analysis
The German national team gave England a great fight in the final of the European Football Championship. And that, although the DFB women again had to defy some resistance. With a little distance, pride was rightly mixed with the great disappointment.
Baby you would have to be The absence of Alexandra Popp due to injury, the handball of England captain Leah Williamson, the discussions about the video assistant and the deafeningly loud party of the hosts – Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s granddaughter did not hear all of this.
While the national coach was under high voltage at the edge of the field, mother Dina suffered in the crowd of fans in the main stand and dad Kevin, who is a professional soccer player himself, left the inside of the stadium for a few steps with the “burp cloth” in his hand, if it was still there louder, the four-month-old girl simply slept on with the noise-protection headphones.
If we had gone to penalties, we know how it would have ended.
MVT: “It was a clear handball”
It’s not that easy for adults, of course. After the final whistle, MVT had to get the frustration off their chests. “It was a clear handball, that concerns me,” the 54-year-old commented on the scene in the 26th minute. The ball hit the outstretched arm of the English captain in the penalty area. But no matter how clear the images may have been for most television viewers, the video assistant, who even checked the scene, did not see any clear wrong decision. Referee Kateryna Monzul from Ukraine did not get the sign to watch the scene again herself.
The latter in particular aroused the mind of Voss-Tecklenburg. “Why isn’t that looked at? Why is there no clear communication? That shouldn’t happen at the level in a final for the European Championships. You feel a bit disadvantaged,” said the national coach angrily and demanded that this scene still be must be discussed in detail.
Popp: “Couldn’t play a pass, couldn’t shoot at goal”
Meanwhile, nobody was to blame for the second big excitement of the day. Popp sustained a strain during final practice that was so severe that it had to pass after warming up for the game. “In the last training session, with the last shot too – you have to say that too. To get such a blow to the neck again is brutal,” reported the German captain, who had to capitulate with tears in her eyes.
“I couldn’t play a pass that goes over a longer distance and I couldn’t shoot at goal. It just didn’t make any sense,” said the 31-year-old, who led Germany to the final with six goals in five games . “It was clear to me that we were in a European Championship final and that we had to play with a full band. There was no point. I cried at that moment because I couldn’t believe it.”
Popp had missed two European Championships in her career due to injuries, suffered from a serious knee injury in the run-up to the European Championships in England and was finally fit in time for the tournament in England after a corona infection.
Magull can also begrudge the English women
Even without their captain and without Klara Bühl, who only tested negative again on the day of the match after her corona infection, the DFB women England delivered a duel on an equal footing in the final. It is hard to imagine how the game would have ended with two of the two best German players in this tournament. So it was only enough for Lina Magull to make it 1-1 in the meantime, whose third goal was almost even better than the two goals before.
The English played a great tournament, just like we did. It would be nice if there were two winners.
“The frustration prevails. We played another great game,” said the scorer, who, according to her own statement, could also treat the English women to it: “It’s a great experience for them to win this title at home at Wembley Stadium. They played a great tournament, as did we. It would be nice if there were two winners.”
Mixed feelings but proud of the silver medal
Popp was “deeply sad and disappointed that we didn’t manage this coup in the end. But overall we played a great tournament.” Magull also emphasized: “We’ve become a really great team in the last few months. And I’m very proud of that.”
The playmaker and new European Vice Champion wore her silver medal around her neck in the stadium’s mixed zone. “We were in the final here, which nobody thought we could do, and maybe we didn’t even think we could do it. But we worked so hard for it. I’m proud of the medal.” In the end it was probably a blow too many for the team that prevented the really big triumph.
The national coach had mixed feelings, just like her players: “I have to process it first, that’s clear. We came here to win the game, but unfortunately we didn’t make it in the end. But tomorrow or the day after I’ll definitely go start the day with a different feeling.” And maybe in a few years, when her granddaughter gets her hands on the medal and asks, she will tell everything that the little one overslept on July 31, 2022.