Football Features

    “The world is proud of you!” – Player ratings as England beat Germany to win Euro 2022

    By Muhammad Butt

    Published: 20:12, 31 July 2022

    In a stunning evening of football, England overcame Germany to win their first-ever European Championship.

    The result was incredible as the Lionesses delivered England’s first major international trophy since 1966, Germany’s first-ever defeat in a Euros final and even snatches their record for the most goals in a single European Championship with 22. Former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis said it best in co-commentary: “well done England, the world is proud of you!”

    Here’s how the players rated at Wembley:

    England

    Mary Earps – 7 – Bar one mishandled corner, she was quality again. Big saves and a commanding presence. She could do nothing about Germany’s equaliser.

    Lucy Bronze – 9 – Massive block to stop Dabritz from scoring in the first-half and that was just the beginning of an absolute masterclass from Bronze. England’s first outlet in the build-up phase, their main target from set-pieces (she assisted the tournament-winning goal from a corner) and an impeccable defensive force both in the press and on the cover. Absolutely world-class.

    Millie Bright – 8 – Didn’t have Popp to fight with but still did her usual thing to clearing anything near her.

    Leah Williamson – 9 – Cool, calm and composed. Massive clearance off the line to stop Hegering from scoring and repeated the trick in the second-half. Constantly recovering the ball and moving it on. A true captain’s display from England’s no. 8 and that continued after the match with her interview: “We talk and we talk and we talk and we’ve finally done it,” she bellowed, before speaking with the utmost clarity, saying: “the legacy of this tournament is the change in society.”

    On a personal note, Williamson echoed the sentiment all of her team-mates did: “it’s the proudest day of my life.”

     

    Rachel Daly – 4 – Added little in attack and while she was mostly alright in defence, she was nowhere to be seen on the German equaliser and her absence pulled the English defence apart, creating the space Germany needed to score.

    Keira Walsh – 9 – Spread the play well in the first-half but was drowned out after the break for 15 minutes or so. But then she escaped German pressure and launched a staggering 40 yard pass over the entire German defence to set Ella Toone away to score. Thereafter she ran the show from midfield, spreading the play with an unerring, Sergio Busquets-esque confidence.

    Georgia Stanway – 7 – Very aggressive in mixing it up with the German midfield. Got booked and then calmed down to the point of no longer being a factor near the end.

    Fran Kirby – 5 – Produced one good cross for White at the start of the game, but was otherwise devoured by Oberdorf.

    Beth Mead – 5 – Tried to get involved but couldn’t really get the better of the German defence. Subbed off with a knock.

    Lauren Hemp – 8 – Some bright dribbles and took a wonderful corner that led to the winner. But her best contribution was her work-rate, which was ceaseless. Hemp just did not stop running up and down the touchline.

    Ellen White – 4 – Missed a great chance early, planting a header right at Frohms. Pressed reasonably well but just did not offer enough of a threat in attack.

    England Substitutes:

    Ella Toone (for Kirby 56′) – 8 – Scored a storming, stunning chip to give England the lead. Her energy was infectious and her attitude after the game was delightful: “I’m absolutely buzzin’ my head off.”

    Alessia Russo (for White 56′) – 7 – Fought every defender like hell, but didn’t quite have the cutting edge.

    Chloe Kelly (for Mead 64′) – 8 – A feisty presence, sparking England to life with lots of great runs. Showed exceptional body control to create the space needed to score the tournament-winning goal, backing her defender out of the way so that even when she missed her first shot, she was right there to bury it second time of asking (and then time-waste like a legend to run the clock out).

    Alex Greenwood (for Daly 88′) – 7 – Rock solid. Had she started, England would have won in 90 minutes.

    Jill Scott (for Stanway 88′) – 6 – Did little beyond fight German players, but that seemed to keep England awake as needed.

    Nikita Parris (for Hemp 119′) – n/a – Came on late.

    Germany

    Merle Frohms – 7 – Good save from White early on. Stood tall and handled herself well and it took a truly world-class finish and a scrappy stab from close range to beat her.

    Giulia Gwinn – 7 – Handled the ridiculous pace of Lauren Hemp well and counter-attacked with authority.

    Kathrin Hendrich – 7 – Some really solid defending to keep England at bay, but missed her clearanceand allowed Chloe Kelly a second chance to shoot, which she did of course take.

    Marina Hegering – 8 – Almost scored, perhaps should have scored, when Mary Earps mishandled a corner. She was also too deep and played Ella Toone onside for her goal, but besides that she was defensively impeccable. She can’t get a 9 because of the Toone goal but she was basically worth a 9, constantly getting her body in the way of any England attack and more than matching any physical challenge. It was almost not a surprise that England scored a physical, scrappy goal after she went off.

    Felicitas Rauch – 7 – A solid presence in defence and fairly useful in attack.

    Lena Oberdorf – 8 – Put the shackles on Fran Kirby and the rest of the England midfield for over an hour, although eventually Walsh began to escape her clutches. A supreme display from a player who is still only 20. Combative and classy.

    Lina Magull – 8 – Missed a glorious chance at the start of the second-half but balanced that out with a superb finish at the end to draw Germany level. Never stopped pushing and driving Germany forward and ran herself into the ground by the end of 90 minutes.

    Sara Dabritz – 6 – Found space well, helped with Germany’s control, but didn’t make the most of her chances to hurt England.

    Svenja Huth – 6 – Some nice direct running but her end product wasn’t sharp enough.

    Jule Brand – 4 – Defended well, but wasn’t a threat in attack at all. Subbed at half-time.

    Lea Schuller – 4 – Replaced the injured Alex Popp late in the warm-up and just didn’t offer enough threat up-front.

    Germany Substitutes:

    Tabea Wassmuth (for Brand 46′) – 7 – Provided more cut and thrust than any other German forward. Produced an excellent assist for the late German equaliser.

    Nicole Anyomi (for Schuller’) – 7 – Added more drive and direction to Germany’s play.

    Sydney Lohmann (for Dabritz 73′) – 5 – Missed a great chance. Didn’t impact things much.

    Linda Dallmann (for Magull 90′) – 6 – Added some cut and thrust.

    Sara Doorsoun (for Hegering 103′) – 5 – Couldn’t equal Hegering’s massive presence.

    Lena Lattwein (for Rauch 113′) – n/a – Came on late.

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