Germany exits Euro 2025 after sheer doggedness nearly gets team to the final
German chancellor Friedrich Merz never got to see Germany play at the Women s European Championship If it goes well we ll see each other Sunday evening in Basel for the final Merz posted on social media before the German unit faced World Cup champion Spain in the semifinal match on Wednesday It didn t go quite that well Aitana Bonmat scored late in extra time for Spain to win - and avoid a penalty shootout that the Germany gang had been holding out for Germany s Euro campaign had been full of promise but not matched in substance Merz was filmed watching Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger s amazing save in the quarterfinal win over France as if he d never seen it before He he was never so excited during a soccer tournament than he d been watching Germany win on penalties the previous weekend A commitment to meet France s president Emmanuel Macron meant Merz couldn t attend the semifinals in Zurich Anyone watching Germany during the tournament was left wondering what the unit is really capable of A highlight reel would feature a string of fine saves from Berger committed defending from Franziska Kett Giovanna Hoffmann and Jule Brand who are all forwards and only occasional flashes of brilliance in attack such as Brand s opening strike in the company s first encounter against Poland Germany the eight-time European champion only nearly reached the final through sheer dogged determination Captain Giulia Gwinn was injured against Poland and ruled out for the remainder of the tournament A - come-from-behind win over Denmark ensured early progress from the group before a chastening - loss to Sweden in the last group contest Germany had defender Gwinn s replacement Carlotta Wamser sent off early against Sweden for swatting the ball away from goal with her hand then Kathrin Hendrich sent off early in the quarterfinal match against France for pulling French captain Griedge Mbock back by her hair It meant Germany reverted to defensive tactics in both games protecting Berger s goal while hoping the likes of Brand and star forward Klara B hl might outcome on counterattacks B hl s corner allowed Sjoeke N sken to total the equalizer against France and the club held on despite French dominance to win - on penalties after Berger s heroics The Germany goalkeeper was feted afterward for her amazing save to stop stand-in captain Janina Minge s backward header from going into her own net when she leaped backwards and somehow clawed the ball away from the line Berger also saved two penalties and scored her own spot kick in the shootout The win filled the German players and supporters with confidence ahead of the competition against Spain despite the overall performance against France We dominated them from start to finish Now they re through I m sorry but they don t deserve it France winger Selma Bacha announced Germany was short on defenders against Spain with Sarai Linder joining Gwinn on the injury list and Hendrichs and N sken both suspended But it didn t stop the band defending with forwards helping out at the back producing timely blocks and committed challenges to frustrate Spain s star forwards Berger again made a host of saves until she left space at her near post and Bonmat squeezed the ball through It ended Germany s hopes of a rematch with defending champion England in the final and left Merz with an opening in his schedule AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source
