England Women came out on top in a feisty 120 minutes of action with Germany Women to be crowned continental champions for the very first time in the Women's Euro 2022 final at an 87,000-strong Wembley Stadium.
Thirteen years after Germany had humbled the Lionesses 6-2 in the Euro 2009 final, Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly struck either side of Lina Magull's equaliser to present England's women's team with their first-ever major tournament trophy.
Germany were fighting an uphill battle at Wembley even before the first ball was kicked, as six-goal striker Alexandra Popp sustained a muscular injury in the warm-up, while Sarina Wiegman named another unchanged XI.
With only four minutes gone, Fran Kirby found Ellen White unmarked at the back stick, but the Manchester City forward could only head into the grateful gloves of Merle Frohms.
Lucy Bronze was then called into action to block a goal-bound effort from Sara Daebritz, and neither side was afraid to get stuck in with referee Kateryna Monzul largely keeping the whistle away from her lips.
As the game approached the end of its opening quarter, England began to grow more and more frustrated with the referee's decisions, as Georgia Stanway and White received yellow cards in quick succession.
England failed to make the most of their early corners, and a frenzied goalmouth scramble nearly saw Germany take the lead after 25 minutes, but a combination of Leah Williamson and Mary Earps prevented the ball from crossing the line.
White saw a first-time effort just skim the crossbar on its way over during the dying embers of a fiery opening 45 minutes, and within three minutes of the second half, Earps was forced to bail out Bronze and Millie Bright after Tabea Wassmuth broke through before firing a low effort into the goalkeeper's chest.
Magull then toe-poked a close-range effort wide of the post as Germany pressed for the opener, and it did not take long before Toone and Alessia Russo were introduced to the Wembley pitch.
© Reuters
Wiegman's double Manchester United change would immediately pay dividends. A perfectly-weighted long pass from Keira Walsh sent Toone clear on goal, and the 22-year-old expertly chipped the onrushing Frohms to spark pandemonium at Wembley just after the hour mark.
The eight-time champions threatened an immediate response, as Magull smashed an angled effort off the bar before Earps got down low to save from Lea Schuller's follow-up.
However, England's joy was relatively short-lived, as in the 79th minute of the contest, Wassmuth picked out Magull to fire home at Earps's near post to level the scores.
There were no more goals to be had in normal time, and it was shades of 1966 as England and Germany went to extra-time in a major tournament final. Challenges continued to fly in, but nothing could separate the two nations at the 105-minute mark.
The 110-minute mark, however, would end up with the ball trickling over the line in England's favour. The Lionesses finally made one of their corners count, as substitute Kelly prodded home from close range before taking a booking for a shirt-stripping celebration.
England's well-executed game management plan came into play during the latter exchanges, and there was time for Russo to force a strong save out of Frohms before the party commenced.
