svenja Huth took over as captain.
The game went goalless after the first half, in which Ellen White narrowly shot over the bar for England, while Marina Hegering nearly pressed the ball for Germany at the corner before defender Leah Williamson and Earps intervenes.
Both teams could have had a penalty in the opening half, first when the ball seemed to touch Williamson’s arm as she cleared the ball, and then when Hegering swooped down to clear the ball and collide with Lucy Bronze. .
After the final whistle blew, Popp walked out with his teammates, along with England midfielder Lena Oberdorf, Georgia Stanway was comforted.
Wiegman remains undefeated 12 games as a coach at the European Championships after winning the tournament first with the Netherlands and now with England. One of her first moves after England’s win was to share a hug with 35-year-old midfielder Jill Scott, the only player left on either side after the 2009 defeat to Germany.
The game was refereed by Kateryna Monzul, a Ukrainian who fled her homeland after the Russian invasion. One of Europe’s top arbiters, Monzul left her home in Kharkiv – a major city heavily bombarded by Russian troops – and spent five days living in the basement of her parents’ house before leaving the country. and ended up living and working in Italy.
