Lionesses v Germany

The day had arrived, 9th November 2019!!! I had been looking forward to this day for a near 6 months... Lionesses vs Germany!!

I left for Wembley at 8:30am for a 5:30pm kick off so that I could soak up the atmosphere in what was the largest attendance for a England Women’s game ever!! I arrived at around midday and had a bite to eat with a few friends, we then waited outside the England Hotel for a couple of hours before kick off to watch them get onto the coach and head to the ground.

I arrived inside the ground 1 hour 30 minutes before Kick Off with a lot of excitement inside me seeing these two big countries clash. I had watched Germany since a young age and my favourite player Sara Däbritz was going to play during the match as well as many other experienced and young talented players. This was my first Lionesses match live too, it was great seeing players like Steph Houghton, Lucy Bronze & Beth Mead play even though I had been to WSL matches before!

The teams came out of the tunnel 5 minute before kick off, to a thunderous roar from the crowd that was nearly 78,000!!! National Anthems were played, goosebumps... Then a minute of appreciation for Remembrance of our fallen soldiers, it was impeccable!! #LestWeForget

The match had started and the Germans got off to a strong start when Alexandra Popp headed home just before the 10 minute mark!! The German midfield was proving too strong for England in the first 30 minutes with Magull, Däbritz and Marozsán running the show. There was also a very impressive performance from Lena Oberdorf in the first half, at the age of just 17 she was solid in the German defence!!

It took until the half an hour mark before England really got into the game, a fine through ball which Beth Mead latched onto and was brought down by the keeper for an England Penalty!! Nikita Parris step up but the penalty was saved by the legs of the German keeper Merle Frohms!! Despite that, England were building up ahead of steam and they soon levelled when Ellen White poked home after a fine move just before half time!

The second half started and once again the Germans started off the stronger side!! There wasn’t many chances for either team in the second half as the match was disrupted a lot with many substitutions from both sides. We got into the final few minutes of the game and Klara Bühl finished expertly after a good pass from Marozsán!! England tried to find a late equaliser but failed. My player of the match was Lina Magull, who was fantastic in Midfield for the Germany team.

It was an excellent experience despite the result and seeing my favourite player play for the first time was absolutely amazing!! The future looks very bright for the young German side who fielded many teens as well as a few experienced names!! England... where do they go next? A few players are getting older, do they turn to younger players now to rebuild? Is Phil Neville good enough to be the manager? A lot of questions to be asked...