Brand leads Germany to opening 2-0 win over Poland at Euro 2025
Germany, the eight-time champion, needed patience against the hard-tackling and committed Poland players, but Brand made the most of a lapse in concentration when she cut inside two defenders to break the deadlock in the 52nd minute.
The winger then sent in a cross for Lea Schüller to seal the result with a header in the 66th.
Germany lost captain Giulia Gwinn to injury late in the first half after she made a desperate challenge to stop Ewa Pajor from scoring.
Pajor, the Poland captain, was her team's biggest threat and might have leveled the score in the 64th after she sent a German defender flying, only for Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to stand firm against her centrally placed shot.
Berger later produced a brilliant reflex save to stop Pajor's header.
Like Poland, Berger was making her competition debut. The 34-year-old Germany goalkeeper missed the previous tournament and later said she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. On Friday she became Germany's oldest player at a European Championship.
Berger was the busier of the two goalkeepers as Poland's central defensive partnership of Paulina Dudek and Emilia Szymczak kept the pacey German forwards in check.
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Dudek did not reemerge for the second half, however, presumably because of an injury, and Brand took it as an invitation to steer her team to a winning start.
Germany is looking for its first major title since winning its eighth European Championship in 2013. It went close at the last edition, losing to host England 2-1 after extra time in the 2022 final.
Sweden defeated Denmark 1-0 in the other Group C match earlier.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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