At the
2008 UEFA U-17 Women's Championship, Popp won her first international title with Germany, scoring the team's second goal in the final. The same year, she reached third-place at the
2008 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. In February 2010, Popp made her debut for
Germany's senior national team in a friendly match against
North Korea. Less than two weeks later she scored her first two international goals at the
2010 Algarve Cup in a 7–0 win over
Finland. Popp returned to junior competition for the
2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup on home soil. She won the title and became the tournament's best player and top goalscorer. She scored in every game that Germany played and with ten goals, she holds the scoring record for that tournament (together with
Sydney Leroux and
Christine Sinclair). Popp was then called up for the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Germany ended up winning the tournament in Sweden, beating
Norway 1-0 in the final. On 24 May 2015,
Silvia Neid called Popp up for the
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. In Canada, Germany finished fourth, defeating fellow European powerhouses Sweden and France but were eventually defeated by eventual champions the United States. Popp started in four of the team's seven games, scoring once. Popp was called up again for the
2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the gold medal. She played in all six games, contributing a goal and two assists, with Germany beating
Sweden 2-1 at the
Maracanã in the final. Popp received the
Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, Germany's highest sports honour, for her performance, along with the rest of the German team. Alexandra missed the
UEFA Women's Euro 2017 tournament due to a meniscus and lateral ligament injury. The loss of such a key player like her reasonably impacted Germany's performance, as they lost in the quarter-finals to Denmark. In February 2019, Popp was named the new captain of the German women's national team. She captained the German squad at the
2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Popp played every minute of the group stage and scored a header against
South Africa. She made her 100th appearance for Germany on 22 June 2019, against
Nigeria in the Round of 16, where she also scored the opening goal. At the
Euro 2022, Popp scored six goals in five matches and lead her side to the final. She scored both of Germany's goals in their semi-final win against
France and became only the second player to score in four consecutive matches at a Women's Euros. Despite Germany's failure to advance to the knockout stages, Popp scored in all three of their group games and finished as the tournament's joint-second top scorer with four goals. On 3 July 2024, Popp was called up to the Germany squad for the
2024 Summer Olympics. On 30 September 2024, Popp announced her retirement from international football, with her last game being played on 28 October. With 67 goals in 145 international appearances, Popp is Germany's third top scorer and ninth most capped player of all time (as of November 2024). She played at four World Cups and one European Championship, and won two Olympic medals and three Algarve Cups with Germany. Individually, Popp's performances saw her chosen as Women's National Team Player of the Year in 2012 and 2022, and she is a three-time Germany Women's Footballer of the Year, winning the award in 2014, 2016 and 2023. ==Personal life==