England created history by winning their first major women’s tournament in a dramatic Euro 2022 final against old rivals and eight-time champions Germany at Wembley.
Chloe Kelly, on as a substitute, poked home a loose ball from a corner to send a raucous record crowd of 87,192 into a frenzy with ten minutes of extra time remaining.
She waited for confirmation of the goal before taking off her shirt and waving it around her head while being lifted by her teammates in a moment of pure elation.
On a monumental day in the history of English football, Sarina Wiegman’s side were bullied by a strong German team but they showed they were equal to it.
Ella Toone had earlier come off the bench to score the opener in normal time before Germany’s Lina Magull set up a nervous ending when she equalised in the 79th minute.
There were scenes of jubilation in the stands and an outpouring of emotion by players on the pitch at full-time as the magnitude of their achievement began to sink in.
The final was advertised as a battle between the competition’s two best-performing sides, and for large parts they cancelled each other out – but the biggest crowd in the history of a men’s or women’s Euros was given their money’s worth.
Striker Ellen White had missed a few chances in the first half, Lucy Bronze had been denied with a header, Germany’s Magull struck wide and England defender Leah Williamson had to scramble a corner off the line before Toone was introduced to break the deadlock.
She had given England fans the winning taste before Magull stunned the home crowd, though it would only delay the celebrations that Kelly, who only returned to football in April after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, gave them.
England did what no other nation had done before – beat serial winners Germany in a European Women’s Championship final and the feeling was sweet.
It comes 56 years after England’s men beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, the only previous major trophy won by a men’s or women’s England senior team.
The players fell to the ground at full-time in tears of joy, in scenes that will be remembered and replayed for years to come on one of the greatest nights in English sport.
It was a final like no other in every sense – the build-up to it was on a scale above anything previously seen in women’s football in Great Britain and it was the perfect ending.
Male fans were sporting England shirts with their female icons’ names on the back on the London Underground on the way to the match, while fan parks around the country were filled with supporters watching the final on big screens.
Wembley Way was already packed on Sunday morning and there were boos when Germany were announced on the stadium tannoy before kick-off.
The feistiness off the pitch translated on to it too – referee Kateryna Monzul awarded two early yellow cards for relatively soft fouls by England, and the crowd were frustrated for much of the first half when decisions didn’t go their way.
The physical battle between the sides continued and the game swung back and forth. Germany had momentum going into extra time after Magull had hit the post before equalising.
But as this England team have shown throughout the tournament – they would not be beaten easily.
They continued to threaten and Kelly ran over to the fans to galvanise them when taking a corner, moments before she delivered the winner England fans across the country have dreamed about for 56 years.