National player Jill Scott can’t do anything with the many background noises surrounding the dream final of the European Championship between England and Germany.
“Of course the media do a lot about the story of England versus Germany. For us, that’s just our next top opponent, a very difficult game,” said the 35-year-old midfielder ahead of the final on Sunday (6:00 p.m.) at Wembley Stadium .
The Lionesses had won the last comparison at a test tournament in February 3-1, but everyone was aware that Germany was missing numerous regular players.
“The way some played was out of this world”
“We give them the utmost respect, but we have to focus on ourselves,” said Scott, enthusing about her team’s EURO performances: “The way some of them played was out of this world.”
Scott was already present at the EM final in 2009 when the English team lost 6-2 to the record European champions in Helsinki. For her, the relaunch 13 years later is a “defining moment” for the development of the sport in the motherland of football.
“We said before the European Championship that we really want to inspire the nation. We did that,” said Scott. “We’ve earned the right for the team to go out there on Sunday and enjoy it.”