Germany's opponents in the final: How England did the EM

A screenwriter could not have told England's story at the European Football Championship better.

It looks like a Netflix series - with all the dramaturgical tricks and irresistible cliffhangers.

There was the promising start against Austria with lots of special effects and fireworks at the opening show.

There was the maddening spectacle of the 8-0 win over Norway that sent England into title favorites with a bang.

There was the disillusionment when England almost lost to Spain in the quarter-finals.

There was the heroic resurrection in the 4-0 semi-final against Sweden.

And this Sunday (6:00 p.m. CEST FAZ live ticker for the European Football Championship, on ARD and DAZN) will be followed by the series finale, the showdown in front of up to 87,200 spectators at Wembley Stadium – against Germany of all places.

Labor party calls for holiday at EM victory

Expectations in the country are colossal and England's support for their national team grew measurably as the tournament progressed.

All the “Lionesses” games were sold out, and around nine million people watched the game against Spain on television or computer screens.

Record for a women's game in Britain, but it didn't last long as more than 11 million tuned in against Sweden.

This mark should also be surpassed on Sunday.

Many cities also have fan zones where spectators can gather in front of big screens;

in Trafalgar Square in London there is such an area for up to 7000 fans.

Politicians have long wanted a slice of the hype.

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor party, called for a national holiday on Monday should England win the final - knowing full well that he would put the ruling Conservatives in the uncomfortable position of declaring his proposal unworkable.

But of course it also exists in England, the eternal comparison of women's football with men's football.

The BBC reported that the English players would receive a bonus of 55,000 pounds per person, the equivalent of a good 65,000 euros, for a possible tournament win.

In total, the prize offered amounts to 1.3 million pounds, whereas England's men would have received a total of five million pounds for a win at the European Championship last summer.

The top earner among English women is Lucy Bronze with an estimated annual salary of £200,000;

many a Premier League star earns that much and sometimes significantly more in a week.

But women's football is also becoming more and more attractive in terms of its advertising effectiveness.

In addition to her existing contracts, England captain Leah Williamson has recently entered into a partnership with a well-known Italian fashion company.

In any case, the atmosphere in the stadiums at this European Championship is friendlier than at most matches in men's football.

You see more families with children in the stands, you don't hear any hateful songs or abuse.

Still, not everyone gets caught up in the enthusiasm.

Journalist Max Rushden wrote in The Guardian newspaper about a kind of subliminal sexism he suspects in himself and others who grew up in a time before women's soccer games were anything like the status quo of today.

But his little son, Rushden wrote, will grow up free of negative stereotypes: “It will be normal for him.

He probably won't constantly compare women's football to men's football."

Especially since the success of the English team at the European Championship is no coincidence.

Since 2013, the association has been promoting the development of women's football through targeted investments in young talent.

So-called Girls' Emerging Talent Centers will in future encourage girls between the ages of eight and 16 to play football across the country.

Girls' teams are already registering a 43 percent increase in numbers compared to three years ago.

Since 2018, the Women's Super League has also been a pure professional league.

Many players in the England squad were trained as youngsters in football academies: Before Georgia Stanway, for example, switched to Manchester City at the age of 16, she was already training at the Blackburn Rovers youth centre.

Next season she will move to FC Bayern in the Bundesliga.

As with any good Netflix series, there is speculation about the fate of some of the protagonists leading up to this finale.

The experienced centre-forward Ellen White is an absolute favorite of the crowd, but her young competitor Alessia Russo has attracted attention with four tournament goals after being substituted on.

The last one she shot against Sweden was beautiful with the heel.

Coach Sarina Wiegman has started the same XI in all previous tournament games but now many are calling for her to give Russo a chance against Germany from the start.

A decision not to be envied by Wiegman.

All or nothing.

More drama is not possible.