The team photo had not finished being taken when Sydney Lohmann rushed out of shot to an expectant corner of stadium:mk.
The black, red and yellow flags were waiting. Lohmann raced to the stands, to give her shirt to a member of the crowd, turned, and made her way back to the corner where her Germany team-mates were celebrating reaching a seventh final in their last eight European Championships.
In 2017, when Sarina Wiegman took Netherlands to victory over Denmark, that was the anomaly. Prior to that, Germany had won six Euros in a row, including a 6-2 thumping of England in the 2009 final.
All that history was ignored for much of the 2022 edition, but Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side have delighted in proving the continent wrong. When Wembley is gripped with Lionesses fever on Sunday, they will be content to play the underdog, quietly confident of crushing England’s hopes just as they did 13 years ago.
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Alexandra Popp
In the semi-final against France, just as Popp was receiving her Player of the Match award for a sixth goal in five games, she was mobbed by her team-mates. The singing continued into the dressing room long after the final whistle and spoke of just how admired the captain is after a string of injuries that threatened to end her career early. The 31-year-old was only included in the squad as back-up to Lea Schuller, but has scored in every game so far. A huge presence for Millie Bright and Leah Williamson to manage.
Svenja Huth
Huth assisted both goals in the semi-final, switching between flanks. Sweden’s wide players had some joy in the early stages with a similar ploy in the semi-final against England, and how active Huth is on the ball may dictate how freely Lucy Bronze is able to advance up the pitch.
Lena Oberdorf
Oberdorf may have met her match in Georgia Stanway and Keira Walsh. A big tackler, but has also proven a little loose in possession. Austria were able to pressure her in the middle of the park.
Felicitas Rauch
It was Rauch’s corner which set up Popp’s goal in 2-0 win over Spain in the group stages and while the striker herself is inclined to take over free-kick duties, Rauch is the biggest threat from set pieces. Given England’s problems in that area in the past, it will be an opportunity to show just how far they have progressed defensively under Wiegman.
Lina Magull
When the nerves are jangling, England will have to cope with Germany’s pressing and Magull has proven central to it. Aside from Popp, no other Germany player has had as many attempts (six) at this tournament, with Magull scoring the opening goals against both Denmark and Austria. England fans may also remember the spectacular free-kick she scored against the Lionesses in the Arnold Clark Cup final earlier this year, though it was in vain as Germany lost 3-1.
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