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England Captain Steph Houghton Leads by Example in Historic Win over Germany

Three days removed from a heartbreaking loss to Japan in the 2015 Women's World Cup semi-final, England needed to find inspiration from within to beat Germany for the first time in 21 matches in the third-place game.

The Lionesses had to look no further than their captain for the drive and heart required to beat the No. 1 team in the FIFA World Ranking. Centre-back Steph Houghton delivered a massive performance on the defensive end to allow England to stay in the game before Fara Williams struck from the spot in the 108th minute.

Without the captain's strength in front of their own goal over 120 minutes, England would have never earned the opportunity to pounce in the second half of extra time after Tabea Kemme pulled down Lianne Sanderson in the box.