Löwins VS Lionesses! FEMAIL reveals the formidable players England will face in the final – from a top scorer who’s returned after a serious knee injury to a superstitious Instagram star
- Lionesses will face off with Germany in the Women’s Euro final on Sunday
- After beating France 2-1, the team is now battling for its ninth European title
- Impressive German players include Alexandra Popp, an Olympic gold medallist
England will face Germany in the Euro 2022 final on Sunday after the eight-time champions beat France 2-1 in Milton Keynes on Wednesday night.
The German squad will be looking to secure a ninth European title when battling against the Lionesses at Wembley Stadium this weekend.
And players to watch out for include Alexandra Popp, who is now level with England’s Beth Mead for the golden boot after scoring two goals against France in Germany’s semi-final match.
German captain Popp, 31, who had scored in every game prior, said ‘it doesn’t get any better than that’ after securing her team’s place in the final.
Meanwhile, Sara Dabritz – one of seven players to survive from the 2017 Euros, when the record eight-time former champions, who won six consecutive tournaments from 1995 to 2013, were surprisingly eliminated in the quarter-finals – has been noted as one of the team’s ‘superstars’.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look at the formidable players hoping to win against the Lionesses…
Alexandra Popp
Alexandra Popp said ‘it doesn’t get any better than that’ after securing Germany’s place in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley against England
Popp scored twice, once in each half, to give the eight-time champions a 2-1 win over France at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on Wednesday night
The German captain, who plays her club football for VfL Wolfsburg, was chuffed with the performance over one of the tournament favourites
The 31-year-old had missed 10 months of football through a serious knee injury, and only returned to competitive action in March
Alexandra Popp said ‘it doesn’t get any better than that’ after securing Germany’s place in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley against England.
Popp scored twice, once in each half, to give the eight-time champions a 2-1 win over France at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on Wednesday night.
The German captain, who plays her club football for VfL Wolfsburg, was chuffed with the performance over one of the tournament favourites.
Popp said: ‘I can’t put it into words. We played an amazing game and threw everything in. We are incredibly happy; nobody expected us. We’re in the final at Wembley against England – it doesn’t get any better than that.’
The 31-year-old had missed 10 months of football through a serious knee injury, and only returned to competitive action in March.
She needed to build herself back into the national side, and began the first group game on the bench. However, she scored after being used as a substitute, and has put her name on the scoresheet in all five of Germany’s game so far.
‘We earned our self-confidence in all the games’, Popp added. ‘The team is just great; they have my back and are happy with me after my whole story of suffering. Now it’s time to regenerate quickly.’
Scoring her sixth goal of the tournament 14 minutes from time to take Germany to the final, she is now joint top in the race for the Golden Boot.
She’s level with Lionesses striker Beth Mead – although Mead leads the two at present, because UEFA take assists into account in the event of a tie.
Popp said that her focus was not on the Golden Boot. ‘It’s not my priority; my priority is to win the Euro,’ the striker claimed. ‘If I have the chance to crown the title with that achievement, it would be nice – but if it doesn’t happen, then I’ll still be happy.’
Popp now prepares to lead the Germany side in the final showdown against England – a repeat of the 2009 Euro final, which the Germans won 6-2 in Helsinki.
Sara Däbritz
Sara Däbritz has been labelled one of the ‘superstars’ of the German team, according to The Guardian
She joined PSG in 2019 and has improved her skills ever since – despite suffering from a cruciate ligament injury a few months in
‘In the beginning everybody’s telling you you will come back stronger then you think “yeah, we will see”,’ she told the publication this year. ‘But then, in the process, you start believing in this sentence’
The nation’s coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg recently said: ‘I wouldn’t want to play against Sara Däbritz right now’
Sara Däbritz has been labelled one of the ‘superstars’ of the German team, according to The Guardian.
She joined PSG in 2019 and has improved her skills ever since – despite suffering from a cruciate ligament injury a few months in.
‘In the beginning everybody’s telling you you will come back stronger then you think “yeah, we will see”,’ she told the publication this year. ‘But then, in the process, you start believing in this sentence.’
The nation’s coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg recently said: ‘I wouldn’t want to play against Sara Däbritz right now.’
She was raised in north-eastern Bavaria, where she played football alongside boys up until a regional level. One of the former footballers she played with is now her boyfriend, Lukas Dotzler.
She revealed in June that she was leaving PSG to join rivals Lyon.
One of seven players to survive from the 2017 Euros, she is an expert at foiling chances being created with her movement, which also is a crucial part in building attacks.
Klara Bühl
Forward Klara Buhl was a key player in Germany’s journey up until the semi-finals – but was ruled out of the clash against France after testing positive for Covid
Buhl scored in the impressive 2-0 win over Spain in the group stages, but was mocked by her teammates after a glaring miss in the quarter-final win over Austria
The player, who made her international debut in 2019 and has netted 13 goals since, could still feature in the final should she test negative beforehand
Forward Klara Buhl was a key player in Germany’s journey up until the semi-finals – but was ruled out of the clash against France after testing positive for Covid.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the 21-year-old Bayern Munich star is currently in isolation but is not currently displaying any symptoms.
‘She is currently symptom-free and was immediately isolated. Further tests of the entire team and staff were negative,’ the team said on Twitter.
Buhl scored in the impressive 2-0 win over Spain in the group stages, but was mocked by her teammates after a glaring miss in the quarter-final win over Austria.
The player, who made her international debut in 2019 and has netted 13 goals since, could still feature in the final should she test negative beforehand.
She won the German FA’s young talent award, named after German footballer Fritz Walter, in 2019.
