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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Daniel Harris (earlier) and Sarah Rendell (now)

Euro 2022 final: latest news and buildup to England v Germany at Wembley!

England Germany Wembley Karen Bardsley Football FA
The England fans are beginning to arrive at Wembley for the final.
The England fans are beginning to arrive at Wembley for the final. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/Reuters

We are two hours away from kick-off and so it’s time to move this build-up to the match blog. Join me over there in the link below, we will soon know the winners of Euro 2022.

Talk about full circle moments ...

Coming back to my earlier guess game of how many goals have been scored so far, there have been 92 across the tournament so far. How many more will there be today?

Here’s Sid Lowe on German manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg:

Brendan has got in touch who is from Norway and is supporting England this afternoon. He said: “I’d love it if your prediction was correct how nice and relaxing would that be? I am not quite so optimistic. I’m guessing 2-2 and penalties. I think Germany will get off to a flier and get away but the Lionesses will fight back again. Come on England!”

This has given me goosebumps:

The rivalry between Germany and England adds an extra edge to this final and the German manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg says the hosts are who they would have chosen as final opponents ahead of the event. “England v Germany electrifies football fans,” she said. “There is such a tradition, a history. For me, there is just one football and this is a football feast. If we could have chosen a dream, we would have chosen England in this final, no one else.

England captain Leah Williamson has spoken on what the wider impact of this Euros can be for society as a whole and I absolutely love what she said, take a look:

“I’ve only ever been in this football workplace but, in most workplaces across the world, women still have a few more battles to face to try to overcome. For every success we make, for every change of judgment or perception or the opening of the eyes of somebody who will now view women as somebody with the potential to be the equal of her male counterpart, that can create change in society.”

I have just totalled up the goals for the tournament so far, does anyone want to hazard a guess how many have been scored?

There have been countless supportive messages on social media today but this one is one of my favourites:

What are your score predictions for the match? I am going with 2-0 England in normal time but let me know what you think!

Gabby Logan, who has been covering the tournament for the BBC, has spoken to The Guardian about the legacy this Euros can have. “Hopefully a record attendance, record TV audience, it just all keeps on [with] that growth,” she said. “And those Lionesses who have worked so hard, and those who have blazed the trail before them as well, the pioneers of the sport. It will be, I imagine, very emotional actually.” Read the full piece:

Alexandra Popp could become the first player to score in every match of their country’s campaign at a women’s Euros this afternoon if she slots home at Wembley. She broke the record for the most consecutive matches scored in in the semi-final against France. Anita Asante believes she is Germany’s biggest threat but read here on how she thinks the Lionesses can cause their own chaos:

Tess captured our hearts with her dancing to Sweet Caroline after England’s semi-final win and she is on her way to Wembley for the final! Gabby Logan told her she would be going to the final at half-time of Germany France and she was so excited, just look how happy she is!

Georgia Stanway faced the media in preparation for the final and she spoke about how special it will be at Wembley:

I’ve just seen a very fun fact! Germany have never lost a women’s Euros final but they come up against a Sarina Wiegman team. Wiegman has never lost a Euros game as a manager, who’s perfect record will disappear?

Thank you Daniel and have a brilliant time at Wembley, it is sure to be a cracking match! So are we all emotionally prepared for kick-off? I’m not, it feels like GCSE exam day. Let me know how you’re feeling and where you’re watching the final. You can contact me on Twitter, @rendellx, or via email.

Righto, my watch is over. I’m off to take my daughter to Wembley, which is great news for us and even better news for youse, because Sarah Rendell is now here to coax you through to kick-off and beyond. Peace out!

“I don’t think I can pick just a single moment of play in the tournament, as there were too many,” says Kári Tulinius. “But the moment that will live longest in my memory was explaining to my 7-year-old son, who had for the first time ever gotten interested in an international tournament, that even though Iceland had equalised in the last minute against France, they wouldn’t get through to the quarters. I’ve never in my life felt like such a joykill.”

I daresay that’ll change when he’s another seven years older.

Can’t believe I was talking about Lucy Roberta Tough Bronze just a bit ago, and neglected to mention the nominatively-determinism of her middle name. And as I type that, Jess Staniforth is on telly talking about their friendship – they both grew up in Northumberland, and have been mates since childhood. She’s as proud of her as you’d expect, saying that friendly competition drove both on to be better.

Just getting going...

Oh this is good.

