Image: Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance Oberdorf and Germany stand their groundĮngland coach Sarina Wiegman said before the game she expected Germany to be "a little physical." Her assessment was wrong only by the degree. "But it wasn't to be, and making a decision of that magnitude deserves respect." Last-minute withdrawal: Alexandra Popp pulled out injured ahead of kick-off. "Popp was in outstanding form and would have triggered something in our opponents with her very presence," Voss-Tecklenburg lamented afterwards. "She's an exceptional player, so of course we missed her," Marina Hegering told DW after the game. Or, perhaps most significantly, if captain Alexandra Popp hadn't withdrawn at the last minute due to an unspecified muscle injury sustained in the warmup.
Or if Lina Magull's effort had flown just underneath the crossbar rather than crashing back off it. Or if substitute Tabea Wassmuth had converted her chance when one-on-one just moments after coming on after halftime. "I don't understand that decision at all," she said. Things might have gone differently had video assistant referee Paolo Valeri awarded Germany a first-half penalty after a clear handball in the box, but he didn't, much to the consternation of Voss-Tecklenburg.
There, it was another England substitute, this time Chloe Kelly, who scuffed home the winner at the second attempt to send the biggest crowd in Euros history, men or women, in to a state of delirium as the Lionesses made history.
Those victory scenes could have come half an hour earlier than they did, after substitute Ella Toone had given England a second-half lead, but Lina Magull's equalizer ten minutes from time sent the game to extra time. The tone, if not the scale, of the English euphoria will have been familiar to the pockets of German fans watching on, spoilt by eight previous titles. When the final whistle blew at Wembley, Lena Oberdorf, sank to the pitch, the young player of the tournament pulling her shirt over her face to hide the tears and block out the celebrations erupting around her.
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