New superlatives have to be invented for Alexandra Popp. It is the captain who led the German national soccer team to the European Championship final against England with her two goals (Sunday, 6 p.m./ARD, DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker). The French do have chances and a goal, but the German collective once again proves their extreme cohesion. The performances of the two youngest players in the DFB team are particularly impressive.
Merle Frohms: It happened, the German goalkeeper conceded the first goal at this European Championship. And unfortunately they even did it themselves, the goal to make it 1-1 in the 44th goes on their card, at least in the statistics. But she was not to blame. She deflected Diani’s shot from the edge of the penalty area to the post, the ball bounced against her back – and into the goal. But the future goalkeeper of VfL Wolfsburg didn’t let that faze her. In the second half she saved with a strong reflex after a header from Wendie Renard (67′). The anger was quickly gone: “We won!”
Giulia Gwinn: Delphine Cascarino will remember how good the Bayern defender was. One of the best players in this tournament up to that point was almost completely unregistered – and was substituted after an hour in frustration. It was thanks to the 23-year-old who impressed with her irrepressible energy and strong duel behavior. The interaction with Jule Brand, who had just joined the team, worked well, they harmonized on the way to the goal. As usual, she had a clearly offensive orientation, but she helped well at the back, being the last woman to defuse a dangerous ball in the 60th minute. She also accepted a yellow card in the 74th minute when Sakina Karachoui almost escaped her would. After the game, national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg praised the defender’s development and how much she had matured since the World Cup three years ago.
Kathi Hendrich: The central defender is partly responsible for the 1:1, Kadidiatou Diani unluckily escaped from her in the 44th minute, which is how the shot came about, which ultimately went into the goal. However, the Wolfsburg player’s commitment was not to be written off, she went a long way and mercilessly held her face against herself in a shot by Selma Bacha in the 63rd minute. Shake briefly, on we went. However, not as precise as last time against Austria.
Marina Hegering: The defense has never been under so much pressure in this tournament as it was in this semi-final. The 32-year-old has never had to defend against an opponent as tough as Wendie Renard. She did her job with the usual calm as the last woman. Although not every pass came through, she didn’t win every duel, but she could rely on her colleagues, whom she conducted well again. As against Austria, she made surprising excursions into the opposing half and caused confusion among the French with offensive actions. Slightly injured, she left the field limping in the 81st minute.
Sara Doorsoun (from 81st): The Frankfurt native entered a tense final phase in which France threw everything forward again, pushing for an equalizer in order to force an extension. The 30-year-old stayed cool.
Felicitas Rauch: She had a particularly difficult draw with Kadidiatou Diani, but she proved her skills. With the help of her teammates, the extremely fast Frenchwoman largely had her under control, especially in the first half. In the second half, however, the Wolfsburg player was not always secure, revealing weaknesses that Hegering and Co. ironed out, as in the quarter-finals. But she used her space forward, played good opening passes – like in the 49th minute to Svenja Huth, who presented the ball just a little too far.
Lina Magull: It could have been the Germans’ first good chance to score when Lina Magull was actually through in the 6th minute after an opening pass to her. But she made it too complicated instead of trying it herself. Finally she turned away without success. This time, the 27-year-old didn’t show any offensive spirit. However, she also had to deal with Wendie Renard – 1.66 meters tall against 1.87 meters, a complicated task. But it also had an effect on her body language: the Bayern player seemed pissed off at times because of the private feud, which she also fought verbally with Renard. She was also annoyed by the referee, as she said afterwards: “Almost no fouls were called for us, that’s not fair.” The frustration ran deep, so it was the logical conclusion that she was substituted in the 68th minute.
Linda Dallmann (from 68′): She could have made everything clear in the 90th minute, the Bayern player had the 3-1 on the foot, but missed from close range. She was diligent in other ways too, but not quite as offensive and creative as she was against Austria. But this was also due to the fact that the 27-year-old had to work a lot against the ball.
Lena Oberdorf: Before the game, the 20-year-old said: “I also thought I had already learned to get through the game without a yellow card, but that didn’t work so well in the first two games, so I’m staying there still there.” Well, against France, at least she can’t shy away from that task. She cleared Diani too rudely in the 94th minute with a tackle, hit her leg and caused some anxiety with a free kick. But she then cleared the ball herself with her head out of the danger zone and made up for her mistake. How she made everything else outstanding again. The woman from Wolfsburg was again incredibly strong in duels, didn’t take it easy and is increasingly good at reading where the balls are coming from. It’s hard to imagine the team without her, so the looks from the bench were all the more anxious when Bacha’s hand hit her face in the 56th minute and she had to be treated. A short time later she continued playing as if nothing had happened.
Sara Däbritz: The 28-year-old had the exclusive task of playing against former and future teammates. From Paris St. Germain she moved to the most successful club in the world, Olympique Lyon. The midfield strategist was mainly defensive, helped out skillfully, doubled French attack attempts together with teammates. She wasn’t so extreme on the offensive, but played clever passes forward. Was substituted in the 68th minute.
Sydney Lohmann (from 68th): Like Däbritz before him, Sydney Lohmann, who suffered a hip injury last season, mainly had to do defensive work. The Bayern player showed calmness, a good overview and that she can put her body well into the ball. An appearance that shows that she is right to be part of the European Championship.
Svenja Huth: Due to the absence of Klara Bühl and the inclusion of Jule Brand in the starting eleven, the Wolfsburg player switched to the left flank. The 31-year-old couldn’t care where she was pacing, which side she was sprinting up and down. She just picked up where she left off in games before – with heavy dribbling, lots of speed, lots of commitment. But she switched to the right before she put in the cross for Popp to make it 1-0. She also prepared the 2:1. At the latest after a foul, after which she had to be treated, it seemed as if her battery was empty, but her substitution in the 91st minute was certainly due to game delay tactical reasons.
Tabea Waßmuth (from 90th): Was still there without being able to set accents in the few minutes.
Jule Brand: At 19, she is the youngest player in the DFB squad. Your first game in the starting XI was then, of all things, directly in the semifinals, what a task! One that she surprisingly started on the right instead of the left, and which she completed with great dedication. She acted disciplined at the back with a nice interaction with Gwinn and clever ideas. And in the second half, she increasingly used her speed to create offensive turbulence. She was the preparer for the 1-0 in the 40th minute when she passed the ball from the wing to Huth on the edge of the penalty area. A very successful start-up debut.
Alexandra Popp: New superlatives would have to be created for the captain of the German team, the 31-year-old deserves them all. As a result, she was named “Player of the Game” and actively promoted herself to also receive the title of Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. The Wolfsburg woman continued to expand her game goal record, scoring for the fifth time in five games (40th) – and then for the sixth time (76th). Popp is absolutely not one who only lurks in the penalty area for opportunities. In the 58th minute, for example, she sprinted through to the penalty area to defend the ball from Bacha when France outwitted the German right flank with a quick transition after winning the ball. Of course, Popp was successful there too.
