Wiegman keeps winning and goalkeepers shine – what we learned from Euro 2022

After a captivating three-and-a-half weeks of action, Euro 2022 has reached its conclusion with England and Germany facing off in the final at Wembley.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five things we learned from the tournament.

England headed into their home Euros unbeaten since boss Sarina Wiegman took charge last September, having won all but two games while scoring a glut of goals and conceding hardly any.

There were also friendly wins over Germany and the Netherlands that looked promising in terms of how they might fare against big names this summer.

And the Lionesses have certainly gone on to deliver on that front in their run to the final, hammering Norway 8-0 in the group stage, fighting back in the quarter-finals from a goal down to beat Spain in extra-time and then thumping world number two-ranked Sweden 4-0 in the last four.

The team’s continued form has been mirrored by Beth Mead, who extended her prolific exploits under Wiegman to lead the Golden Boot race.

The 31-year-old Wolfsburg forward only returned to action in March following almost a year on the sidelines due to a knee problem.

She has gone on to thrive at what is her first Euros finals after injury ruled her out of the 2013 and 2017 editions.

Northern Ireland, playing in the same group as England, made their major tournament bow and while they did not get a point on the board, there was cause for encouragement.

The competition’s lowest-ranked team registered their first goal at this level via Julie Nelson’s finish in their opening 4-1 loss to Norway.

Kenny Shiels’ side were then only trailing by a goal for much of their second match against Austria before eventually being beaten 2-0.

Francisco Neto’s side finished bottom of their group but earned