Alex Popp

MELBOURNE - Talismanic captain Alexandra Popp scored a brace as Germany launched their bid for a third Women's World Cup title with a 6-0 demolition of debutants Morocco on Monday.

In the tournament's most one-sided match to date, veteran striker Popp led from the front, heading in two first-half strikes before Klara Bühl, Lea Schüller and two own goals blew out the score after the break in front of 27,256 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

After losing last year’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final to Lyon, Barcelona redeemed themselves with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory vs. Wolfsburg on Saturday to claim their second-ever UWCL crown.

The Barcelona players must of thought they were having déjá vu of last year’s final when they once again conceded early goals. Last time against Lyon the Catalan club got scored on in the sixth and 23rd minute.

On Saturday Wolfsburg scored in the third and 37th minute.

With a sell-out crowd of over 35,000 confirmed, free Women's Champions League Final streaming on YouTube and a historic matchup between Barcelona and Wolfsburg — two true giants of the competition — it doesn't get any better than the 2023 UWCL Final in Eindhoven.

When two teams are so evenly matched, the old cliché dictates that an individual piece of genius or a horrendous mistake will ultimately decide the outcome.

For Arsenal and Wolfsburg — with the score level at 4-4 on aggregate after nearly 190 minutes of action across the two legs — it was the unfortunate error that ultimately decided the tie.

The women's European Championship final between England and Germany is a "fairytale fixture" given the history between the teams, England captain Leah Williamson said on Saturday.

Hosts England and eight-time champion Germany will play at a sold-out Wembley stadium on Sunday, meeting for the second time in the Euro final after the Germans won 6-2 in 2009.

The men's teams also met at Wembley in the 1966 World Cup final, which England won after scoring a goal that was deemed to have crossed the line but is still disputed by many Germans.

Only three things are guaranteed in this life: death, taxes and Alexandra Popp scoring for Germany in the 2022 Euros.

Popp broke French hearts on Wednesday as she booked Germany’s spot in the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro final with a brace to defeat France 2-1. Popp has scored in all five of Germany’s games this tournament with her goal tally at six.

After conceding in the first minute of its opener against Finland last week, Spain knew it couldn’t afford a similar slipup in its second match against Germany on Tuesday. And yet, it happened again thanks to an awful howler in the third minute.

An errant attempt from Spain keeper Sandra Paños to play out of the back resulted in a gift of a goal for Germany in a 2-0 win for Die Nationalelf on Tuesday in London. In a tale of two keepers, Spain’s Paños had a night to forget while Germany’s Merle Frohms was unbeatable. 

On Wednesday, July 6 at Old Trafford, England and Austria kick off the opening match of what's expected to be a thrilling and highly competitive Women’s European Championship. When looking at the groups, it's stunning to see just how many blockbuster matches are lined up. In anticipation, we’ve picked out our top five games you definitely need to circle on the calendar.

Netherlands vs. Sweden

Date: Saturday, July 9 | Time: 3:00 p.m. ET | TV: ESPN2