Former Arsenal striker Kelly Smith made 117 appearances for England and is the second-highest scorer in the Lionesses’ history. She won five league titles, five FA Cups and the Women’s Champions League during her 23-year club career. She also played in six major tournaments and was in the last England team to play in a Euros final in 2009.
When we lost 6-2 to Germany in the 2009 European Women’s Championship final, they were a powerhouse in women’s football.
Germany, alongside the USA, were the most feared teams in the world.
You knew you’d be in for a tough battle against Germany because of who the players were at the time – they had superstars.
At the back of our minds, we knew we would lose a couple of percent already because we had lost 18 games in a row to them – and had never won. They were just so dominant in that era.
You always prepare to win and you hope you have the game of your life as a team and as an individual – but at that time, there was always a fear the Germans were too good. You could give it everything, but it was never going to be enough.
They had a really good youth system that fed up to the senior squad. They had better players, better coaches and better fitness levels because of where the game was in Germany at that time. You always felt they were better prepared.
For 60 minutes we were in the game at 3-2 and were able to contain them, but when they scored their fourth goal in the 62nd minute we just fell apart and lost all our shape. We couldn’t handle them.
It’s one of my biggest regrets – that scoreline. It wasn’t a 6-2 game looking back on it. It looked like we got annihilated but it didn’t feel like that in the first 60 minutes. That was where they were so clinical. They just took the game away from us and to another level.
We were distraught afterwards because of the way the game ended and how we fell apart. I was crying and so was Alex Scott. We felt a little bit embarrassed by the scoreline.
We wanted to make a game of it. We had a solid tournament and we wanted to do our best in the final, but it wasn’t good enough.
‘Final defeat had a negative impact’
Nobody in England really knew the Euros was going on in 2009. There wasn’t really any coverage of us until we reached the final and then it just showed us losing. It had a negative impact, I felt, on women’s football.
We didn’t show the progress like we have now in this country and nobody knew the women’s stories. We never got that in the build-up. All the nation saw was us losing.
We felt like we had failed.
I don’t think much would have changed if we had won it – not to the extent it would now. The product, the sponsorship and the visibility now is different. What would have happened had we won? I don’t really know, but we weren’t really known as players.
If England win on Sunday it wouldn’t be an overnight success. It’s years and years of people developing the game. There are many people that need speaking about.
The generation before me – players like Karen Walker, Debbie Bampton, Pauline Cope, Gillian Coultard, Kerry Davis and Marieanne Spacey – they suffered and fought for so much more than my generation. They gave us what we had and we then fought for more.
There are people behind the scenes in grassroots football and those who have pushed to promote women’s football – they need applause.
‘How good would it be if it went to penalties?’
There is not a fear factor about Germany anymore and that is purely down to the way England’s game has developed. The Women’s Super League is now one of the best leagues in the world and other nations have caught up internationally in Europe.
Now you have England, Spain, France, Austria, the Netherlands and so many other nations that have put resources and investment into their teams. The game overall is better in different countries. That means Germany don’t have that wow factor as much.
They are a very good side but there are others now too. For my generation of players it was the case that we could never beat Germany. For this group of players, they have done it before.
The defeats of my generation are not in their minds. That’s why I think they have an added bonus because they don’t have those memories.
I think the two best teams in this tournament are in the final and it’s super special to have it in our home stadium at Wembley – the best stadium in the world.
It has an extra bite to it because of the rivalry England and Germany have had over the years. I just hope it doesn’t go to penalties because I can’t handle penalties! How good would it be if it did though – and we broke that curse?
Will it transcend beyond football? I think everyone will take note. There is a big following now and if it’s on the front pages then I think there will be a big mental shift in the country. The women could do it when it matters.
England’s men fell at the last hurdle last summer in their Euros, but can the women do it this year? They have shown mental strength throughout the tournament and a resilience. I hope they can do it for the country.
Kelly Smith was talking to BBC Sport’s Emma Sanders.
