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| Date: Sunday, 31 July. Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Kick-off: 1700 BST. |
| Protection: Watch on BBC One & BBC Sport web site, hear on BBC Radio 5 Dwell, stay textual content protection on the BBC Sport web site. |
England’s Lionesses stand getting ready to ladies’s soccer historical past as they tackle Germany within the European Championship last at Wembley on Sunday.
Victory could be each the primary main trophy for the England ladies’s workforce and the primary soccer honour for the nation because the males’s 1966 World Cup win.
In addition to making the workforce family names, a victory can also be predicted to catapult ladies’s soccer in England to new heights.
However standing in the way in which once more are Germany, who’ve gained the competitors eight instances. They beat England 6-2 within the last of Euro 2009, the final time they performed one another on the match.
The match is predicted to be a sellout at Wembley, which has an 87,200 capability for the Euros, with kick-off at 17:00 BST.
There’s protection throughout BBC tv, radio and on-line, with tens of millions anticipated to observe the match on the BBC.
The semi-final attracted a peak TV viewers of 9.3m. England’s World Cup semi-final in opposition to the USA in 2019 holds the UK report for girls’s soccer with 11.7m watching on the BBC.
Each groups have been the standout sides within the match, every conceding only one objective, and have proven their class to achieve the showpiece at Wembley.
The Lionesses justified their standing as one of many pre-tournament favourites with a 4-0 semi-final thrashing of Sweden, ranked second on this planet, whereas Germany, who got here into the Euros as a little bit of an unknown amount, edged previous France 2-1.
What’s England’s report like in opposition to Germany?
Not nice, however then we described their report in opposition to Sweden as “surprising” and issues did not go too badly within the semi-final.
However England must rewrite the report books as soon as extra if they’re to triumph within the capital.
They’ve gained simply two of 27 conferences in opposition to Germany – although a type of got here of their most up-to-date assembly, in February.
England have misplaced extra video games (21) in opposition to the Germans than another facet, whereas they’ve been on the dropping finish in all 4 conferences at earlier European Championships.
“These are the video games you reside for,” mentioned England captain Leah Williamson.
“It is a fairy-tale fixture with the historical past behind it. I believe we’ve got the 2 groups who’ve had the perfect tournaments within the last.
“No person ever has a house sport the place they do not have a bonus. That is our nationwide stadium so it is acquainted to us and the assist we’ve got had up to now has been unbelievable. It is an thrilling thought that we’ve got that on our facet.”
Knowledge analysts Nielsen Gracenote give England a 52% probability of success due to dwelling benefit, saying Germany would have a 55% probability of profitable at a impartial floor.
Nonetheless, Germany are used to spoiling England’s celebration within the ladies’s and males’s video games.
Supervisor Martina Voss-Tecklenburg mentioned: “To start with, Wembley might be English and I hope it is going to belong to us on the finish.
“We need to play our sport, be brave, aggressive, give it our all, play as a workforce. This has labored properly up to now.”
Battle of the bosses – Wiegman v Voss-Tecklenburg
Historical past is ready to be made by Sarina Wiegman and Voss-Tecklenburg.
England boss Wiegman’s report is formidable, profitable all 11 video games she has taken cost of on the Euros. She led the Netherlands to an unlikely triumph on dwelling soil 5 years in the past.
She is trying to repeat the feat with England on this event, in flip changing into the primary coach to win the match with two completely different groups.
Wiegman’s report since taking cost of England is a near-flawless one too, unbeaten in her 19 video games, drawing simply two of these.
Alternatively, Germany coach Voss-Tecklenburg will change into simply the second lady, after former team-mate Silvia Neid, to win the competitors as each a participant and coach.
Having gained the 2009 Champions League with Duisburg, she can also be aiming to change into the primary coach to win Europe’s prime membership and nationwide workforce competitions.
Golden Boot up for grabs
It is not simply the champions of Europe who might be selected Sunday. So too will the winner of the Golden Boot, with two entrance gamers going head-to-head for the award.
England ahead Beth Mead and veteran Germany striker Alexandra Popp have led the way in which in entrance of objective, each scoring six from their 5 matches up to now.
Mead netted an unforgettable hat-trick within the 8-0 thrashing of Norway, whereas Popp has set the report of changing into the primary participant to attain in 5 consecutive Euros video games.
The Wolfsburg striker is trying to change into simply the second participant, after Frenchman Michel Platini in 1984, to attain in each match at a European Championship.
Arsenal’s Mead is aiming to match Alan Shearer’s England report of seven targets scored in a single Euros match from 1996.
If each gamers finish on the identical variety of targets, it is going to go right down to assists and Mead edges forward on that entrance because it stands, laying on 4 targets for her team-mates.
Legacy of the match
These Euros have smashed each attendance report going.
Earlier than the ultimate, the overall match attendance of 487,683 is greater than the earlier report for a European Ladies’s Championship. In reality, the earlier landmark of 240,055 was handed within the group levels.
The match opener at Previous Trafford broke the person attendance report for the Ladies’s Euros, with 68,871 at Previous Trafford.
The ultimate is more likely to go even additional and take the report for the boys’s or ladies’s Euros. The lads’s 1964 last between Spain and the Soviet Union was watched by 79,115 on the Bernabeu. Final yr’s Euro 2020 last between England males and Italy was restricted to 67,173 amid Covid restrictions.
Each the success of the match itself and of England is partially right down to elevated funding by the Soccer Affiliation and into the Ladies’s Tremendous League in earlier years.
“No matter occurs within the last, if ladies aren’t allowed to play soccer in PE just like the boys what are we doing?” requested Ian Wright after the semi-final win.
“It will encourage lots of people. If there isn’t any legacy after this like with the Olympics what are we doing? Ladies ought to be capable of play.”
The FA’s goal, in its Euro 2022 legacy report, is for 75% of faculties to offer equal entry for ladies to play soccer inside PE classes by 2024. Solely 63% of ladies have the identical entry as boys to soccer at the moment.
On the success of the match, she mentioned: “I hope it is spreading some actually great emotions of hope and happiness to the entire nation.
“Legacy truly begins earlier than a match. I believe most individuals assume it is one thing that occurs after a match, however we have been engaged on excellent legacy plans.”
Karen Bardsley was on the bench final time England reached a serious last in Euro 2009, after they misplaced 6-2 to Germany.
She mentioned: “I do not assume folks realise the impression that is going to have on the ladies’s sport on this nation. In 5 or 10 years’ time, that is going to change into the norm.”
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