England vs Germany Women's EURO final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, line-ups
Sunday, July 31, 2022
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When is it? How can you watch it? What are the line-ups? All you need to know about the UEFA Women's EURO 2022 final between England and Germany.
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England and Germany meet at Wembley Stadium in the UEFA Women's EURO 2022 finals on Sunday 31 July.
England vs Germany at a glance
When: Sunday 31 July, 18:00 CET
Where: Wembley Stadium, London
What: Women's EURO 2022 final
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage is here
Where to watch England vs Germany on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Women's EURO 2022 broadcast partner(s) here.
What do you need to know?
With a Women's EURO-record finals crowd expected at Wembley, the tournament has the blockbuster final it deserved: a meeting of the hosts and the most successful team in the competition's history. Germany have won this title an incredible eight times (including a 6-2 win against England in the 2009 decider in Helsinki), but if their overall record against England is impressive (W21 D4 L2, including a 2-1 win in front of more than 77,000 at Wembley in a November 2019 friendly), there is no longer a huge gulf in class between these sides – Sarina Wiegman's team beat Die Nationalelf 3-1 in a four-team tournament in February. Wiegman, who also led hosts Netherlands to victory in 2017, has named an unchanged XI in every game and could become the first to do so through a men's or women's EURO with a group stage.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's side went under the radar coming into this tournament, but their high-pressing style and composure in front of goal have taken them back to the pinnacle of the European game. England, meanwhile, have pulled off some hugely eye-catching results, but showed they can battle for victory (even without seeing much of the ball) when they eliminated Spain in the quarter-finals. Home advantage may play its part, but Germany can take courage from colossal TV audiences at home (over 12 million watched their semi-final win against France). They are missing Klara Bühl through illness.
Starting line-ups
England: Earps; Bronze, Bright, Williamson, Daly; Stanway, Walsh; Mead, Kirby, Hemp; White
Germany: Frohms; Gwinn, Hendrich, Hegering, Rauch; Magull, Oberdorf, Däbritz; Huth, Popp, Brand
Reporter views
Lynsey Hooper, England reporter
England have already had their most successful Women's EURO campaign since 2009, and doing so at home has catapulted these Lionesses into public consciousness. Should they beat Germany in the final at a sold-out Wembley, it would potentially be a game-changer for women's football in England, but Sarina Wiegman will be eager to avoid such big-picture talk. It has to remain about the match itself. Her side have shown composure, flair and character when they have had to. They will doubtless need to do so again on Sunday.
Anna-Sophia Vollmerhausen, Germany reporter
Only given a slim chance of reclaiming the title in most pre-tournament rankings, Germany have proved the doubters wrong. Their relentless pressing, resolute defence and clinical finishing have helped them steamroll their way to the final for a record ninth time. Germany have faced so many different tests so far: Spain's control, Austria's tenacity, France's pace – and they have overcome them all. Led by their inspiring captain Alex Popp, this is a team in every sense of the word. What a final we're in for now, and at a sold-out Wembley to boot. As a football fan, you can't help but look forward to it.
View from the camps
Sarina Wiegman, England coach: "Germany have done incredibly over the years. They were struggling a little bit around 2017, but now they're totally back. Where we are, at the moment, we're in a very good place too. We've done really well in this tournament and so have Germany, so I think it's going to be a great match.
"At some point it might be physical, Germany can play direct. We did see some things that we might want to exploit – but we’ll see!"
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Germany coach: "We have dreamt of this, to have a final against England here at Wembley, I don’t know if there are many bigger aspiring moments for our players. We really want to embrace everything
."There is a clear idea by Sarina Wiegman and her coaching staff on how they want to play football. They have a lot of speed, a lot of confidence and they have several players who are dangerous in front of goal. They look to finish with crosses, long shots or set-pieces. They have a good physical presence, and they have everything that a team needs to win a game. They’re unbeaten for a very long time, it would be a good time to change that."
Leah Williamson, England captain: "It’s a fairtytale fixture with the history behind it but you wouldn’t expect to get to the final without playing the best team in the tournament. We’ve got the two teams that have had the best tournaments in the final.
"What we’ve seen in the tournament already is that this hasn’t just been a change for women’s football but society in general, how we’re looked on. Naturally it’s my job to go out for 90 minutes and play and win but we’ve really started something."
Svenja Huth, Germany midfielder: "There is a good mix between relaxation and tension. Everyone is excited and the closer we get to the game, the more focused we are. But within the team I haven't noticed any more anxiety than before any other game. We are excited to be here, to be rewarded for our hard work over the last few months – blood, toil, tears and setbacks. We are excited more than anything else."
"For me it is my first time [at Wembley]. In 2019 I was injured when Germany played here, so that's why I am very excited like everyone else. Ninety thousand people will be there, most will be against us, but for us it is a great feeling. There is hype in Germany at the moment and we hope to keep that up."
Form guide
England
Group A winners
England 1-0 Austria (Old Trafford)
England 8-0 Norway (Brighton & Hove)
Northern Ireland 0-5 England (Southampton)
Quarter-finals
England 2-1 Spain (aet, Brighton & Hove)
Semi-finals
England 4-0 Sweden (Sheffield)
Story so far: The Lionesses breezed through the group stage (14 goals scored, none conceded) but the quarter-final against Spain provided a much sterner test. Largely outplayed, Wiegman's team fought back from a goal down to win in extra time, and that victory instilled a new sense of belief that fed into the semi-final defeat of Sweden (the first side they faced who were ranked above them). Beth Mead, goalkeeper Mary Earps and Alessia Russo all made headlines in that 4-0 win, but the most potent ingredient in this England team is arguably their togetherness.
Women's EURO best: Runners-up (1984, 2009)
Previous Women's EURO finals
27/05/1984: Sweden 1-0 England (Gothenburg) & England 1-0aet Sweden (Sweden won 4-3 on penalties) (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)
Quarter-finals
Germany 2-0 Austria (Brentford)
Semi-finals
Germany 2-1 France (Milton Keynes)
Story so far: Germany have only conceded once at these finals and they have looked strong and focused throughout. They were given a stiff quarter-final test by an aggressive Austria, who did not allow them to control the game, while the semi-final against France was a similarly tight affair. Germany's willingness to defend hard has got them over the line so far, while clinical finishing – in particular from six-goal forward Popp – has made the difference at the other end.
Women's EURO best: Winners (1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2013)
Previous Women's EURO finals
02/07/1989: West Germany 4-1 Norway (Osnabrück)
14/07/1991: Germany 3-1aet Norway (Aalborg)
26/03/1995: Germany 3-2 Sweden (Kaiserslautern)
12/07/1997: Germany 2-0 Italy (Oslo)
07/07/2001: Germany 1-0aet gg 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)