Spain tops Germany 1-0 on Bonmati goal to reach Euro final vs. England, repeat of World Cup decider
A stubborn Germany performance had seen it take the world champions to extra time and Spain needed a superb strike from the two-time Ballon d'Or winner to secure a first-ever win over Germany.
In the 113th minute, Athenea del Castillo threaded the ball through to Bonmatí, who got past Rebecca Knaak with a clever dummy and turn before squeezing home an audacious attempt from the tightest of angles.
Spain moved closer to adding the European Championship trophy to its collection after winning the World Cup and Nations League in the past two years.
Montse Tomé's team will face defending champion England on Sunday in a repeat of the World Cup final that Spain won 1-0 two years ago.
England also needed extra time to snatch
a 2-1 win over Italy
on Tuesday.
Germany was bidding for a record-extending ninth European title but it was up against the world champion and pre-tournament favorite.
It almost surprised Spain early on when Klara Bühl ran onto a long ball from goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger but her angled drive went narrowly past the right post.
Germany managed to stifle Spain's stellar attack, which didn't have a real sight of goal until the 21st minute.
Berger had been the hero of Germany's dramatic quarterfinal against France and she pulled off another fantastic save to tip a shot over the bar from the tournament's top goalscorer Esther González.
Giovanna Hoffmann should have given Germany the lead in the 29th minute but she completely missed the ball right in front of goal, with a fresh air shot, after excellent play by Jule Brand.
Spain ended the half strongly, however, and went closest to breaking the deadlock shortly before the interval when Irene Paredes headed a corner off the post and González's attempt at the spectacular, with an overhead kick, was blocked.
Berger also had to make two smart saves in stoppage time, to deny first Gotham FC teammate González and then Clàudia Pina.
Germany had managed to keep Spain star Bonmatí quiet but she almost broke the deadlock in the 58th minute, carving out some space for herself and curling in shot but Sophia Kleinherne slid in and stuck out a leg to put it out.
Cata Coll had had little to do all night but the Spain goalkeeper kept her team in the tournament with a superb double save right at the end of normal time, first to parry from Bühl and then to deny Carlotta Wamser.
___
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Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Spain may not have won – but at least this tournament shows how much has changed
Vicky Lopez expressed the feelings of the entire team. It was her first major defeat with the senior Spain side and she was sobbing as she collected the silver medal, unable to contain her emotions. The world champions had just lost the Euro 2025 final against England following a penalty shootout, falling at the final hurdle in their bid to add the European Championship to the World Cup they won in 2023 and the Nations League trophy lifted in 2024. The disappointment will be felt deeply. They were the favourites against the Lionesses, even though this was their first final in this competition. In fact, Spain had never previously won a match in a knockout game at a European Championship. But when the dust settles and the pain of defeat has eased, they can at least reflect that this tournament has represented a huge step forward for the Spanish national team. The final outcome might suggest otherwise, but they will surely remember Euro 2025 as a significant moment in the development of women's football in the country. The 2023 World Cup arrived amid a battle between the players and the Spanish football federation, the RFEF, that had been brewing for some time and exploded in September 2022 after the last Euros. The players were demanding minimum conditions that would allow them to perform at their best. They became particularly aware of this with the professionalisation of club teams, led by Barcelona, and saw the difference between playing domestically and internationally. For many of them, playing for the national team was like a trip back in time. What did they mean by that? Well, everything. The players wanted better. They wanted to go to competitions in good time to ensure recovery from the journey and avoid it affecting the first match. They wanted to travel in the most comfortable conditions possible to avoid fatigue. They wanted a nutritionist, analysis of their opponents and themselves, enough friendly matches to prepare, physical trainers, more physios, optimal training-ground conditions and elite training. They felt other teams already had all of this and that it put them at a disadvantage when they faced them. Because when talent was equal, the best-prepared team won. Another issue was the hotels. They were always isolated, far from the venues hosting the matches in each competition. 