Forget Lionesses: According to Jasmina Schweimler, a freelance sports journalist and German women’s soccer expert, Popp is “a tiger up front.”
Yet there is also another side. “She can also be the calm one in the back and tell everyone to do this and that — and breathe,” Schweimler added. “If you look at the squad we have, there are so many young talents who probably don’t know how to handle setbacks. She brings that peace to the team.”
Those like 20-year-old Lena Oberdorf – who has played at this tournament for more than her years and hailed Popp as a “beast” after their semifinal win – have benefited immensely from her presence.
The irony is that Popp was busy making up for lost time. Incredibly, at the age of 31 this is her first euro after injuries hampered her chances of being selected for the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.
After surgery at the beginning of the year for an ongoing cartilage problem in her knee, she did not fully return to competitive football until March and had to face a race against time to be fit for the European Championship. Luckily it was lucky the third time.
“This tournament exceeds all her expectations,” says Schweimler. “She just wanted to be part of this team. Making the selection was the main goal, and now she’s basically making history by scoring in five consecutive games. She’s our top scorer, what more could you ask for?”
Popp shouldn’t have been the headliner. Her team-mate, Lea Schuller, Germany’s Frauen-Bundesliga top scorer last season, who has nearly scored one goal per game so far in her international career, was expected to provide the firepower up front. But when Schuller tested positive for Covid after Germany’s opening match, Popp resigned to lead Germany’s line of attack. Having previously served as a defensive midfielder in the national team, she has thrived in her new habitat.
“It’s ridiculous that this is her first European championship,” said Justin Kraft, a journalist writing for the German sports website Spox. “She can fall deep into midfield and play the balls in the right holes – with her head but also with her feet. Her sense of the right spaces is great. She always knows where to go. She never stops – she always puts pressure on the opponent and that is so valuable for the German team, because she not only runs blindly, but also very smartly.”
The irony is that Popp would be someone who would rather sneak under the radar. That will be difficult given that she has become Germany’s de facto goalscoring machine.
“Right now, Popp is definitely a star in Germany,” Kraft added. “Everyone here is on the wave of her success.” With her predatory ability, Popp has fired a warning shot at England.