“Thank you for your tip of the hat to Carrie Dunn,” emails Richard Hirst, “which I have just brought to the attention of her uncle, with whom we’ll be sharing mussels cooked on burning straw at our village fête in SW France this evening. (Yes it is bonkers: 50 metres of burning straw when everything is tinder dry, but the pompiers will be on hand, so what could possibly go wrong?)

A passing mention should be made of Mohammed al-Fayed, who took the FA at their word in 2000 and introduced a professional team at Fulham, the first fully professional one in Europe. Unfortunately no one else followed suit at that time., but it did mean that some silverware was paraded round the Cottage, and that I got to talk to Rachel Yankey, who is another credit to the game.”

Absolutely, and Yankey ought to have been included among the names I listed earlier.

“Mention of Gillian Coultard,” emails Charles Antaki, “reminds me of Pete Davies’ classic book I Lost My Heart to the Belles, that for many of us was the first sighting of women’s football. Twenty-five years later, the change in atmosphere is astonishing: impossible back then to imagine not only a full Wembley, but the extraordinarily positive vibes that this national side is generating. Skill and dedication apart, what we can see of the their personalities means that we feel also that we have some kind of personal grounds for liking the players - it’s irrational, but ladles a measure of affection into the mix of admiration & support. Not a bad thing.”

Yup, I agree. I was hard to imagine, not because it didn’t work in theory, but because who could trust the various gatekeepers to allow it?

Thinking about how the game might go, I wonder if Germany, and Sara Däbritz in particular, might be looking to target the space behind Lucy Bronze. Bronze’s attacking impetus is so important to England, but I’d not be at all surprised if Germany tried to turn that strength into a weakness, and Däbritz has the vision and precision necessary to make that happen.

Here’s Sid Lowe on Martina Voss-Tecklenburg:

Gosh, imagine the pressure she’s under.

When Kateryna Monzul blew the full-time whistle to end the Euro 2022 final it marked the end of a long and emotional journey. The Ukrainian referee escaped Kharkiv in March after living underground at her parents’ home for five days following the Russian invasion. With her sisters and nephews, she drove through Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic before reaching Germany.  

'We didn’t have any idea what the next step was for us,' Monzul [pictured] told uefa.com. Uefa, the Italian football federation and the Italian referees’ body worked together and Monzul was able to resume refereeing in women’s Serie A and the men’s Serie A youth championship. In April, she was confirmed as one of the 13 referees at this summer's Euros

After taking charge of Spain’s 4-1 win against Finland, Austria’s 1-0 defeat of Norway and Sweden’s 1-0 quarter-final win over Belgium, Monzul was picked to referee the final at Wembley. 'I thank all the football family,' Monzul said. 'The most important thing is to stop this war – world peace is the most important thing. It’s my [hope] for everybody.'

Thanks! For those who’ve just joined us, this is the missing name from Siobhan Chamberlain’s combined England/Germany five-a-side team.

Gill Coultard is on Sky now, and of course she’s wearing shorts. Check her out here:

My guess is that Jonas Eidevall also deserves plenty of credit for Mead’s improvement. His Arsenal side beat Chelsea 3-2 on the first weekend of last season, Mead settling one of the best games I saw all year with two terrific finishes, and from there she just went on.

Beth Mead has improved massively under the club management of Jonas Eidevall.
Beth Mead has improved massively under the club management of Jonas Eidevall. Photograph: David Price/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Updated

Beth Mead’s transformation through this last season has been great to see. I was surprised she didn’t make the Olympic squad, but maybe it was for the best.

I had a few good conversations with some legends,” she recalls. “Casey Stoney, Kelly Smith, I spoke to a few people. They told me to get my head down, work hard and get enjoyment back in my play again. All credit to them; their advice made me feel great and I loved the final, the atmosphere was insane. It was a night I remembered for a long time. I didn’t think a year later I’d be in another Wembley final playing for my country but dreams can come true.”

I also loved this, but there’s loads of good gear in the piece, so be clicking on it.

Mead has come a long way since the day England’s right-back, Lucy Bronze, gave her a dressing down during a Lionesses training camp. “Lucy shouted at me during a training game over a year ago because I didn’t control a ball and look after it,” says the 27-year-old. “She shouted at me: ‘I expect you to do better because I know you can do it.’ It really stuck with me. If Lucy’s shouting at me, she’s trying to get the best out of me because she knows that’s what I’m capable of. Lucy’s been a role model.”

