Euros final preview: Old enemies collide at Wembley

England versus Germany evokes many stirring footballing memories, and the latest edition promises to be an absorbing showdown as they square up in the Women's Euro 2022 final at Wembley.

Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses are chasing a first ever European Championship crown and England's first major tournament title - men's or women's - since 1966.

For Germany, victory would seal a seventh European success in the last eight tournaments - a ninth overall.

The two countries met in the European Championship final back in 2009, when the Germans picked England apart 6-2 in Helsinki. This, of course, is a different era.

Both sides are fitter, better organised and fully professional. The women's game has moved on. Around 15,000 fans watched the 2009 final on a Thursday evening at the Olympic Stadium. Tonight, Wembley will be sold out. The demand for tickets had led to warnings about scams and unofficial resales, while security has been ramped up with memories of the men's Euros final against Italy a year ago still fresh in the mind.

The form lines are good for England. They beat the Germans 3-1 in February at Molineux in the Arnold Clark Cup, and they are unbeaten in 19 games, with 17 wins, since Wiegman - who led the Netherlands to the 2017 Euros title - took the reins last September.

Meeting the old enemy in the final of a major tournament is, of course, another matter entirely. This one will likely go to the wire.

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RTÉ Soccer analyst Lisa Fallon predicted an England-Germany decider