High Performance and Stretch

High Performance and Stretch.

England entered the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championships with the pressure and expectation ramped up to 11, as tournament hosts. With the final at Wembley, there was even more hope that the Lionesses would go all the way and pick up their first major trophy as a team, and England’s first football title since 1966.

Facing a trophy-ladened Germany team, with penalties looming ominously after a tense 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, Chloe Kelly poked in her first international goal to defeat the eight-times champions. Kelly stole the headlines with her goal and celebration after battling back from an anterior cruciate ligament injury that had previously ended her Olympic dream and threatened to do the same to her European one as well.

However, backed by a culture of high performance and stretch ambitions, Kelly and her England teammates finally lifted the coveted title in front of a record crowd for a European Championship final – men’s or women’s – of 87,192 at Wembley Stadium.

After 120 minutes of gutsy, exhausting and nerve-shredding drama, football finally came home.