'We hardly had any friendly matches, we were staying in hotels located in industrial estates next to petrol stations… we didn't have the same facilities as other teams to recover quickly, and we had fairly limited staff,' former player Veronica Boquete told The Athletic about the 2013 Euros. Years later, that situation had not improved in line with the developments in the women's game. In 2022, the team travelled to Marlow, a small town west of London. For the 2023 World Cup, they were based in Palmerston North, a city in the middle of New Zealand's North Island, far from all the venues. After the group stage, they had to move to Wellington because there were concerns that the condition of the pitch could cause injuries and the facilities proved to be inadequate. This summer, the RFEF decided to base the team in Lausanne, a beautiful city with a lake in the centre of Switzerland, close to all venues. The location was convenient for transport and the players felt so comfortable that after each match, they asked to spend the night there instead of in a hotel in the city where they were playing — Bern, Thun, Zurich — except for the day of the final in Basel. The training ground chosen, the Juan-Antonio-Samaranch Stadium, is one of the best available in Switzerland and the same is true of their chosen hotel, the Hotel Royal Savoy. The RFEF requested that vinyl stickers be placed throughout the hotel where the players would be staying so they would feel at home and know how to get to where they needed to go. They also travelled with a chef and, for the first time, a maitre d'. The facilities included a room to help players who are mothers, such as Irene Paredes, balance their family life. It was also useful for Alba Redondo and her stepdaughter. It was a small room with children's games and a table and chairs for children, close to the dining room where families could eat in peace and where players who needed to could congregate after each meal to be with their little ones. Patri Guijarro is the yardstick for measuring the level of improvement. She was one of 15 players who asked not to be selected in September 2022 and did return to play in the World Cup. She did not want to come back until the conditions were optimal, until the improvement was real. For the 2024 Olympics and this European Championship, she decided she was satisfied the change had taken place. She returned, becoming one of the best players in the tournament. 'Now we have the perfect food, we recover better with more physios, a psychologist, comfortable travel, a gym in all the facilities… those details also make a difference on the pitch,' Guijarro said in an interview with El Mundo a few weeks ago. 'I remember that in England (Euro 2022), the food was always the same. When you're at the top, those details matter.' At Euro 2025 — and for the first time — two doctors and six physiotherapists travelled with the team, along with seven people from the communications department, one from ticketing and another from fan experience. The improvement is dramatic and it is keenly felt. Sources in the dressing room, who wished to remain anonymous to protect their positions, told The Athletic the players finally have confidence that they have professional conditions in absolutely everything. They also feel this is the first tournament they have played in where they have been able to focus solely on football. Since the team began making improvements, and as soon as they were given a truly professional structure, they have won a World Cup, a Nations League and reached their first Euros final in just two years. During this tournament, they have taken their game to new heights. Their identity is increasingly solid, with an unmistakable style of possession and positioning: tiki-taka. They finished top of Group B, unbeaten and having scored 14 goals. They were the highest-scoring of all 16 teams in the competition. In the knockout stages, they eliminated hosts Switzerland (2-0), beat Germany in extra time (1-0) and reached the final for the first time. They showed their strengths, with a midfield that knows each other perfectly, Aitana Bonmati, Guijarro and Alexia Putellas setting the pace for an enthusiastic team in attack. Defensively, there were some weaknesses but ultimately it took a penalty shootout to defeat them. Now, the players can rest. Their fight for better conditions has been admirable from the outside but devastating from the inside. Three years after it began, they can say it was worth it. The song chosen as the soundtrack for the Euros in the Spain dressing room was 'El principio de algo' (the beginning of something) by Spanish band La La Love You. And that's what this Euros feels like for Spain, the beginning of something. Even if they lost the final. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Spain, Soccer, La Liga, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
32 minutes ago
- New York Times
Spain may not have won – but at least this tournament shows how much has changed
Vicky Lopez expressed the feelings of the entire team. It was her first major defeat with the senior Spain side and she was sobbing as she collected the silver medal, unable to contain her emotions. The world champions had just lost the Euro 2025 final against England following a penalty shootout, falling at the final hurdle in their bid to add the European Championship to the World Cup they won in 2023 and the Nations League trophy lifted in 2024. Advertisement The disappointment will be felt deeply. They were the favourites against the Lionesses, even though this was their first final in this competition. In fact, Spain had never previously won a match in a knockout game at a European Championship. But when the dust settles and the pain of defeat has eased, they can at least reflect that this tournament has represented a huge step forward for the Spanish national team. The final outcome might suggest otherwise, but they will surely remember Euro 2025 as a significant moment in the development of women's football in the country. The 2023 World Cup arrived amid a battle between the players and the Spanish football federation, the RFEF, that had been brewing for some time and exploded in September 2022 after the last Euros. The players were demanding minimum conditions that would allow them to perform at their best. They