Jule Brand: Germany's teenager who could cause England problems

Germany teenager Jule Brand is a player England's defenders will not be relishing coming up against in their final match of the Arnold Clark Cup on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old has become one of Europe's most exciting prospects, having impressed for club and country over the past year.

The attacking midfielder scored and assisted a goal within the first five minutes of her international debut in April, and eight months later she was starring for club side Hoffenheim in their first Champions League campaign — scoring and setting up a goal in a 4-1 win over Arsenal.

Brand has come a long way since playing football in the garden with her older brother, and is now eyeing a place in Germany's squad for this summer's European Championship in England.

Brand's arrival on the world stage was spectacular.

She came on as a substitute after an hour of a friendly against Australia, scored two minutes later, then set up another in the 65th minute.

«It was really crazy,» she told BBC Sport. «I didn't think I would play the game. That morning we had some players who got Covid. I never thought I would get the chance and then it went so fast.

»I remember standing out on the pitch and I saw my number to go on. In the game I didn't think — I just ran, ran and ran. I scored a goal which I couldn't believe, but it was a very good feeling."

At that time, Brand was relatively unknown outside her homeland. Less than a year earlier she had been playing in the second tier of German football, and she said «nobody had expectations».

«You could do what you want,» she said. «If you made a mistake, it was OK. You're young and it's OK.

»Expectations are higher now. At the beginning, it was hard for me to understand that. I thought I had to do well every game and