Spain hero Aitana Bonmati reveals secret plan behind stunning winner in Euro 2025 semi-final
The two-time Ballon d'Or winner broke the deadlock in the 113th minute of the semi-final when she squeezed a shot from close to the byline past the Germany goalkeeper, as Spain set up a World Cup final rematch with European champions England on Sunday.
Barcelona midfielder Bonmati confirmed after the match that she intended to shoot after Spain had studied Berger's positioning and found she often left the near post uncovered in anticipation of a cross or a pull-back.
Berger had signalled to her defenders with her right arm, pointing towards the space in the penalty box, just as Bonmati unleashed a fierce strike of power and accuracy to find the narrow gap Berger had left behind.
"We had studied Berger and sometimes the first post was left empty,' Bonmati told Spanish TV station RTVE, as world champions Spain progressed to their first-ever European final.
Berger had been Germany's hero in their penalty shoot-out win over France in the quarter-finals and had kept Germany in the game during the first half with a string of saves to deny Spain forward Esther Gonzalez.
With the semi-final heading towards penalties, Bonmati broke the deadlock and the 1-0 victory meant that Spain defeated Germany for the first time at a major international tournament.
"I'm proud because we deserve it,' Bonmati said. 'We had a tremendous championship. It was the first time we beat Germany, and on top of that, we reached the final."
Bonmati has reached the Euro 2025 final after she was taken to hospital for treatment for viral meningitis the week before the tournament began.
The 27-year-old only joined up with Spain's squad a few days before their opening game against Portugal but did not make her first start of the tournament until the third game against Italy.
Bonmati has now produced magic moments to unlock both the quarter-finals and semi-finals for Spain, first setting up Athenea del Castillo's opener in the 2-0 win over Switzerland with a clever assist and then scoring from a tight angle to send Spain into the final.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
23 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The Latest: Cool Kelly seals the win for England
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Defending champion England has won the Women's European Championship after defeating Spain in the final in a penalty shootout. Here's the latest: Cool Kelly seals the win Chloe Kelly says she was confident she would score on England's last spot kick. She stepped up as England's fifth shooter with a chance to decide the final after Salma Paralluelo's shot went wide for Spain. Kelly drew a deep breath, took three strides and blasted the ball into the top of the goal. 'I was cool, I was composed, and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,' Kelly told Fox's broadcast. England wins on penalties England has defended its European title by defeating Spain in a penalty shootout. The game was tied at 1-1 after extra time. England won the shootout 3-1 with Chloe Kelly scoring the winning penalty kick. Extra time It's 1-1 at full time and the players are coming off the pitch for a quick break. Then it's extra time: two times 15 minutes to break the deadlock. England equalizer England equalized when Alessia Russo made it 1-1 in the 57th minute. Chloe Kelly whipped one of her trademark crosses into the box from the left and Russo rose above the defense to make it 1-1. Spain leads 1-0 at halftime Spain heads into the break in the lead after Mariona Caldentey's goal in the 25th. Both teams traded early blows but Spain looked stronger after the goal. La Roja kept most of the possession and did not allow England to threaten much. England also trailed at halftime in the quarterfinal against Sweden and semifinal against Italy, but still won both games. Spain takes the lead Mariona Caldentey has made it 1-0 for Spain in the 25th minute. Ona Batlle whipped in a cross from the right, after good work by Aitana Bonmati, and Caldentey headed it powerfully home. Closing ceremony Swiss former player Lara Dickenmann carried the trophy out onto the field after the closing ceremony of Euro 2025. A large circular banner was unfurled in the center of the field in tribute to the host nation, while smaller banners were displayed nearby with 'Thank You' in Switzerland's four official languages —Italian, French, German, and Romansh. Two large Alpine-inspired shapes were then carried onto the field, with the England flag on one and Spain's on the other. Nearly 30,000 inflatable clappers had been distributed to the fans beforehand, while 40 members of the closing ceremony cast also had them on the field. The Asturia Quartet, an all-female string ensemble, performed the national anthems. Del Castillo starts for Spain In somewhat of a surprise change, Athenea Del Castillo has been named in Spain's starting lineup in place of Claudia Pina. Del Castillo's only other start in the tournament was in the final group-stage match, against Italy, when many regular starters were rested with Spain already through. The Real Madrid forward scored one and set up another. She also scored the opener in the quarterfinal win against Switzerland just four minutes after coming onto the field. Pina was decisive the last time Spain played England, scoring twice to help her team to a 2-1 comeback victory in the Nations League last month. The only other change to Spain's lineup from its semifinal victory over Germany is the return of defender Laia Aleixandri from suspension, with María Méndez dropping back down to the bench. Spain's lineup: Coll; Batlle, Paredes, Aleixandri, Olga; Bonmatí, Patri, Putellas; Mariona, González, Del