By Ode Idoko in London
There is palpable anxiety all over the UK as England’s Lionesses take on their Germany counterpart in the ongoing European Championship final at Wembley on Sunday.
The anxiety is understandably so because victory for the Lionesses against the German women would be both the first major trophy for the England women’s team and the first football honour for the nation since the men’s 1966 World Cup win.
Also, the victory is expected to catapult women’s football in England to new heights. However, on their way to this glory are German ladies, who have won the competition eight times. They beat England 6-2 in the final of Euro 2009, the last time they played each other at the tournament.
The final match shall be broadcast live across BBC television, radio and online, with millions expected to watch the match on the BBC.
The semi-final attracted a peak TV audience of 9.3 million according to the BBC. England’s World Cup semi-final against the USA in 2019 holds the UK record for women’s football with 11.7 million watching on the BBC.
Both teams have been the standout sides in the tournament, each conceding just one goal, and have shown their class to reach the showpiece at Wembley.
The Lionesses justified their status as one of the pre-tournament favourites with a 4-0 semi-final thrashing of Sweden, ranked second in the world, while Germany, who came into the Euros as a bit of an unknown quantity, edged past France 2-1.
Historically, England had had a poor performance record with Germany. They have won just two of 27 meetings against Germany – though one of those came in their most recent meeting, in February.
England have lost more games (21) against the Germans than any other side, while they have been on the losing end in all four meetings at previous European Championships.
