Holland beat Denmark in thrilling Euro 2017 final

Holland 4 Denmark 2

After vanquishing England in the semi-finals, Euro 2017 hosts Holland were crowned champions last night, beating Denmark 4-2 in a thrilling final to a tournament that has proved a shot in the arm for women's football.

Underdogs Denmark took the lead from the penalty spot in the sixth minute, but were soon pegged back. However, when Holland took a 2-1 lead, they refused to follow the script and found an equaliser.

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The hosts were better in the second half and two more goals earned them victory in front of a sell-out crowd.

"The best was saved to last in the Netherlands as Euro 17's most exciting game proved both a peerless advertisement for women's football and turned Holland into deserved, if surprise, continental champions," says Louise Taylor of The Guardian.

"Judging by the high percentage of enthusiastic male spectators – of all ages – it seemed that a hitherto slightly sceptical host nation really had fallen in love with women’s football."

It is also a triumph for Sarina Wiegman, one of only six female managers at a tournament of 16 teams, says Glenn Moore of The Independent.

"While the once-lauded Dutch men's team now struggle to even qualify for tournaments the women yesterday won the nation's first trophy since 1988," he adds. Women's football "now has a place in the hearts of a country that barely knew it existed four weeks ago".

They are deserving winners, ex-England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis tells the BBC. "The way that they play the game is with so much energy, so much enthusiasm and so much interaction with the crowd."

The Dutch team featured four English-based players and two other Women's Super League performers came off the bench for the winners.

Stars of the show were two of the sport's biggest stars - Vivianne Miedema of Arsenal, who scored twice for Holland, and Lieke Martens of Barcelona, the player of the tournament, who found the net with a long-range effort.

"The Dutch are only the fourth team to lift the trophy after eight-time champions Germany, two-times winners Norway and Sweden, who won the first edition in 1984," says The Times.