Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal off a rebound in the second half of extra time after Germany failed to clear a corner. The game had finished 1-1 after 90 minutes at Wembley Stadium with Lina Magull for Germany canceling out Ella Toone’s goal for England. After the final whistle, the England players danced and the crowd sang ‘Sweet Caroline’. The good atmosphere inside the stadium on Sunday contrasted with the violent scenes when the England men’s team lost the European Championship final to Italy at the same stadium a year ago. The tournament’s record crowd of more than 87,000 underlined the growth of women’s football in Europe since England and Germany last played for a continental title 13 years ago. On that occasion, Germany beat an England side still reliant on part-timers 6-2. Two years later, England launched the Women’s Super League, which professionalized the game and developed into one of the main competitions worldwide. This has meant increased competition for Germany, which has been a pioneer in European women’s football and increasingly faces well-funded rivals in England, Spain and France. Ella Toone latched on to a long pass from Keira Walsh to get behind the German defense in the 62nd minute and cleverly curled a shot over goalkeeper Merle Frohms and into the net for the opener. Toone’s goal, six minutes after coming on from the bench, sparked celebrations as England manager Sarina Wiegman – the winning coach with the Netherlands in 2017 – raised both arms in joy. Facing their first defeat in nine European finals, Germany came close when Lea Schüller hit the post and then leveled in the 79th when Lina Magull whipped a low cross past England goalkeeper Mary Earps, sending the game into extra time. When the match went into extra time, there were echoes of another European Championship final at the same venue the previous year, when England’s men’s team led 1-0 but lost on penalties to Italy. Germany were without captain Alexandra Popp – the team’s top scorer with six goals – after she reported a muscle problem in the warm-up. He was replaced in the lineup by Schüller while Svenja Huth took over as captain.
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