Wolfsburg (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Friederike Abt Signed from Hoffenheim last summer, Abt deposed the former Chelsea goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl from the No 1 spot this season and cemented her status with two saves in the DfB Pokal final penalty shootout against Essen in July.
Right-back: Sara Doorsoun Born in Cologne to an Iranian father and Turkish mother, Doorsoun can play in defence or midfield and is likely to line up at right-back in San Sebastián. Aged 14 Doorsoun received commendation from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) for refusing to shoot towards an open goal in a match because birds were nestling on the goalline.
Centre-back: Kathrin Hendrich The Belgium-born Germany international joined Wolfsburg from Bayern Munich during the summer. Hendrich grew up playing football with her two older brothers and their friends, earning the nickname “Störi” (disturber) because of her determination to prove she could play with boys.
Centre-back: Dominique Janssen Part of the Netherlands’ Euro 2017 winning squad, Janssen spent four years at Arsenal, where she won the WSL title, before joining Wolfsburg last summer. A centre-half who can also play at left-back or in central midfield, Janssen is a free-kick specialist and can take them with both feet.
Left-back: Joelle Wedemeyer Aged 24, Wedemeyer is aiming for her 13th major title and second Champions League winner’s medal. A product of the Wolfsburg academy, she has not been in a losing Wolfsburg team in 34 games since a defeat by Lyon in March 2019.
Central midfield: Ingrid Engen The combative but classy Norwegian joined Wolfsburg from LSK Kvinner in 2018. At 22, she is considered one of the best young players in the world. In March she donated 10% of her salary for medical supplies required to treat Covid patients.
Central midfield: Svenja Huth A quick, clinical attacking midfielder, Huth has won the Champions League twice with Frankfurt. A member of Germany’s Euro 2013 winning squad, she is a talented tennis player and almost pursued a career as a professional before opting for football.
Forward: Alexandra Popp Now in her ninth season at the club, Popp averages a goal every other game for Wolfsburg. She is also a trained zookeeper and topped up her salary by working at the Essehof Zoo until she became a full-time professional at Wolfsburg.
Forward: Pernille Harder In 113 games for the She Wolves, Harder’s scored 106 goals. The prolific Denmark international will play out the last year of her contract with Wolfsburg next season with a move to the WSL rumoured. Harder is passionately outspoken about equality, particularly LGBT rights. She donates 1% of her salary to Common Goal, which supports football charities around the world.
Forward: Fridolina Rolfö Signed from Bayern Munich in 2019, the Swedish winger scored a hat-trick on her Champions League debut against Liverpool for Linköpings in 2014. An Olympic silver medallist at Rio 2016, Rolfö scored the winning goal in the semi-final against Barcelona.
Centre-forward: Ewa Pajor The 23-year old holds the record as the youngest player to feature in the Polish women’s top flight, at the age of 15 years and 133 days, when she played for Medyk Konin in her homeland. Pajor is the focal point of the attack, allowing a rotating cast of Huth, Popp, Harder and Rolfö to orbit around her.
Potentially key substitute: Pauline Bremer Signed from Manchester City this summer, the striker averaged 1.43 goals per 90 minutes in the WSL last season – a total bettered only by Vivianne Miedema. She also averaged an incredible 6.6 shots per 90 minutes, comfortably the highest in the division. Bremer is an old-fashioned penalty-box poacher.
Potentially key substitute: Lena Oberdorf The 18-year old midfielder joined from Essen in July and is considered one of Germany’s brightest young talents. She became her country’s youngest player to play at a World Cup in France last summer.
Potentially key substitute: Pia-Sophie Wolter Daughter of the former Werder Bremen midfielder Thomas, the 22-year old was a talented handball player in her youth. She is a midfielder often used from the bench when Wolfsburg need to see out a result.
Lyon (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Sarah Bouhaddi Lyon’s No 1 for more than a decade, Bouhaddi was set to join Utah Royals this summer until uncertainties caused by coronavirus put the brakes on the transfer and she signed a new contract.
Right-back: Lucy Bronze The England international joined in 2017 and is set to return to Manchester City after the final. Bronze’s middle name is Tough – literally. It’s her mother’s maiden name. Bronze has a Portuguese father and says she can understand Portuguese but can’t really speak it.
Centre-back: Wendie Renard Scorer of the winning goal in the semi-final, the captain has won six Champions League titles, 14 league titles and nine Coupes de France. A constant danger from set pieces, she is approaching 100 career goals.
Centre-back: Saki Kumagai Captain of Japan, Kumagai scored the winning penalty in the 2011 World Cup final shootout. She joined Lyon in 2013 and can play in central midfield or defence.
Left-back: Sakina Karchaoui Signed in July after eight years at Montpellier, Karchaoui was also a talented handball player and boxer as a youth, before settling on a career in football.
Midfield: Amandine Henry Captain of France, the Clairefontaine graduate began her career with Lyon in 2007 before short spells with Portland Thorns and PSG in 2016 and 2017. The defensive midfielder almost retired as a teenager after a bad knee injury kept her out for nearly two years.
Midfield: Sara Björk Gunnarsdóttir The Iceland international signed from Wolfsburg in July. Voted Icelandic sportsperson of the year in 2018, she published her autobiography, Óstöðvandi (Unstoppable), in November last year.
Midfield: Dzsenifer Marozsán The daughter of Hungary international Janos Marozsán, Dzsenifer was born in Budapest but moved to Germany at the age of four when her father was transferred to FC Saarbrücken. She has won the Champions League three times with Lyon and once with Frankfurt.
Forward: Delphine Cascarino Cascarino is the twin sister of Estelle Cascarino, also a footballer, who played alongside her sister at Lyon before joining Paris FC in 2016.
Forward: Amel Majri The Tunisia-born France international and her family moved to the outskirts of Lyon when she was one, but she honed her skills playing beach soccer with her uncle during summers in the country of her birth. She played for a boys’ team in Vénissieux for two years before joining Lyon’s academy aged 14.
Forward: Eugénie Le Sommer The attacking midfielder has averaged nearly a goal a game over a 10-year spell with Lyon. She competed to a high level in judo as a young girl before choosing a career in football.
Potentially key substitute: Jodie Taylor The Birkenhead-born England striker is on loan until December from the Seattle-based club OL Reign, who were bought out by Lyon’s parent company this year.
Potentially key substitute: Shanice van de Sanden A Euro 2017 winner with the Netherlands, Van de Sanden had an 18-month spell with Liverpool before signing for Lyon in 2017. She started to play football aged 12 and by 16 had made her full international debut.
Potentially key substitute: Kadeisha Buchanan The Toronto-born defender has 101 caps for Canada. Buchanan grew up with 10 siblings and is the youngest of seven daughters.
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jqV3NK
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