Germany suffered a major injury blow ahead of their 2022 Women's Euros showdown with England after top scorer Alexandra Popp was ruled out through injury.
The striker was once again expected to spearhead the German side's attack at Wembley Stadium having been one of the standout players of the tournament thus far. She was initially handed a place in the side ahead of kick-off in the capital but she appeared to be struck down by a problem during the warm-up having been forced to deal with running injury issues throughout her career.
Going through her pre-match preparations, the 31-year-old was forced down the tunnel and dropped out of the starting line-up in place of Lea Schüller.
It appeared that the injury had forced her out of the final but she was pictured on the bench just a few minutes into the game sporting a bib usually reserved for the substitutes. Whether that leads her to be introduced remains to be seen.
It was reported by the BBC that her withdrawal was due to a re-aggravation of a recurring injury. The blow leaves the German side without one of their best players heading into the final. She had scored six goals at the tournament so far - England's Beth Mead having also found the back of the net on six occasions.
Following the news, former Lioness Alex Scott was amongst those to have led the tributes to Scott. Talking during the BBC's coverage of the final at Wembley, she said: "In all honesty I'm gutted for Alex Popp - the tournament she's had to miss this occasion. We still need to stay focused. We can't say we're going to win it now."
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Meanwhile, ex-England striker Ian Wright suggested that Popp's absence could give the Lionesses a huge boost as they attempted to secure their first-ever major trophy. He said: "You know that player [Popp] not playing, it's down to you to go and finish it off."
Ahead of the game - and indeed her injury blow - Popp claimed that the pressure was far more on England. Speaking at a press conference, she said: “The final on Sunday will be intense mentally and physically.
“I think the pressure is more on the English side, precisely because it takes place in their own country.
“We know that from 2011: suddenly everyone expects something from you. We have nothing left to lose and we have an attitude with which we can go into the game completely free.”
