Extra-time victory over Germany, England women’s team win first European Championship
2022-08-01 11:31:05Source: Xinhuanet
Xinhua News Agency, London, July 31 (Reporter Zhang Wei) The England women’s football team played at home on the 31st after overtime with a 2:1 victory over the veteran German team, winning the European Women’s Football Championship for the first time in history.
England fans have sung “bring football home” for years, but the “Three Lions” last year’s European Championship final fell short. The English women’s football team carried the banner and did not make London’s Wembley Stadium, which hosted the final, a sad place for the home fans again.
After swept the Tokyo Olympics runner-up Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals, the England women’s football team reached the European Championship final for the third time. In front of more than 87,000 spectators, they faced the German team, which had won many championships. England had a dominant performance after the start, but the German team gradually stabilized its position after the main scorer Pope was injured and retired before the game, and slowly showed a threat. .
The stalemate on the field continued until the 62nd minute. England’s Walsh sent a good pass from the backcourt and crossed the gap between the German central defenders to find Thun, who moved forward at high speed. The latter faced the attacking German goalkeeper calmly and scored a goal. . However, the tenacious German girls equalized the score in the 79th minute, and Magul followed up with an outflanking push shot from the near corner.
The game entered overtime, and Kelly, who came off the bench in the second half, achieved the lore. In the 110th minute, the Manchester City striker, who had been recovering from injury for nearly a year and only returned to the pitch in April this year, used a corner kick to score smartly, making history for the England team.
The last European Championship, England women’s football semi-finals lost to the eventual champions the Netherlands. Wigman, who led the Dutch women’s football team to a remarkable record, has been coaching the England women’s football team since the Tokyo Olympics. The 52-year-old Dutch coach became the first coach to lead two different teams to the top of the Women’s European Championship.