England finish third in the Women's World Cup
Fara Williams scores her third penalty of World Cup
Germany are top of the world rankings
England had not beaten Germany in 20 attempts
Fara Williams's extra-time penalty ensured England beat Germany for the first time in 31 years to finish third at the Women's World Cup.
The performance was the second best by an England team following the 1966 win by the men's side and eclipsed the 1990 men's team, who finished fourth in Italy.
The Lionesses had not beaten two-time World Cup winners Germany in 20 attempts but they more than matched their opponents and won the spot-kick in the second period of extra-time after substitute Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme.
Williams, who is England's record cap holder and was homeless at one point in her England career, beat retiring German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer for her third penalty of the tournament.
It brought to a close a superb campaign for England, who finished as the top European nation and are now set to climb from sixth in the world rankings after a tournament during which they generated strong and well-deserved support at home.
However, they were thankful for a glaring miss from Bianca Schmidt four minutes from the end as they held on to their slender lead.
The result was tribute to the progress that England have made under Mark Sampson after the Welshman took over 18 months ago. It also put a positive spin on their campaign after the cruel 2-1 semi-final defeat following Laura Bassett's injury-time own goal against Japan.
The team are set to receive an additional £2,000 for winning the bronze medal, taking their World Cup bonus payments to £14,000.
Sampson's education as England head coach has now come full circle, following a 3-0 defeat by the eight-time European champions last November.
This time the 32-year-old Sampson chose to be more conservative in his tactical approach and it paid off as his team lined up with three centre-backs, which included Jo Potter alongside Steph Houghton and Bassett, who showed no hangover from her semi-final heartache.
But the formation allowed space in front of the defence and the European champions could have scored three times in the first 10 minutes, with tournament top scorer Celia Sasic wasting a great chance before the impressive Houghton cleared off the line.
During an open start to the game, Houghton had the best opening of the first half but mistimed her shot from seven yards. There was also a strong penalty appeal as Kemme appeared to block Potter's shot with her hand.
In her last World Cup game in charge, German coach Silvia Neid became frustrated with England's aggressive approach, but it ensured the match remained goalless at the break.
Having named an under-strength side, Neid brought on Melanie Leupolz to add more mettle to the German midfield and they began to create the better chances. Bardsley saved Sara Daebritz's header before Houghton blocked Lena Petermann's close-range shot.
But the introduction of Eniola Aluko, who had not played since England's second game against Mexico, swung the game back in England's favour and she laid on a pass to Jill Scott, who wasted a great opportunity with 13 minutes remaining.
The Lionesses were buoyed going into extra-time and their determination to not bow down to a world superpower of women's football helped create the penalty, which led to joyous scenes at the final whistle as a superb campaign ended on a high.
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Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (6) Germany Women 01 Angerer
02 Schmidt
14 Peter
03 Bartusiak
22 Kemme
06 Laudehr
20 Goeßling (Popp - 101' )
(Popp - 101' ) 07 Behringer (Leupolz - 45' )
(Leupolz - 45' ) 23 Däbritz
13 Sasic (Mittag - 73' )
(Mittag - 73' ) 19 Petermann Substitutes 04 Maier
05 Krahn
08 Bremer
09 Lotzen
10 Marozsan
11 Mittag
12 Schult
15 Cramer
16 Leupolz
17 Henning
18 Popp
21 Benkarth England Women 01 Bardsley Booked
05 Houghton
06 Bassett Booked
17 Potter
12 Bronze
08 Scott
04 Williams (Stoney - 112' )
(Stoney - 112' ) 16 Chapman Booked (Sanderson - 80' )
(Sanderson - 80' ) 14 Greenwood
23 White (Aluko - 61' )
(Aluko - 61' ) 10 Carney Substitutes 02 Scott
03 Rafferty
07 Nobbs
09 Aluko
11 Moore
13 Chamberlain
15 Stoney
18 Duggan
19 Taylor
20 Sanderson
21 Telford
22 Kirby
On Saturday, England defeated two-time world champion Germany by 1–0 in the  in the  FIFA , which was held in  in Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and won the bronze medal.

Germany had a greater possession of the ball against England in the match. Three English players were  in the match with 30 fouls committed. Nobody scored in either half of the match. , , and  of the English team were booked in the 77th, 83rd, and 90+2nd minutes respectively.

As the scores were 0–0 at the end of 90 minutes of game play, the match proceeded in . In the 108th minute, England won a penalty kick. 
 netted the penalty which gave a lead to ''The three lionesses.'' The German team tried even in the dying moments but English goalkeeper  denied the Germans to claim the bronze medal.


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=== Match for third place ===



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