Ko goes low to nab share of second
England against Germany at Wembley Stadium. A final that underlines the growing stature of women’s football in Europe and echoes decades of history.
When host nation England takes on Germany in the European Championship final on Monday (NZT), it will have a tournamentrecord crowd of nearly 90,000.
Euro 2022 as a whole will be easily the best-attended ever. It beat the previous mark of 240,000 partway through the group stage.
‘‘It’s going to be a great festival of football,’’ German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg said. ‘‘That’s a classic in football, England v Germany.’’
England are aiming to win their first major women’s tournament title on the site where the English men’s national team beat West Germany to win their only major title to date, the 1966 World Cup.
Germany have won all eight European finals they’ve played – and crushed England 6-2 in the 2009 final – but the momentum had seemed to slow in recent years as other countries invested heavily in women’s leagues.
What it means
England have scored a tournamentleading 20 goals on their way to the final, more than half in two storming wins over former European champions, 8-0 against Norway in the group stage and 4-0 against Sweden in the semifinals.
Beating eight-time winners Germany would be the perfect way for England to write history.
England showed it was possible back in February, winning 3-1 in Wolverhampton for their first-ever victory against Germany on home soil. Germany’s fans are used to their team winning titles, even if academy of men’s club Schalke, and is also a fully qualified zookeeper.
Russo’s explosive impact off the bench has been crucial. The Manchester United forward, who played college football at the University of North Carolina, has scored four goals as a substitute at Euro 2022, including a backheel through the goalkeeper’s legs against Sweden in the semifinals. Her assist for Ella Toone’s goal to send the quarterfinal against Spain to extra time was just as valuable.
‘‘I think when you’re enjoying your football you play your best,’’ Russo said. ‘‘Maybe [the backheel against Sweden] does show a bit of confidence – but I’m just loving playing football.’’
The coaches
England’s Sarina Wiegman and Germany’s Voss-Tecklenburg have already secured a place in history as players and coaches.
Voss-Tecklenburg has been a driving force in German football for decades – 125 games played for the national team and four European titles, a Uefa Women’s Cup (now the Champions League) title as coach in 2009, even five years editing a women’s football magazine.
She has noted England’s slow start against Sweden in the semifinal, when the hosts were on the defensive. ‘‘The first 30 minutes against Sweden showed that you can hurt [England], and that will be our task,’’ she said.
Wiegman played 99 times for the Netherlands and coached the Dutch to the 2017 European title before joining England, and is still unbeaten in 11 games as coach at the championships. ‘‘We said before the tournament and we still say it every time that we want to inspire the nation,’’ she said. –AP
Lydia Ko continued her strong recent form with a sizzling opening round in torrential conditions at the LPGA Tour’s Scottish Women’s Open in Ayrshire.
Fresh off a third place finish at the Evian Championship in France, the Kiwi shot a seven-under 65 at Dundonald Links to sit one shot behind surprise early clubhouse leader Hye Jin Choi, of South Korea.
In a bogey-free round, Ko made seven birdies – four in her front nine – to share second with American Lilia Vu and Frenchwoman Celine Boutier.
England’s Georgia Hall and South Korean Narin An sit a shot further back on six-under.
Ko is aiming to go one better than last year’s event in Fife, where she finished second behind American Ryann O’Toole.
The afternoon starters had to cope with a torrential downpour which left standing water on the course, but Boutier and Ko overcame the tricky conditions to shoot 65 and join Vu in second.
O’Toole shot 68, with world No 1 Jin Young Ko returning a two-underpar 70, six shots behind her fellow South Korean in first.
A 17-time winner on the LPGA Tour, Ko said she ‘‘played really solid’’ to keep herself in the title hunt on day one.
She hit 10 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens to post her second lowest score of the season.
‘‘I actually really liked the golf course last year,’’ Ko said. ‘‘But this was a course that I’ve played well before when it was an LET event, and then I played really, really bad when it was an LPGA event so I wasn’t really sure.’’
Meanwhile, Ko’s compatriot Ryan Fox made a solid start at the English Open in Fife, Scotland, carding a four-under 68 to sit five strokes behind leader Sean Crocker, who shot a course-record 63 for a one-shot lead.
Fox made three birdies in a blemish-free front nine, before a bogey on the 10th briefly stalled his progress.
He got back on track with birdies on the 12th and 13th before ending with a double bogey on the 17th and an eagle on the par-five 18th to finish his round in style.