International press comments on the women’s football European Championship final England vs. Germany (2-1 after extra time) at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sunday:
GREAT BRITAIN:
„Daily Mail“: “The wild EM final showed that women’s football is not a tamer and gentler version of the game. So much hard work and sacrifice paid off in two glorious and bone-breaking hours.”
„Daily Mirror“: “Champions!!! England win Euro 2022 thanks to a late Kelly goal in extra time in impressive Wembley final against Germany.”
„The Sun“: “It’s come home! England’s lionesses roar with pride as they celebrate their historic triumph at Euro 2022.”
„The Telegraph“: “The deepest pain in England’s sports soul has been erased. And it’s a liberation accomplished by women – amidst scenes of sheer ecstasy. (…) This is a Sport, which was officially forbidden to women in England for half a century. As late as the 1990s, women’s football on Fleet Street was derided as ‘a game to be played only by consent of adults in private’. (…) But today, optimism has overcome short-sightedness and contempt. It’s a lesson (…): put women first and watch them soar.”
„The Guardian“: “England crowned champions of Euro 2022 after Kelly sank Germany in overtime.”
„The Times“: “The fans chanted ‘football coming home’ and England had to defeat a team known for their resilience and whose representatives have stood in their way so often in the past. But England has withstood the incessant test of Germany. They lived up to their expectations. They took the lead, lost it and then showed their character by winning it back. That made their achievement even more significant because it was Germany.”
„The Independent“: “Kelly’s goal not only brought victory at this women’s European Championship and the lionesses the first tournament success in their history. One can assume that he will achieve much more. (…) Admittedly, whether winning or losing, Sarina Wiegman and her players had probably already achieved that. But now they have a trophy to hang anything on.”
DEUTSCHLAND:
„Bild“: “New Wembley scam. The video referee refused us a clear hand penalty.”
“Münchner Abendzeitung”: “German Wembley Drama. The DFB-Elf loses the final of the European Championship in the London Football Cathedral extremely unluckily with 1:2 after extra time. Before that, they are denied a penalty.”
“Hamburger Abendblatt”: “End of the dream trip without a happy ending.”
FRANCE:
“The Team”: “England end their curse by winning the Women’s European Championship.”
“Le Figaro”: “It was not for nothing that Sarina Wiegman was voted Best FIFA Coach of the Year 2017 and 2020. Five years after winning the European Championship at the wheel of the Netherlands, the Dutchwoman kept her crown, but this time with England.”
“Release”: “The English women rule the Old Continent.”
SPAIN:
“Brand”: “It was their European Championship and they couldn’t fail. England wanted to debut and they did it in a big way, with a packed Wembley and against a Germany that didn’t know what it was like to lose a final.”
“The vanguard”: “England has achieved its dream goal. Not even the best screenwriters could have written such a perfect story.”
SWITZERLAND:
„Blick“: “England are European champions! Joker Chloe Kelly decides the final spectacle in London’s Wembley in front of a record crowd of 87,192 fans in extra time. Germany feels disadvantaged – like in 1966!”
DENMARK:
“Politics”: “It finally worked: football is coming home. A rousing and dramatic final in front of the largest crowd at a European Championship game ever ended in victory for the home team. An international football classic marked the effective end of the women’s European Championship – and for once Germany didn’t win in the end.”
NORWAY:
“Walk of the World”: “Wembley were full of English victory tears, but it was Alexandra Popp’s desperate, blank eyes that made the strongest impression. This was her EM, after all. She was on her way to becoming the queen of the league when the greatest day of football of her life was over before it had really begun. Instead it became England’s EM. Football has come home.”
SWEDEN:
“Aftonbladet”: “Football is an easy one Sport. 22 players try to get the most balls into the respective goal in 90 or 120 minutes. In the end, the team with the fewest problems, the best players on the bench and the best coach on the sidelines wins. After a lot of ifs and buts, this is England.”
(APA)/Image: IMAGO