became particularly aware of this with the professionalisation of club teams, led by Barcelona, and saw the difference between playing domestically and internationally. For many of them, playing for the national team was like a trip back in time. What did they mean by that? Well, everything. The players wanted better. They wanted to go to competitions in good time to ensure recovery from the journey and avoid it affecting the first match. They wanted to travel in the most comfortable conditions possible to avoid fatigue. They wanted a nutritionist, analysis of their opponents and themselves, enough friendly matches to prepare, physical trainers, more physios, optimal training-ground conditions and elite training. They felt other teams already had all of this and that it put them at a disadvantage when they faced them. Because when talent was equal, the best-prepared team won. Another issue was the hotels. They were always isolated, far from the venues hosting the matches in each competition. Advertisement 'We hardly had any friendly matches, we were staying in hotels located in industrial estates next to petrol stations… we didn't have the same facilities as other teams to recover quickly, and we had fairly limited staff,' former player Veronica Boquete told The Athletic about the 2013 Euros. Years later, that situation had not improved in line with the developments in the women's game. In 2022, the team travelled to Marlow, a small town west of London. For the 2023 World Cup, they were based in Palmerston North, a city in the middle of New Zealand's North Island, far from all the venues. After the group stage, they had to move to Wellington because there were concerns that the condition of the pitch could cause injuries and the facilities proved to be inadequate. This summer, the RFEF decided to base the team in Lausanne, a beautiful city with a lake in the centre of Switzerland, close to all venues. The location was convenient for transport and the players felt so comfortable that after each match, they asked to spend the night there instead of in a hotel in the city where they were playing — Bern, Thun, Zurich — except for the day of the final in Basel. The training ground chosen, the Juan-Antonio-Samaranch Stadium, is one of the best available in Switzerland and the same is true of their chosen hotel, the Hotel Royal Savoy. The RFEF requested that vinyl stickers be placed throughout the hotel where the players would be staying so they would feel at home and know how to get to where they needed to go. They also travelled with a chef and, for the first time, a maitre d'. The facilities included a room to help players who are mothers, such as Irene Paredes, balance their family life. It was also useful for Alba Redondo and her stepdaughter. It was a small room with children's games and a table and chairs for children, close to the dining room where families could eat in peace and where players who needed to could congregate after each meal to be with their little ones. Advertisement Patri Guijarro is the yardstick for measuring the level of improvement. She was one of 15 players who asked not to be selected in September 2022 and did return to play in the World Cup. She did not want to come back until the conditions were optimal, until the improvement was real. For the 2024 Olympics and this European Championship, she decided she was satisfied the change had taken place. She returned, becoming one of the best players in the tournament. 'Now we have the perfect food, we recover better with more physios, a psychologist, comfortable travel, a gym in all the facilities… those details also make a difference on the pitch,' Guijarro said in an interview with El Mundo a few weeks ago. 'I remember that in England (Euro 2022), the food was always the same. When you're at the top, those details matter.' At Euro 2025 — and for the first time — two doctors and six physiotherapists travelled with the team, along with seven people from the communications department, one from ticketing and another from fan experience. The improvement is dramatic and it is keenly felt. Sources in the dressing room, who wished to remain anonymous to protect their positions, told The Athletic the players finally have confidence that they have professional conditions in absolutely everything. They also feel this is the first tournament they have played in where they have been able to focus solely on football. Since the team began making improvements, and as soon as they were given a truly professional structure, they have won a World Cup, a Nations League and reached their first Euros final in just two years. During this tournament, they have taken their game to new heights. Their identity is increasingly solid, with an unmistakable style of possession and positioning: tiki-taka. They finished top of Group B, unbeaten and having scored 14 goals. They were the highest-scoring of all 16 teams in the competition. In the knockout stages, they eliminated hosts Switzerland (2-0), beat Germany in extra time (1-0) and reached the final for the first time. They showed their strengths, with a midfield that knows each other perfectly, Aitana Bonmati, Guijarro and Alexia Putellas setting the pace for an enthusiastic team in attack. Defensively, there were some weaknesses but ultimately it took a penalty shootout to defeat them. Now, the players can rest. Their fight for better conditions has been admirable from the outside but devastating from the inside. Three years after it began, they can say it was worth it. The song chosen as the soundtrack for the Euros in the Spain dressing room was 'El principio de algo' (the beginning of something) by Spanish band La La Love You. And that's what this Euros feels like for Spain, the beginning of something. Even if they lost the final.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
