Germany got their revenge on England for their UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 final defeat by recording a 4-3 victory in an international friendly at Wembley this evening.
The Germans took advantage of some sloppy England defending to race into a 3-0 lead inside half an hour. The Lionesses recovered but they were unable to rescue a positive result in-front of a healthy crowd of more than 47,000 at the national stadium.
The first half will be one that fans won’t forget for a long time, although the two teams will not want to remember certain moments. The drama started in the fourth minute when Leah Williamson’s mistake gifted possession to Germany and Millie Bright brought down Linda Dallmann in the box. The referee awarded a penalty which Giulia Gwinn converted.
Alessia Russo then had the ball in the net at the other end but her effort was ruled out for offside before Gwinn made it 2-0 after being gifted acres of space on the right.
The contest continued to follow a similar pattern with Russo again being frustrated; this time her effort coming back off the post. England were made to pay for that miss with Germany again breaking away and finding the back of the net. Klara Bühl got the better of Lucy Bronze before beating home keeper Hannah Hampton at her near post.
England were given a lifeline just after the half-hour when Gwinn committed a hand ball as she tried to block a cross. Stanway stuck away the resulting penalty. The Bayern Munich midfielder then struck again three minutes later after being played in by Beth Mead to reduce the deficit to one.
There was still time remaining at the end of a thrilling first half for both sides to spurn further opportunities. Ella Toone fired wide when one-on-one with Ann-Katrin Berger while Hampton denied both Sarai Linder and Dallmann at the other end.
Jule Brand thought that she had netted a fourth goal for Germany early in the second half but she was denied by a late offside call from the lineswoman. The same player then carved her way through the England defence before firing her effort at Hampton.
Germany were awarded a penalty in the 73rd minute when Russo was adjudged to have caught Pia-Sophie Wolter in the box. Sara Däbritz stepped up to score from the spot.
Lauren Hemp thought that she had scored after curling a shot into the far corner but the flag went up for offside before a Berger era allowed Lucy Bronze to strike to make it 4-3. The Lionesses pushed for a leveller but it was not forthcoming.
England are back in action on Tuesday evening when they face South Africa at The Coventry Building Society Arena in Coventry.
