The two best teams at the Women’s European Championship are meeting to determine its victor. It’s an aspiring power against a historical juggernaut, at a sold-out cathedral of the sport. And with another Women’s World Cup set to take place in less than a year, it’s a statement-maker for what’s to come in Australia and New Zealand next summer.
“It's going to be a great festival of football.”
The words from Germany manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg ring true. When her side, an eight-time European champion that’s perfect in such finals, meets England, the host nation that’s looking to have its place among the top of the women’s soccer hierarchy validated with a major trophy, it has all the makings of a proper spectacle.
A packed Wembley Stadium will witness a European final for a second straight summer. Last year, it was England’s men’s team capitulating against Italy and falling in penalty kicks on a day equally known for its result and for the unruly fans and security lapses that marred the occasion. No such degeneracy should grab the spotlight on Sunday, and regardless of the result, there’s a sense that something greater has already been accomplished over the last few weeks—especially in the knockout stage, where the cream has risen to the top and some high-end matches have been played at extraordinarily high levels in front of appreciative audiences.
“I just think where women’s football is now ... 70-odd thousand at Old Trafford, and then we know that Wembley’s going to be a sellout—and even saying them words gives us goosebumps—but it’s been absolutely incredible so far,” said 35-year-old England veteran midfielder Jill Scott.
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England has shown something extra in its run to the final. It required a late comeback and resilience against Spain in the quarterfinals, and once it overcame Sweden’s aggressive opening half hour in the semis, it glowed with the shine of a title-worthy squad. Sarina Wiegman’s magic touch—England is 17-0-2 since she became manager, outscoring opponents 104–4 along the way; she has also gone a perfect 11-0-0 in Women’s Euro matches as manager in her career—has appeared to make all the difference for a side playing, at last, with the confidence, competence and swagger to match its talent.
“I think when you’re enjoying your football you play your best," said England’s Alessia Russo, a supersub with four goals and none more sensational than her instinctive back-heel finish off a rebound of her own saved shot in the semifinals. "Maybe [the back-heel against Sweden] does show a bit of confidence—but I’m just loving playing football.”
On the other side there’s Germany, a battle-tested group but also one looking to reclaim a bit of what it has lost. Wiegman’s Netherlands won the last Euros, and a failure to reach the semifinals at the last World Cup cost Germany a place at the ensuing Olympics. There’s no better opportunity to reassert itself as Europe’s predominant side a year out from another World Cup than by swatting away its top challengers to the throne. Its perfect run through the tournament’s Group of Death—Spain’s key injury absences notwithstanding—and its semifinal win over France were examples of it doing just that.
Germany also noted how Sweden took the match to England in the early going in Tuesday’s semifinal. And with Alexandra Popp (tied for the tournament scoring lead with England’s Beth Mead with six goals) offering inspired play—in her first European Championship after missing the last two with injuries—and a ruthless finishing touch in the attack, the Germans have the tools in their arsenal to make England pay for any early lapses or nerves. It’s true England beat Germany this spring in the four-team Arnold Clark Cup, but history between the two remains heavily on the Germans’ side and it should require the reaching of another gear for England to complete its ascent.
“England have been incredible in this tournament, every game they’ve been dynamic, scoring loads of goals,” Voss-Tecklenburg said. “They are so confident and know what they have to do, but the first 30 minutes against Sweden showed you can hurt them and that will be our task. We’ll play in front of 80,000 or 90,000 supporters at Wembley, most of them rooting for England, but we accept the challenge.”
However the final shakes out, it’s a fitting end to a tournament that has captured the attention of the women’s game in England, whose growth has been on the rise but appears to have hit an inflection point. Attendance records have fallen, and those at home are tuning in as well. The semifinal win vs. Sweden peaked at an audience of 9.3 million viewers on the BBC.
“We said before the tournament and we still say it every time that we want to inspire the nation," Wiegman said. "I think that’s what we’re doing and we want to make a difference, and we hope that we will get everyone so enthusiastic and proud of us and that even more girls and boys start playing football.”
England may be playing for a trophy, and that’s first and foremost, but there’s a sense that something greater is in the London air as well.
“I think it’s a very defining moment,” Scott said. “I think there’s been lots of things along the way that have happened that have kind of progressed the sport. It’s hard when you’re in it because you’re just logically thinking about the next game, meetings, training sessions, so it’s hard because we’d already see all the noise on the outside, but things that we have heard have been positive, walking around the hotel, young boys, young girls, coming asking us for pictures, it really has been incredible. The best two teams have made the final, which is great, and I think it’s going to be a very defining moment for the sport.
“I think it will be a game-changer. I think it already has been, I think this tournament has already done that, but that extra step on Sunday could really make a big difference.”
But beyond that and in a vacuum, there’s the match itself—one with two deserving finalists performing at pristine levels. As Voss-Tecklenburg said, “That’s a classic in soccer, England-Germany.”
And Sunday’s title bout is rife with potential for another memorable chapter.