She made her Bundesliga debut aged 15 and scored her first goal just a year later; by the age of 19 she had more than 80 games for the team.
Buhl lived in Paris with her parents for four years during her childhood, attending nursery there.
Merle Frohms
Merle Frohms, 27, plays as a goalkeeper for VfL Wolfsburg and Germany’s national team
She first played football with her older brother, before playing with the boys at Fortuna Celle until 2011
She joined VfL Wolfsburg as a teenager but had little playing time due to fellow player Almuth Schult standing in her way. But this summer, she will replace Schult
Merle Frohms, 27, plays as a goalkeeper for VfL Wolfsburg and Germany’s national team.
She first played football with her older brother, before playing with the boys at Fortuna Celle until 2011.
She joined VfL Wolfsburg as a teenager but had little playing time due to fellow player Almuth Schult standing in her way. But this summer, she will replace Schult.
Frohms first appearance in an international tournament was the finals of the 2012 UEFA Women’s Under-17 Championship.
She played as the main keeper in the semi-final against Denmark before stopping two penalties in the final to give Germany the Under-17 title.
Sharing snaps on her Instagram account, she showcases the picturesque places she’s visited and is seemingly a keen cook.
The footballer, who is is also pursuing a degree in business administration, boasts 63,400 followers on the social media platform, where she delights fans with updates about her career.
Lena Oberdorf
Lena Oberdorf, 20, who used to believe girls’ football was ‘silly’, broke the record for the youngest German World Cup player in 2019, then aged 17
After playing with the boys’ teams at TSG Sprockhovel, she joined SGS Essen in the Frauen-Bundesliga, where she established herself as a key player in a number of positions. She’s since signed for two-time European champions Wolfsburg
At the start of the Euro 2022 tournament, she explained that she doesn’t ‘recognise that I’m 20’, adding: ‘I feel like when I’m on the pitch, everybody sees me as like a 28-year-old player.’
Lena Oberdorf, 20, who used to believe girls’ football was ‘silly’, broke the record for the youngest German World Cup player in 2019, then aged 17.
After playing with the boys’ teams at TSG Sprockhovel, she joined SGS Essen in the Frauen-Bundesliga, where she established herself as a key player in a number of positions. She’s since signed for two-time European champions Wolfsburg.
At the start of the Euro 2022 tournament, she explained that she doesn’t ‘recognise that I’m 20’, adding: ‘I feel like when I’m on the pitch, everybody sees me as like a 28-year-old player,’ reported GOAL.
Following the team’s semi-final success, she later admitted she could not comprehend reaching the Wembley final.
‘It feels surreal, I need a day to understand it,’ she said. ‘It was once again the commitment and the will to score and defend our goal.
‘Unfortunately we conceded our first goal today but that didn’t upset us either. We adjusted our game and carried on. Popp delivered an outstanding header again. She’s just a beast in there, that’s exactly what we need from her.’
She added that there will be a lot of pressure for both teams to win the final at Wembley.
She told Sky: ‘Both teams have pressure because both teams know what you can win in that night.
‘And of course they have the whole nation behind them, the whole England nation is expecting them to win in their own country, but we’re going to give it our best to avoid that.’
Giulia Gwinn
Germany’s Giulia Gwinn is just 23-years-old but proved to be a key player in the group stages of the women’s Euros and is tipped to help lead her team to glory
In the 2-0 win over Spain on matchday two, Gwinn put in a Player of the Match performance
She was aged 19 when she travelled to France to represent Germany at the 2019 Women’s World Cup
Germany’s Giulia Gwinn is just 23-years-old but proved to be a key player in the group stages of the women’s Euros and is tipped to help lead her team to glory.
In the 2-0 win over Spain on matchday two, Gwinn put in a Player of the Match performance.
She was aged 19 when she travelled to France to represent Germany at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
And despite making just eight appearances before then, she delivered a standout performance, earning her the Young Player of the Tournament award.
However, she sadly suffered an ACL knee injury two years ago that left her side-lined for over a year. She described that the ‘time after that was the hardest of my life’.
She has more than 360,000 followers on Instagram, where she shows her enjoyment of driving vintage cars.
The player is also known to be superstitious, previously revealing: ‘I always go on the pitch with my right foot first and the procedures on match day must always be the same,’ reported AS.com.
Kathrin-Julia Hendrich
Kathrin-Julia Hendrich was born in Eupen, to a German father and Belgian mother, so could have played for Belgium but instead decided to join the German team in 2014
When not playing for the national team, Kathrin plays as a defender for VfL Wolfsburg. But she played football in her birth country until the age of 14, first with her local club Eupen and then with Teutonia Weiden
On her decision to join Germany, she previously said, via DW : ‘I always watched the Germany national team on TV’
Kathrin-Julia Hendrich was born in Eupen, to a German father and Belgian mother, so could have played for Belgium but instead decided to join the German team in 2014.
When not playing for the national team, Kathrin plays as a defender for VfL Wolfsburg. But she played football in her birth country until the age of 14, first with her local club Eupen and then with Teutonia Weiden.
On her decision to join Germany, she previously said, via DW: ‘I always watched the Germany national team on TV.
‘We had German television and they always showed the games of the women’s national team. Through that I had a special connection.
‘I would always tell my mum and dad I would rather play for Germany and I stayed with my decision. I’m now happy that I took that road.’
She is known to be quiet, with one of her teammate’s previously jokingly calling her a ‘bit of a prude’.
However, she has spoken out about the comparisons between women’s and men’s football, insisting that tactically and technique-wise ‘we are on the same level’.
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