LONDON - Thousands of England soccer fans dressed in red and white were descending on London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday for the final of the Women's Euro 2022 tournament that has gripped the country this summer.

Ahead of the sold-out final against Germany, fans including many young girls were dressed in the kit of England's Lionesses, while a helicopter provided television footage of the team's coach making its way to the stadium.

The women's European Championship final between England and Germany is a "fairytale fixture" given the history between the teams, England captain Leah Williamson said on Saturday.

Hosts England and eight-time champion Germany will play at a sold-out Wembley stadium on Sunday, meeting for the second time in the Euro final after the Germans won 6-2 in 2009.

The men's teams also met at Wembley in the 1966 World Cup final, which England won after scoring a goal that was deemed to have crossed the line but is still disputed by many Germans.

BERLIN — Germany on Thursday decided to drop the name die Mannschaft (the team) for its men's national soccer team, saying it may be a recognisable term abroad but was viewed critically at home.

The name was officially introduced a year after Germany won their fourth World Cup crown in Brazil in 2014 and was part of the branding around the national team.

Only three things are guaranteed in this life: death, taxes and Alexandra Popp scoring for Germany in the 2022 Euros.

Popp broke French hearts on Wednesday as she booked Germany’s spot in the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro final with a brace to defeat France 2-1. Popp has scored in all five of Germany’s games this tournament with her goal tally at six.

England reached the final hurdle in its quest for a first European Championship after defeating Sweden 4-0 Tuesday at Bramall Lane in Sheffield. Goals from Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby punched the Lionesses ticket to the final Sunday at Wembley, where they'll meet the winner of Wednesday's match between Germany and France.

France advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA women’s Euro on Saturday after defeating the Netherlands 1-0. It took 102 minutes and the team’s 24th shot of the game before the French could find the back of the Dutch net.

The Netherlands deserves all the recognition in the world for one of the most valiant defensive performances ever seen. France might have been without star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, but the team still had an onslaught of an attack.

It took 33 shots, but Sweden finally found the back of the net.

After peppering the Belgium goal with dozens of shots — nine saved by Nicky Evrard — Sweden broke through in the 92nd minute to secure a 1-0 win and book its spot in the Euro 2022 semifinals on Friday at Leigh Sports Village. 

Defender Linda Sembrant, in her first start of the tournament, kicked home the stoppage time winner to send the No. 2 team in the world into a semifinal against host England on Tuesday at Bramall Lane. Sembrant’s shot was the 33rd of the match for Sweden.

It’s not often a fullback gets the hook for defending so poorly. It’s even rarer for such a move to completely flip the script in a major match.

Sarina Wiegman’s decision to replace the struggling Rachel Daly in the 82nd minute helped spark a remarkable comeback as England beat Spain 2-1 in extra time in the 2022 Women’s Euro quarterfinals on Wednesday in Brighton. 

The Netherlands, after playing with fire and group stage elimination at Euro 2022, reeled off three goals in the final minutes to turn a precarious 1-1 scoreline against Switzerland into an emphatic victory on Sunday, although the reward of passage to the quarterfinals is sobered by the fact that it's France lying in wait.

Playing again without star striker Vivianne Miedema — who was still experiencing Covid symptoms — the Dutch looked much less than the sum of their parts against a stubborn Swiss defense that threatened on the attack through the dazzling feet of Ramona Bachmann.

Spain secured its spot in the Women's Euro quarterfinals and has a date with England after defeating Denmark 1-0 on Saturday. 

The final group stage game of Group B saw Spain and Denmark enter the match level on three points. Spain had the goal difference advantage therefore only needing a draw to advance. The stats might show that Spain dominated in possession with 75%, but the victory was anything but straight-forward.

Denmark had its chances tallying 10 shots and had the Spaniards on the ropes at several points throughout the game.