England only had one key trait over Spain – but it led them to Euro 2025 glory
History repeated, once as another triumph, twice with force. Chloe Kelly again decided the European Championship for England, this time with a penalty of such ferocity that it fittingly reflected the fight and spirit of this team. It was proper grit, proper character… Yes, proper England, who remain European champions. Sarina Wiegman's side produced another miracle in this tournament, as she claimed a third successive winners' medal in the competition. These are all historic feats in themselves, but they are elevated by the manner of this glory. It went to even deeper wells of resolve than Kelly winning it in extra time at Wembley against Germany three years ago. And to manage that against this world champion Spanish side, in this way, is the best illustration of this team's spirit. It shouldn't really have been possible given how they went behind. It shouldn't really have been possible given the visible fatigue as Spain kept the ball and kept England working. Except, the two-hour-plus football match was almost the most appropriate distillation of England's ultimately victorious tournament. Just like these Euros as a whole, Wiegman's side could have been beaten four times over in the match. They could have been beaten twice over in penalties. And yet they're still here, left alone on the podium to lift the trophy, above them only sky. That's because they just never say die. The argument will persist that Spain are the best team in the world, and the best team in Europe. It doesn't matter. They still had to stay on watching England pick up their medals, substitute Michelle Agyemang going first to pick up the award for young player of the tournament. But, this time, in the actual game, it was the player she usually replaces who proved the difference. Alessia Russo got the reward for all her hard work. She got the goal that eluded her for so long, a supreme soaring header whose very trajectory symbolised a change in the game. It, of course, came from another Kelly intervention. She was sent on for the injured Lauren James, to give something different. Something decisive. The cross was superb. Spain, who had previously been imperious after Mariona Caldentey's fine headed goal of her own, started to stumble. The passing wasn't as sharp. There was a laxness. Even Aitana Bonmati began to make bad choices, which culminated in her fateful missed penalty. All of that is ultimately down to the character that has driven England through these Euros, instilled by Wiegman. That culture matters. They might have only led for four minutes of actual play in the knock-out stages, but they still did what was required. No matter how many other arguments anyone might have about that or their performance, you can't fault their resolve. There is a unique defiance there that any team would envy. Wiegman went into detail about that on the eve of the final, talking about how crucial she sees that together. It wasn't just talk. They walked it, even if that meant hobbling through some tough moments. Lucy Bronze and Georgia Stanway both symbolised that above anyone, having to go off injured in this final. And yet still the team persevered without them. Bronze later admitted she'd played with a broken tibia. Stanway had put in an admirable shift, especially given how Spain utterly exhaust you in midfield. Behind her, Keira Walsh was a ferocious presence. She tends to be targeted in such games. She stood her ground, as did that defence. That was perhaps the most admirable aspect of the performance, and the decisive factor in actually keeping level with Spain. Montse Tome's side just couldn't get beyond that Leah Williamson-led rearguard. England defended defiantly. There were so many moments when Spain looked to just be in and around that six-yard box, only for one challenge, one crucial interception, to put them off. Vicky Lopez curled about four shots over. Salma Paralluelo had two big chances, including one effort when she could have just swept the ball in rather than backheeling it from three yards out. There were so many similar what-ifs for Spain. But, on the rare occasions when they did get beyond, there was Hannah Hampton. She again proved the penalty hero, alongside Kelly, further vindicating another Wiegman decision. Hampton was ultimately named player of the match. Spain might well say that a goalkeeper being awarded the honour displays their dominance, and that they threw this game away. Finals, as Wiegman might tell them, however, aren't for playing. They're for winning. The Dutch coach has instilled England with that quality. They were outclassed by France and Sweden, outpassed by Spain, but they're here on a Swiss pitch after all of them. Even Wiegman was dancing on the grass. There, they'd given everything, the gripping tension of the occasion only further speaking to that spirit. They even recovered from the mishap of Beth Mead slipping to double-touch that first penalty, so it had to be retaken and saved. It could have played on another team's mind. It could have been another crucial turn. Instead, Patricia Guijarro was to be the first Spanish shootout scorer and the last. Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles scored, their names necessary to record for historical posterity if it all. Hampton saved, even from Aitana. England kept fighting this month. They kept going. And now they can keep calling themselves the European champions.
