MY ACCOUNT
Wendie Renard is determined to win her battle with Alexandra Popp when two of the great stalwarts of European football tough it out as France face Germany on Wednesday.
The second Euro 2022 semi-final takes place at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes and offers the winner a shot at Sunday’s Wembley final.
A crowd of close to 90,000 is expected for the weekend’s showpiece match, and France will hope to make it through to that stage for the first time while Germany are eyeing a ninth title.
France centre-back Renard is captain of her side, while striker Popp skippers Germany and has scored in all four of her team’s games so far.
Renard and Popp have gone head-to-head many times, with their national teams and at club level with Lyon and Wolfsburg, facing each other in four Women’s Champions League finals.
“It’s true that she is a great player, with a lot of qualities,” Renard said of Popp on Tuesday.
“We know the German mentality in a general way – it is true that we are used to playing against each other in clubs and with our national team.
“There is not only Alex Popp in this team, but it is true that she is a natural leader. She has shown it at club and international level.”
Renard remarked on Popp’s “difficult” last year, which has seen the 31-year-old striker sidelined for long stretches with a knee injury that recurred.
It has been to the striker’s credit that she has been able to make such an impact already at this tournament, but now 32-year-old Renard is plotting how she might keep Popp in her pocket for 90 minutes.
“Since the beginning of this tournament, she is answering for her country, and it will be up to us collectively to be strong to simply prevent her from continuing her good run,” Renard said.
Germany suffered a blow on the eve of the game when forward Klara Buhl was ruled out after a positive COVID-19 test.
Buhl had created the most chances of all players at Euro 2022 heading into the semi-final stage by forging 14 opportunities for others. That total put her one ahead of France’s Clara Mateo.
