England vs Germany live updates: Team news, line-ups and analysis of Euro 2022 final

Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has been a driving force in German football for decades — 125 games played for the national team and four European titles, a UEFA Women’s Cup (now the Champions League) title as coach in 2009… even five years editing a women’s football magazine.

She’s talked up the prospect of a “festival of football” at Wembley — but noted England’s slow start against Sweden, before that swaggering 4-0 victory.

“The first 30 minutes against Sweden showed that you can hurt (England), and that will be our task.”

What’s Sarina Wieman really like?

“Her integrity is amazing. You always believe her because she always does the things that she tells you she’s going to. She has empathy too; she knows how to see the differences in people and how to act on that and make sure there is space for everyone to be themselves.

“And of course, her ambition — and you believe her ambition, so you want to be part of that journey.”

Those who know the England boss best, tell her story to Sarah Shepherd…

Sarina Wiegman has already made history, coaching the Netherlands to the 2017 European title before joining England.

The significance of the Lionesses’ run to the final is not lost on the former Dutch captain but the message she is conveying amid feverish expectation is simply one of quiet confidence in her squad.

“Reaching a final is really special; not many people can say that. But I’m pretty grounded. We’re here now, and it’s just another game; a game that we really want to play and play well.

“We just have a very positive energy in the team. We know that we’re really good, we have trust in ourselves and in our team-mates.”

England have scored a tournament-leading 20 goals on their way to the final — more than half in two storming wins over former European champions: 8-0 against Norway in the group stage and 4-0 against Sweden in the semi-finals.

Sarina Wiegman’s side are repeatedly creating quality chances close to goal between the posts but how exactly? From attacking triangles to the potency of the right flank and the ‘second six-yard box’, Liam Tharme breaks down their key patterns…

It’s heaving outside Wembley now. Around 87,000 are expected to pack under the arch and set a new Euro record.

Messages of support for the Lionesses are flooding in from players and clubs across the country…

Jill Scott says she feels gripped by emotion when she thinks about England’s Euro 2022 final against Germany and how far the women’s game has come.

Scott is competing in her 10th major tournament with England since making her debut in 2006.

From booming attendances to professional contracts, the 35-year-old has seen growth at close quarters, and as she gears up for a fixture she is thinking about “fifty times a day,” she has paid tribute to those who laid the foundations.

“It’s a very defining moment; there have been lots of things along the way that have happened.

“We had maybe 15,000 at that (Euro 2009) final. Now to have about 90,000 will just be great. 2009 was when central contracts were introduced; it’s like night and day really. We don’t want to forget everyone who came before and wore the shirt.

“Even thinking about it my voice shakes a little bit. It’s one more moment to go out there and chase our dreams.”

Ex-players, youngsters newly inspired, men watching women’s football through fresh eyes… Sarah Shepherd’s been speaking to people across England to find out how the side’s march to Wembley has stirred them…

“My view on the women’s game has certainly changed. The standard is better than I expected for sure. It’s also very interesting tactically, as I’ve noticed that a lot more goals come from crosses in the women’s game than the men. Whether that is down to the players just being better at crossing or worse at defending them, I don’t know.

“It’s also been great to see a dominant England team. And what an England team can do with a top manager.”

…that’s what Russo and Co. have done, whatever the result later on.

Talking of explosive impact, Alessia Russo has proved a startlingly effective weapon from the bench.

The Manchester United forward has scored four goals as a substitute at Euro 2022, including that backheel. Her assist for Ella Toone’s goal to send the quarterfinal against Spain to extra time was pretty valuable, too.

If Wiegman sticks to type and fields another unchanged XI, Russo will have to wait for her moment on the biggest stage, but she says she’s simply relishing the ride.

“I think when you’re enjoying your football you play your best,” Russo said. “Maybe (the backheel against Sweden) does show a bit of confidence — but I’m just loving playing football.”

Mead’s former Arsenal boss Joe Montemurro says her movement and explosiveness should be huge weapons for England this evening.

Lifting the lid on her development as a player, Montemurro told The Athletic: “You might think Beth’s positional switch from centre-forward to the wing — where she has shone for Arsenal and England since — would have taken a lot of work, but the positional aspect was the easy part.

“It was more about identifying what was the best choice of pass, because sometimes she’d come inside, continue to go inside and probably allow the opposing defenders a couple of extra seconds to reorganise. Whereas she should come inside and then maybe quickly reverse the pass, or come inside and play an early ball in behind the defence.

“That early ball behind defenders was something she began to identify well. I can probably count 10 to 15 goals we scored at Arsenal just with that. She was — and still is — so good at it.”

Beth Mead is vying with Alex Popp for the Golden Boot but is not getting swayed by any apparent mind games.

The Arsenal forward was briefly dropped from the England squad and failed make the Team GB roster for the Olympic Games last summer, but harnessed that disappointment and turned it into a blistering WSL season, bagging 11 goals and eight assists, as well as making herself undroppable for England.

“We’ve got to believe in our ability and stick to our game plan. We’ve done that really well going through this tournament. We’ve had a few rough patches – that’s football – but we’ve believed in our ability. The full 23 in this squad have been exceptional.”

Nearly four-and-a-half hours still to go until kick-off but plenty of fans are making their way towards Wembley already and excitement is very much in the air…

Top scorer Popp has certainly delivered consistently; her tournament shot map depicts “a proper old-school centre-forward, who has been getting goals from — to use Alan Shearer’s favourite expression — the ‘second six-yard box’,” writes Michael Cox but where else will Germany threaten?

The Athletic’s tactics guru says: “England must be wary of Germany’s high press and perhaps go longer than usual — particularly in the early stages.

“The other notable feature of Germany’s approach is the role of Giulia Gwinn, once considered a midfielder but now deployed at right-back. However, she often tucks inside to make underlapping runs rather than providing the width.”

Alex Popp missed the 2013 and 2017 tournaments with injury and there were question marks about her fitness for this tournament just weeks ago.

Having undergone surgery on her meniscus last year and again in January, as well as contracting COVID-19 in June, no one quite anticipated the scintillating performances from a player who started out as a full-back and is, yes really, a qualified zookeeper.

More on her story below.

Alexandra Popp, Germany’s captain and Golden Boot-chaser, has also been forthright in her pre-match assessment, insisting the weight of expectation hangs heaviest on England.

Popp, who has scored in each of Germany’s five games so far to set a tournament record, said: “The pressure is much higher for England. No-one was expecting much from us and all of a sudden, we’re in the final.

“We really have nothing to lose, and knowing this allows us to go into the game and play much more freely.

“It will be a very physical game, as we’ve seen from England. I expect it to be very back and forth. It’s difficult to say if one team will have more chances or how many chances there will be. It will be extremely tough.”

Franz Beckenbauer has backed Germany to beat England this evening — on penalties.

The Germany and Bayern Munich legend has been talking tough in Bild, declaring the eight-time winners “physically and mentally” better than the Lionesses.

But he still reckons a familiar source of heartache will be needed to separate the sides…

Full story.

If you’re after some pre-match listening instead, we’ve got you covered.

Kait Borsay is joined by The Athletic’s Charlotte Harpur and Michael Cox for a big match preview, with German journalist Tamara Keller bringing her expert knowledge of Voss-Tecklenburg side.

Listen here.