Germany captain missed Euro 2022 final after getting injured practising penalties

Germany captain Alexandra Popp has revealed that the injury that ruled her out of the Euro 2022 final was picked up while practicing penalties.

Popp was named in the starting XI for the final against England, having been one of the players of the tournament after scoring six goals enroute to Wembley.

However, she walked off the pitch during the warm-up and just minutes before kick-off it was announced that she had been replaced in the line-up by Lea Schuller, although the exact nature of the injury was unclear.

Germany would go onto lose the final 2-1 after extra time, with England winning Euro 2022 and their first major trophy since 1966 to the delight of the nation.

While the away side did play very well, they did miss Popp’s clinical finishing and after the match she revealed how and when her injury had occurred.

‘Yesterday in the last training we did penalties, and I shot my last penalty and then comes pain in the muscle in my foot,’ Popp told beIN SPORTS.

‘We do everything with the physiotherapists, with the doctors, but it was not enough. My muscle said, “no it’s not for you today”.

‘I’m very sad about it. I’m very proud of the team, we played very well and had a very great tournament and now it’s a little bit hard.’

Given the history between England, Germany, and penalty shootouts, it is just a little ironic that a penalty has helped decide a major tournament in England’s favour.

The injury also meant that Popp lost out on the chance to win the golden boot, as she went into the final level on goals with England Beth Mead, and while Mead did not get on the scoresheet on Sunday, she still claimed the prize courtesy of having made five assists to Popp’s none.

It's come home! England beat Germany in record-breaking final to win