England vs Germany Women’s Euro Finals preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, predicted lineups
England and Germany meet at Wembley Stadium in the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final on Sunday 31 July.
England vs Germany at a glance
When: Sunday 31 July, 18:00 CET
Where: Wembley Stadium, London
What: Women’s EC Final 2022
How to track: The compilation and live broadcast is here
Where to watch England vs Germany on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 broadcast partners here.
What do you need to know?
With a record crowd at Wembley for the women’s EURO finals, the tournament deserves a blockbuster finale: the hosts and the most successful team in the history of the competition. Germany have won this title an incredible eight times (including a 6-2 victory over England in the 2009 decider in Helsinki), but if their overall record against England is impressive (W21 D4 L2), there is no longer a huge gap in the class. between these sides – Sarina Wiegman’s side beat Die Nationalelf 3-1 in a friendly in Wolverhampton in February.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side fell under the radar in the upcoming tournament, but their pressing style and composure in front of goal have taken them back to the top of the European game. England, meanwhile, have had some very eye-catching results, but showed they can fight for victory (albeit without seeing much of the ball) when they knocked out Spain in the quarter-finals. Home knowledge may play a part, but Germany can take heart from their huge domestic TV audience (more than 12 million watched their semi-final win against France).
Possible Starting Lineups
English: Ears; Bronze, Bright, Williamson, Daly; Stanway, Walsh; Mead, Kirby, hemp; White
Germany: Frohms; Gwinn, Hendrich, Hegering, Rauch; Magull, Oberdorf, Däbritz; Huth, Popp, Brand
Editor’s views
Lynsey Hooper, English journalist
Alessia Russo’s cheeky back-heel finish in the semi-finals was perhaps emblematic of the home side’s performance in this tournament, a hopeful piece of skill that somehow came off. England haven’t always dominated games from the start (Austria, Spain and Sweden all caused early problems), but know how to hold onto a lead once they get it. Wiegman’s side has made the country believe. Can England’s women go one step further than the men did last summer?
Anna-Sophia Vollmerhausen, German journalist
With six goals, Alex Popp is the perfect embodiment of this German team: like his teammates, he wants to win and shows every time he plays that he will do everything to make it happen. As quiet as their progress has been on paper (just one goal conceded), Germany have shown they can grind out results and stifle a spirited Austria side before pipping France to the knock-out stage. Burdened by its history, this team plays for each other. It looks like.
View from the camps
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Germany coach: “It’s going to be an incredible final. We’re playing at Wembley in front of 80,000 or 90,000 people and most of them are for England and against us, but we understand that and we’re up for the challenge. England have been incredible in this tournament, every game, dynamism, lots of goals and they’re so incredibly confident. It’s going to be a great football party.”
Beth Mead, England striker: “We have to believe in our ability and stick to our game plan. We’ve done that really well during this tournament. We’ve had a few rough spots – that’s football – but we’ve believed in our ability. The 23 players in this team have been exceptional.”
Alex Popp, Germany captain: “No one was waiting for us [to get here]. We’re in the final at Wembley against England – it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Svenja Huth, German midfielder:”[We’re looking forward], above all to a full house at Wembley Stadium. Playing against England in England in the EURO final is something we didn’t even dream of.”
Form guide
English
Group A winners
England 1-0 Austria (Old Trafford)
England 8-0 Norway (Brighton & Hove)
Northern Ireland 0-5 England (Southampton)
Semi-final
England 2-1 Spain (Aet, Brighton & Hove)
The semi-finals
England 4-0 Sweden (Sheffield)
The story so far: A record 14 goals without reply in the group stage was a statement, but in the quarter-final with Spain, England were second best in possession, accuracy, energy and skill. Determination, character, Millie Bright’s commitment to defense and Wiegman’s shrewd substitutions saw them through, and Georgia Stanway’s stunning extra-time winner instilled more belief that they could go all the way. Indeed, the Lionesses then turned in a near-perfect performance against Sweden in the quarterfinals, limited by Russo’s outrageous backline.
Women’s EURO best: runner-up (1984, 2009)
Previous women’s EC finals
27.5.1984: Sweden 1-0 England (Göteborg) & England 1-0 aet Sweden (Sweden won the penalty shootout 4-3) (Luton)
10/09/2009: England 2-6 Germany (Helsinki)
Germany
Group B winners
Germany 4-0 Denmark (Brentford)
Germany 2-0 Spain (Brentford)
Finland 0-3 Germany (Milton Keynes)
Semi-final
Germany 2-0 Austria (Brentford)
The semi-finals
Germany 2-1 France (Milton Keynes)
The story so far: Germany have only conceded once in these finals and they have looked strong and focused throughout. They were given a tough quarter-final test by an aggressive Austria who did not allow them to dominate the game, while the semi-final against France was equally tight. Germany’s desire to defend hard has gotten them over the line so far, while clinical finishing – particularly from six-goal striker Poppi – has made the difference at the other end.
Women’s EURO best: Winners (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013)
Previous women’s EC finals
02/07/1989: West Germany 4-1 Norway (Osnabrück)
14/07/1991: Germany 3-1 aet Norway (Aalborg)
26/03/1995: Germany 3-2 Sweden (Kaiserslauten)
12/07/1997: Italy 0-2 Germany (Oslo)
07/07/2001: Germany 1-0 Sweden (Ulm)
19/06/2005: Germany 3-1 Norway (Blackburn)
10/09/2009: England 2-6 Germany (Helsinki)
28/07/2013: Germany 1-0 Norway (Solna)