Soccer-Germany's Berger seizes her moment in shootout win over France
BASEL (Reuters) -Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger embodied her side's spirit of resistance in their Women's Euro quarter-final as they bounced back from an early red card and the concession of a goal to take France to a 1-1 draw over 120 minutes before beating them 6-5 in a shootout that saw her save two spot-kicks and score one herself.
The 34-year-old, who has twice beaten cancer, lives by the motto of "All we have is now", and she seized her moment on Saturday, pulling off an incredible save to prevent a second-half own goal and then powering her side through to the semi-finals, where they will face Spain in Zurich on Wednesday.
"I was not happy that we had to go to the penalty shootout because I would have loved to have won the game in 90 minutes and have it done and dusted," Berger told reporters before paying tribute to her squad.
"I think credit should go to the team, not me, because maybe it (my save) was the decisive moment in the penalty shootout, but we, everyone here, should talk about this with him (coach Christian Wueck) now about the performance of the team, because that was amazing and incredible."
Germany midfielder Sjoeke Nuesken had a penalty saved in normal time but converted in the shootout, and she was full of praise for Berger's skills.
"She's an amazing goalkeeper. She's so calm, she's so clever. I knew she would save the penalties. She's such an amazing goalkeeper, and we are very happy that she's in our team," Nuesken said.
With defender Kathrin Hendrich sent off in the 13th minute for pulling an opponent's hair, the Germans had to battle for more than 100 minutes with one player fewer than their French counterparts, but despite their heroics, Berger did not want to promise that they would beat Spain to make the final.
"We do everything one step at a time -- first of all we celebrate, then we focus on Spain, there is a very hard and tough opponent we have to face and everybody really gave their ultimate effort here and we need to regenerate, we have to make sure we recover," Berger explained.
"We like the stadium for the final match, and we will continue to progress towards that," she added.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, additional reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Daniel Wallis)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
'Better than Olympics' as Popovici wins world 200m free gold
SINGAPORE: David Popovici called it "even better than the Olympics" after the Paris 2024 champion claimed a thrilling gold in the 200m freestyle at the swimming world championships on Tuesday. The popular 20-year-old Romanian timed it perfectly to reel in US rival Luke Hobson in the closing stages and take the title in 1min 43.53sec. Hobson was forced to settle for silver (1:43.84) with Japan's 18-year-old Tatsuya Murasa taking bronze (1:44.54). "Even better than the Olympics to be honest," said Popovici, who reclaimed his world crown from 2022. "You know why?" he added. "I trained a lot for the Olympics but this year has been more relaxed and easygoing." He added: "I am very proud of myself." The final in Singapore was billed as a duel between Popovici – the Olympic champion – and Paris bronze medallist Hobson. And so it turned out, with Popovici putting on the afterburners in the dying stages of the race. Britain's Matthew Richards, who took silver in the French capital a year ago, was a surprise casualty in the semi-finals. South Korea's Hwang Sun-woo, who went to the first turn in front, finished just outside the medals in fourth. The 200m freestyle was the first of five finals on the third day of competition in Singapore.-AFP
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Rugby-Luckless centre Ringrose out of third Lions test
SYDNEY (Reuters) -British & Irish Lions centre Garry Ringrose has been ruled out of the third and final test against Australia this weekend as he goes through the 12-day concussion protocols. Ringrose was initially selected to play in last weekend's second test in Melbourne, which the Lions won to seal the series, but withdrew after experiencing concussion symptoms in training. Saturday's match at Stadium Australia was probably his last realistic chance of playing a test for the Lions and assistant coach Andrew Goodman said the 30-year-old was devastated. "Garry was playing some amazing rugby through this tour, and it's been a dream of his for so long to represent the Lions, and he's managed to do that," the New Zealander told reporters in Sydney. "But he wanted to be a test match Lion, so it's been devastating for him. Everyone knows Garry's a great lad and a great team man. "The boys have all been disappointed for him. He's obviously disappointed himself, but he's getting around everyone and making sure he helps prepare them as much as he can. He's a real leader for us in terms of a backline in particular." Goodman said that the other players who were unavailable for selection for the second test because of injury -- winger Mack Hansen (foot), lock Joe McCarthy (foot) and centre Sione Tuipulotu (hamstring) -- all took part in training on Tuesday. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Ken Ferris)
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Athletics-McLaughlin-Levrone 400m flat foray a highlight for US trials
FILE PHOTO: Jul 5, 2025; Eugene, OR, USA; Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (USA) during the 50th Prefontaine Classic at Hayward Field. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) -Hurdles queen Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone wants to carve out new territory in the 400 metres flat as the U.S. track and field trials kick off this week in Eugene, Oregon, with a ticket to the World Athletics Championships on the line. She broke the 400m hurdles world record for an astonishing sixth time for her second straight Olympic title in Paris last year and hopes to bring home world gold in the flat event at the global showcase in Tokyo in September. She has slowly chipped away at the event after teasing her interest three years ago, becoming the second-fastest American ever with 48.74 seconds in Eugene in 2023 and winning at that same springy Hayward Field track earlier this month in 49.43. "This is just a great indicator for us, moving forward, so a lot to work on, a lot to go and look back at," McLaughlin-Levrone said after the most recent win. "It's not as daunting as it once was." With reigning champions like Noah Lyles and Sha'Carri Richardson guaranteed entry into the men's and women's 100m at worlds, McLaughlin-Levrone's 400m flat attempt injects some drama into an otherwise straightforward U.S. trials. Both Lyles and Richardson have declared for the sprint double in Eugene, though only Lyles has the bye into worlds in the 200m after taking that title in 2023, as well. Richardson can expect to see the 200m Olympic champion Gabby Thomas at the line in both events, after Thomas has kept up a busy schedule with Grand Slam Track this year, while the back-to-back men's 200m Olympic silver medallist Kenny Bednarek will feature on the men's side. Another highlight will come with the women's 800m, where the sentimental favourite Athing Mu-Nikolayev will hope to get her comeback story on track after stunningly failing to make the U.S. Olympic team a year ago at trials. The 23-year-old had been favoured to repeat in her signature event at the Paris Games but instead tripped and crashed to the track at Hayward Field. It was later revealed that she had a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the selection event. She ran her first 800m in almost a year at the Prefontaine Classic earlier this month, finishing a disappointing 10th in 2:03.44. "I'm glad I made it through the race," she told Citius Mag after the race, saying that she felt physically ready to compete at the U.S. trials. "I'm just happy that, you know, I'm not crazy down about it. I know it's been a while - it's just what comes with coming back." The 2025 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships begin on Thursday. (Reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Christian Radnedge)