Updated

I can’t say I’m mad about the creeping militarisation of football, but later on, there’ll be a female flypast at Wembley.

When I was growing up, there wasn’t much in the way of televised women’s football. But when it was on, two players stood out: Marianne Spacey, and Gillian Coultard. Here’s the latter – along with Carol Thomas – meeting Suzanne Wrack.

And mazal tov to another giant of women’s sport.

Eyeball-sweating dept:

Yeah, we’re not there yet. Or even close to there.

On Sky, Zelem and Siobhan Chamberlain have picked their combined five-a-side teams. Zelem goes Earps, Oberdorf, Popp, Walsh, Magull, and Chamberlain goes Earps, Oberdorf, Kirby, Russo ... and I’m afraid I missed her fifth player. Nonetheless, I’m still going with her because I think Kirby and Russo have the feet to be brilliant in confined spaces.

And now back to Williamson, though she wears a no8 but plays centre-back – an infraction that might interest the Hague – it’s with good reason: her range of passing and composure on the ball means she’s a pretty nifty midfielder too. Here’s the OG Louise Taylor on on her.

Another strong voice in women’s football writing is Carrie Dunn, whose passion and erudition seep through every syllable. Here’s a link to an extract from her first book, the Roar of the Lionesses, and you can also check out her new one, here:

Back to Zelem, she notes that Germany are a very physical side, and that’s an extremely exciting observation because England aren’t behind the door either. Factor into the the skill-levels, and if both teams are at it, we’ll be served a ruckus for the ages; I can almost taste the intensity.

Some more excellent writing, this time on Alessia Russo.

Leah Williamson is already a hero because football is about so much more than football...

“The final is not the end of a journey but the start of one. And regardless of the end result, there will be a nice moment for reflection. Naturally it’s my job to go out for 90 minutes to play, and win, but when we look back on this tournament as a whole, we’ll have really started something. I want tomorrow to be the start, to be a maker for the future.

“I’ve only ever been in this football workplace but, in most workplaces across the world, women still have a few more battles to face to try to overcome. For every success we make, for every change of judgment or perception or the opening of the eyes of somebody who will now view women as somebody with the potential to be the equal of her male counterpart, that can create change in society.”

...but imagine she’s lifting that pot later today.

Bit of news from elsewhere:

Katie Zelem is on Sky now, discussing her total lack of shock at how Alessia Russo, her club teammate, has lit up the tournament. She’s just as good in training every day, we learn, and I’m equally unshocked to learn that: as I mentioned earlier, one look at her was enough for me to see that she’s got industrial quantities of it.

“‘I’ve just noticed that Jordan Henderson has awarded himself blonde highlights, aged 32. I’d love a footballer’s scope to continue being silly with my hair into middle age,’” emails Adam Nelson, quoting me back to myself. “Thirty-two .... middle age. Daniel what are you doing to me?”

Being 43, of course.

The midlife crisis Mazda MX-5 is just out of shot.
The midlife crisis Mazda MX-5 is just out of shot. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Updated

The England squad and staff are meeting as we speak. How on earth do you hold it down, never mind chill? Obviously I’m forever dazzled by the skill of which sportsfolk are capable, but the ability to avoid convulsing in tears at the sheer joy of where they find themselves is the aspect that amazes me most.

Oh, back to that good luck video from the England men’s side, I’ve just noticed that Jordan Henderson has awarded himself blonde highlights, aged 32. I’d love a footballer’s scope to continue being silly with my hair into middle age.

This is excellent on the equally excellent Lena Oberdorf. Her football intelligence, at just 20, is stupefying.

Also going on today:

I’ve been thinking – really, I have – about my moment of the tournament. I’m probably biased, but I don’t know if I can see beyond Ella Toone’s late equaliser for England against Spain. The drama and ecstasy of the hosts saving themselves was really special, but beyond that, a possession side being undone by high ball into the big lass up top, followed by a knockdown she doesn’t even win, followed by a third-person run reaching the second ball first to finish? Glorious.

On Sky, they note that England haven’t started well in their two knockout games – which is true, but I’ve caveats. Spain are a very particular thing: what we might call Guardiola football is the hardest there’s ever been to beat because getting decent possession is so hard, and though they dominated, they didn’t threaten that much. Germany won’t play like that. They will, though, start properly, and England need to ensure they get themselves in the right frame of mind: not to nervous, not too excited.

Old men in baseball caps, tra la la la la...

