[Sports] Women's Euro 2022: Alexandra Popp, an experienced novice, leads the German attack

[AmAL.1]

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2022/07/27/women-s-euro-2022-alexandra-popp-an-experienced-novice-leads-the-german-attack_5991670_9.html

lexandra Popp will be one of the main threats for Les Bleues and their coach, Corinne Diacre, during the semi-final of the Euro football tournament between France and Germany, Wednesday, July 27, at 9 pm. However, Popp almost missed the tournament. After she tested positive for Covid-19 on June 15, three weeks before the beginning of the competition, the captain of the Frauen-Mannschaft owes her place only to the withdrawal of teammate Lea Schüller, also affected by the virus. "Lea Schüller was clearly the number one striker at the start," said Jan Göbel, a journalist for Der Spiegel. "I'm impressed with the extent to which Popp has been able to fill her shoes." Popp was top scorer in all three of Germany's group games – against Denmark (4-0), Spain (2-0) and Finland (3-0) – and she scored again in the final minutes of the quarter-final against Austria (2-0).

Up until now, the VfL Wolfsburg player's experience in the European Championship has been one of missed opportunities. Popp, who has over 100 caps for Germany, is playing in her first European tournament at the age of 31. The striker missed out on the 2013 and 2017 tournaments due to injury, and the only reason it was not a case of third time unlucky was that the 2021 tournament was postponed for a year due to the pandemic.

"Poppi" suffered a knee cartilage injury in April 2021 and a few weeks later underwent surgery that would have once again prevented her from participating in the competition in the summer of 2021. The postponement of the men's Euros, originally scheduled for June 2020, had consequences for the women's tournament, which was shifted by one year as a result. This presented an opportunity for Popp, who said at the time that she was "incredibly grateful to be able to play football again and to pursue this passion.