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Germany ‘deserved to win’ says manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg after semi-final triumph

Germany have set up a mouth-watering European Championship final against England after beating France 2-1 in Milton Keynes.

Alexandra Popp was the star of the show as her semi-final brace helped Germany to a historic ninth final in this tournament. 

Die Nationalelf are the most successful team in European Championship history, having won all eight of their previous finals.

After holding out France in a tense clash, German manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg told UEFA: "I feel pure pride for this achievement and these players from numbers 1 to 23.

"We have worked so hard and have become such a tight-knit bunch who support each other on the field. We totally deserved to win.
"France made a change for the second half after only having one shot on goal before the break. We knew that they could do more offensively and hurt us.
"It was a terrific team effort to [contain them]; that's what we wanted. It worked out in the end but it was super-exciting and super-exhausting."
German forward Jule Brand added: "Pure relief. I think we gave it everything. Our legs were definitely feeling heavy because we didn't want to go to extra-time.
"We dropped to the ground when we heard the final whistle. It was pure relief, pure joy - we're going to Wembley for the final."
Germany will now turn their focus on England, who sealed their place in the final with a 4-0 victory over Sweden in Sheffield.
The Lionesses are looking for their first ever European Championship crown as they look to go one step further than the previous England teams which lost in the 1984 and 2009 finals.

READ MORE: Sarina Wiegman hopes 'resilient' England are 'inspiring the nation'

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