England claim third place at Women's World Cup with first victory over Germany for 31 years

Fara Williams' extra-time penalty handed England third place and a first win over Germany for 31 years @Getty Images

Fara Williams’ extra-time penalty gave England their first victory over Germany for 31 years as they claimed a 1-0 win in the third place play-off in the FIFA Women's World Cup at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

It looked as though the match would go the distance before Lianne Sanderson was brought down by Tabea Kemme in the penalty-area.

Williams stepped up to convert the resulting spot-kick which ensured England finally got the better of their arch-rivals at the 21st time of asking.

The result saw the Lionesses bounce back from their cruel semi-final defeat, where Laura Bassett’s own goal late on handed Japan a 2-1 victory and a place in the tournament’s showpiece contest.

The 0-0 scoreline was not a reflection of the nature of the match as both sides displayed attacking intent almost from the start, with England defender Steph Houghton was forced to clear off the line after just eight minutes.

That set the tone for a topsy-turvy contest and Houghton found herself in the thick of the action as she could not quite get a touch on a teasing Lucy Bronze delivery shortly after.

Both teams had excellent opportunties to win the game in normal time in what was an end-to-end third place play-off ©Getty Images

Chances kept on coming for both teams, with Karen Bardsley producing a superb stop to deny Germany’s Sara Daebritz just eight minutes into the second-half.

The German team certainly had the better of the opportunities as the contest edged closer to extra-time, but England looked the most likely to snatch a late victory.

They may have done so had Jill Scott been able to get her shot away when clean through on goal.

After neither side could break the deadlock, an additional half-an-hour was needed to find a winner and it came from Williams, who also got on the scoresheet from the penalty-spot during the semi-final loss to Japan.

She coolly converted under pressure to ensure the Lionesses became the second-most successful English team at a major football tournament, behind the 1966 men’s World Cup winning side.

The tournament is due to to a close tomorrow at the B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver as the United States take on Japan in a repeat of the 2011 final.

On that occasion, when the final was held in Frankfurt, the Japanese side lifted the trophy following victory on penalties.