What happened in Euro 2022 final? Revisiting England Lionesses' dramatic win over Germany

England and Spain met in the final of Euro 2025 in Basel on July 27.

The defending champions survived a penalty shootout against Sweden and a tight semifinal against Italy to book their place in the showpiece. The Lionesses have now reached three consecutive major finals, while for coach Sarina Wiegman, it marked an historic fifth in a row.

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) July 22, 2025

World champions Spain beat England in the World Cup final two years ago and were the favourites for this title, even though they had never reached this stage of the Euros before. However, as they showed against record champions Germany in 2022, England have no fear of illustrious opposition.

Here is how that final at Wembley Stadium played out.

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What happened in Euro 2022 final?

The final of Euro 2022 saw England face eight-time winners Germany, who, despite being without joint all-time top scorer Alexandra Popp due to injury, were guaranteed to put up a fight like no other.

The first half of the match was watched by an eagle-eyed Wembley, but it was not clear who was emerging as the side on top. In fact, it was not until the 62nd minute that Ella Toone was subbed on and broke the deadlock with a lob — proving yet again her game-changing powers and making Wembley erupt at the prospect of football coming home.

However, Germany would not lie down and accept defeat that quickly, and Lina Magull equalized in the 89th minute, meaning everything was to play for in a nail-biting extra time.

England proved once again that Wiegman's strategy of powerful finishers is one to be reckoned with, as sub Chloe Kelly sent a loose ball from a corner into the net with just 10 minutes left of the additional period.

Wembley held its collective breath as VAR deliberated on whether the ball had made it sufficiently across the line...

It had.

Kelly whipped off her shirt and swung it around her head in her now iconic celebration of the achievement. The Lionesses had brought home football for the first time since 1966. At fulltime, Wembley erupted into Sweet Caroline as captain Leah Williamson burst into tears: they had done it.

The celebrations afterwards, from Williamson lifting their first ever Euros trophy above her head to the players dancing on tables and conga-ing through the ensuing press conference, encapsulated a joy that had so many levels: England had won. England had won in England. The Lionesses had won — and captured the nation's hearts along the way.

The memory of that electric, joyful, loud, proud Wembley is still vibrant in England fans' minds, and as they geared up to appear in the final once more, the question was: would they be able to do it again?

England's Euro 2022 campaign

A mere three years ago in 2022, the Lionesses were not a name that evoked fear in their opponents like it does today. They were a strong side, having reached the semifinals of the last Euros in 2017, but had undergone a massive overhaul of squad, coach and captain.

Wiegman, previously coach of the 2017 victors the Netherlands, had made her switch to England just 10 months before the start of their Euros campaign. As well as as this, in April 2022, Leah Williamson had been announced last minute as the new captain for the England after Steph Houghton — who had held the armband since 2014 — had not made the squad due to her Achilles tendon injury making her unfit for play.

However, although no-one really knew what to expect from the rejuvenated squad, these changes had seemed to be working, as England came into the competition off the back of a 14-matche unbeaten streak that included a 5-1 win against the Dutch.

They moved through their group stage effortlessly, defeating Austria 1-0 and Norway a staggering 8-0 - and booking their ticket to the quarterfinals before they even played their third game.

This match, against Northern Ireland, ended in a 5-0 victory, giving them an unmatched goal difference of 14 scored and zero conceded.

However, their confidence was to be tested as they came up against Spain in the quarterfinals, who were amongst the favorites to be the eventual competition winners. And indeed, it seemed that England's Euros journey might end here: they were losing 1-0 until the 83rd minute after an Esther Gonzalez goal left the home crowd fearing the worst.

The fight wasn't over for England, though. Wiegman's subs Alessia Russo and Ella Toone proved their game-changing capabilities as the former set up the latter for the equalizer. Georgia Stanway put the ball in the top left of the net in extra time to seal a dramatic win.

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) July 25, 2025

This last-minute turnaround not only meant the Lionesses were through to the semis, matching their 2017 performance, but also that they were an unpredictable force to be reckoned with — that anything was possible.

The semifinals promised to be an electric affair as they faced up against Sweden, ranked second in the world. Although Sweden piled on the offensive from the first whistle for the first 25 minutes, a combination of Mary Earps' stellar goalkeeping, and phenomenal goals from Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby saw the Lionesses triumph 4-0.

Indeed, this match was primarily remembered for England's imperturbable skill, from Earps' keeping to Russo's jaw-dropping goal, where her daring backheel befuddled defenders and allowed her to nutmeg Hedvig Lindahl and score. England had established not only their indomitable power, but their flair and effortless control of the ball and pitch — all things that they would need to rely on as they moved into their first ever Euros final.