Here’s Jonathan Liew’s preview of the final.

Mazal tov!

The tournament organiser just told us – I think – that today will be the best-attended women’s football match ever. That isn’t true, I don’t think – Wembley holds around 90,000 – but perhaps he specified international, in which case my apologies.

Sky are showing Sarina Wiegman’s pre-match press conference, and her composure is just unreal. The ability to amp the players up, at the same time as calming them down, is one bestowed on very few, but every interview with her that I read or watch advertises that in very big letters. And when to that you add tactical nous and overall likability, you get the entirely ludicrous record that is P19 W17 D2 L0 F104 A4. England may lose today – football is chaotic, goals are rare, Germany are good – but those numbers tell you there’s something serious going on here.

It is impossible to describe the potential impact of winning a home Euros, but in reaching the final in the swaggering way the team have done, win or lose they have changed the status of the game, themselves as well as attitudes towards women and their involvement in sport more generally. England’s captain, Leah Williamson, highlighted that on Saturday when she said the tournament had not only provided ‘a change for women’s football but for society in general’.

There is nothing – nothing – like football.

Here’s more from Suzy Wrack:

Things you love to see:

Ah go on then, you’ve twisted my arm.

I’m biased because she plays for my team, but Russo, then. The first time I saw her, it felt obvious she was a player, an unusual blend of skill, physicality, imagination and attitude, and at just 23, she has so much scope for improvement.

I guess there’ll be those who’d like to see Alexia Russo replace Ellen White, but that’s silly on two grounds:

1) She may not be scoring goals, but White remains crucial to how England play. She presses, puts herself about, and clears routes to goal for teammates.

2) Imagine the physical and mental aggravation of facing White, Mead, Hemp and Kirby for an hour, then someone as brilliant, grooved and fresh as Russo turns up. Wiegman’s ability to affect games from the bench is a big part of what England got here.

Back on Sky, we’re wondering which XI Sarina Wiegman might pick to start today. I know! She’s made a grand total of 0 changes during the competition, even when England were through the group with a game to spare, so it’s not hard to predict what’ll happen today. And how refreshing that is: a manager picking her side, rather than compromising, feart of its opponents.

And here’s another piece on Popp that I enjoyed, touching on the sensation of watching someone as special as she is for the first time.

I must confess, I’m a little surprised by how much Millie Bright has improved, but she – and Leah Williamson – have their work cut out today. Alex Popp has done unbelievably well these last few weeks, even if you forget the terrible luck she’s had with injuries. But if we factor in her missing Euro 2013 and 2017; that she got hurt again at the start of this year, before contracting Covid in June; then her work these last few weeks is just rrrridiculous. Here’s Anita Asante on her:

It’s a grey morning in norf Lahndahn, but Sue Smith and Karen Bardsley are on Sky brightening it up. “Its like Christmas,” says Bardsley, taking us through the strict standards of fish-finger preparation demanded by her England side by way of pre-match meal.

I’ll also share some of the best writing I’ve seen during the tournament – and on women’s football in general - starting with this review and extract from our own Suzanne Wrack’s excellent book on the subject.

Preamble

Are you sitting uncomfortably? Then we’ll begin.

Regardless of where you say the journey started, it’s been a long old time getting to here. But here we finally are, and what a celebration awaits us today. If only Grace Sibbert could see us now!

Sibbert founded Dick, Kerr Ladies in 1921, the team going on to play in front of crowds exceeding 51,000 while raising colossal sums of money for working-class causes .... so the FA, in hock to power, banned it, deeming football “quite unsuitable for females”.

But since then, the work, sacrifice and talent of heroic pioneers like Gillian Coultard, Marianne Spacey, Hope Powell, Anita Asante, Fara Williams and Kelly Smith has brought us to this point. Tomorrow, the challenge will be to move on – more girls playing, more girls watching, and from more diverse backgrounds – but today is all about today.

And we could scarcely have hoped for a better match-up to glorify it. Though Spain and France deserve our gratefulness – who knows where they’d be had the former not lost Alexia Putellas and Jenni Hermoso, the latter Marie-Antoinette Katoto – but England and Germany have been brilliant, expansive when they’ve been able to be and nails when they’ve had to be. They’ve earned the everything out of their presence at this stage, and anyone who claims to know what’s coming next is lying.

So over the next few hours we’ll look back at a sensational competition, forward to what should be a terrific final, and generally enjoy everything we’ve got to enjoy. Here we go!

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