Jermaine Jenas: Football’s coming home to Wembley on Sunday

Former England international Jermaine Jenas told us that “Germany will be the ones concerned” ahead of England’s Women’s Euro 2022 final, predicting the Lionesses’ will win 1-0 at Wembley.

Jenas hinted the ability of both sides to handle the occasion might be the deciding factor on Sunday.

Speaking on an episode of William Hill’s Café ROAR, he said: “Consider this… a packed Wembley stadium, full of England fans going absolutely mental. Germany will be the ones concerned. They’ll be the ones thinking, ‘how do we stop the flow of this game?’ because the energy is going to be massive. England’s biggest challenge is going to be keeping a lid on it.”

Jenas added: “It’s about trying to refocus after the semi-final and get the job done. Because it’s going to be massive if they do get the job done. It’s going to be huge.”

“A lot of finals are decided on set-pieces or, unfortunately, a mistake,” Jenas continued. “But I think we’re going to be on the right side of that, so I’m going to go for an England 1-0 win. They’ll get the job done. It’s still coming home!”

England have adapted well to the different challenges of this tournament so far, guided by the calm presence of their manager Sarina Wiegman in the dugout.

“That’s what I love about this team. They’re organised, they know what to do in good situations and in bad situations,” Jenas said. “That’s why this team’s special and it’s squads that win tournaments, not just the starting 11s.”

England’s starting 11 has largely remained unchanged in the run to the final, with Ellen White starting up front and Alessia Russo beginning on the bench, something Jenas doesn’t expect to change on Sunday.

He said: “I don’t change it at all. She [Ellen White] just runs people ragged for 60 minutes and then you see Russo coming on – can you imagine being a centre half! I think they’ll focus on what they do best. From what I’ve seen of Sarina Wiegman she doesn’t change too much.

“I think the best managers stick to their philosophies – there’s nothing worse than going into a massive game and the manager going, ‘oh, by the way we’re going to play three at the back today’. Let’s stick to what we’re doing and make them worry about us. You want to feel confident going into the final, you want to reflect on the semi-final win – scoring goals, how we got control of the game – and I expect her to do exactly that.”

Win or lose on Sunday this tournament has been a real journey for England and has contributed significantly to the growth of the women’s game.

Mollie Kmita, twin-sister of Watford Women’s Rosie Kmita, said: “What we’ve seen happen over the period of this tournament has been amazing, emotional and inspiring. I think it’s everything we needed for women’s football in this country. I hope it’s a moment that lasts forever. It really has to be that milestone for women’s football and we need to make sure that the momentum is always moving forwards. We’ve seen through TV audiences and attendances at games that there’s only one way this game is heading.”

Check out all the latest football betting odds at William Hill