Castillo. James is back for England Lauren James has recovered from injury and starts for England with coach Sarina Wiegman making just one change. James had to come off at halftime in England's semifinal victory over Italy on Tuesday with an ankle problem and was seen applying ice to her injury during the match. James has started all five of England's games at Euro 2025 and has been named in the lineup for the final. Defender Jess Carter returns after being omitted from the starting lineup for the first time against Italy, for tactical reasons, two days after revealing she was the target of racist abuse online during the tournament. England's lineup: Hampton; Bronze, Williamson, Carter, Greenwood; Toone, Walsh, Stanway; James, Russo, Hemp. St. Jakob-Park is filling up Basel's soccer stadium has a capacity of 34,250 during Euro 2025 and no empty seats are expected at the final. With an hour to go until kickoff, thousands of fans have already taken their seats. Even before the final, the tournament has broken the total attendance record for a Women's European Championship. A total of 623,088 spectators have attended the 30 matches so far, surpassing the previous total attendance record of 574,875 from Euro 2022. Skies clear up after heavy rain in Basel There have been intermittent torrential showers and thunderstorms but that has not dampened the spirits of thousands of Spanish and England fans that have been gathering in the fan zones in Basel. The rain teemed down about two hours before kickoff but the sun came out shortly afterward and the skies above St. Jakob-Park have cleared up for now. Defending champions did it the hard way England got off to a rough start with a 2-1 defeat to France, becoming the first reigning champion to lose its opening match at a women's Euros. The team bounced back with a 4-0 victory over the Netherlands and a 6-1 thrashing of Wales. Then came the craziness of its quarterfinal against Sweden when it was trailing 2-0 with 12 minutes to go before equalizing and taking the match to extra time and a penalty shootout. There were nine failed penalty attempts before England finally triumphed 3-2. England left it even later in its semifinal against Italy. Teenager Michelle Agyemang leveled in stoppage time to force extra time and fellow substitute Chloe Kelly scored in the 119th minute to secure a 2-1 win, just as it appeared another penalty shootout was looming. (Almost) smooth sailing for Spain Spain swept through the group stage, winning all three matches against Portugal, Belgium and Italy — scoring 14 goals and conceding three. Spain found it tougher to get past Switzerland in the quarterfinals but finally broke the resistance of the host nation with two quickfire goals midway through the second half. Spain also missed two penalties and hit the woodwork three times. Like England, its semifinal lasted 120 minutes. It took a moment of magic from two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmatí in the 113th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Germany. ___ AP soccer:
New York Times
23 minutes ago
- New York Times
How England nullified Spain: The Wiegman tactics that shut down the world champions
Spain composed themselves, waited for the right moment, and then calmly passed between England's lines. But this isn't an analysis of the tactical battle. It was the scene at 9pm at St Jakob Park when England formed a guard of honour, clapping Spain through to receive their runners-up medals. Somehow, England had done it again. 'We were better,' said Spain manager Montse Tome after the game. 'But football is a sport where not always the best team wins.' Advertisement England have arguably not been the superior side in any of their three knockout games at Euro 2025. They were largely outplayed by Sweden in the quarter-finals before winning on penalties. They were sluggish against Italy in the semi-finals and only squeezed through thanks to an equaliser deep in stoppage time, and a winner at the end of extra time. They competed better in the final against Spain, but they still went behind, and there was a period when Spain seemed set to kill the game. But England, of course, have the never-say-die spirit. They played three matches of 120 minutes each, led for less than five minutes of those matches, and yet are travelling home with the trophy. 'The most chaotic and ridiculous tournament we have played,' said Sarina Wiegman. 'Every time we came back from behind.' GO DEEPER Inside the Lionesses' Euro 2025 win: Wiegman's 'new England' mantra, 'hard' talks and... penalties Wiegman has now won three European Championships on the bounce, an incredible achievement. At times, her starting tactics have been questioned, and she has relied heavily on her bench throughout this tournament, with Chloe Kelly and Michelle Agyemang particularly decisive. But on Sunday, her starting approach deserves credit. For once, Wiegman surprised us. And maybe she surprised Spain, too. Her decision to recall Jess Carter was a hugely brave call. At full-back, Carter had been bypassed easily in England's opening game against France and was moved into central defence. In that role, she had been the target of Sweden's pressing and was overrun. She was dropped for the game against Italy, and her replacement, Esme Morgan, played well. But Carter was in the side. 'I was super scared to play today, for the first time in my life,' she said. 'Then when I woke up this morning and saw my team and the support that I had from my team-mates, my family and my manager, I knew I had to come out today and give it my all.' Advertisement Why did Carter return? 'We can make tactical decisions,' said Wiegman, calmly. 'I said before the tournament that I'm really happy with my squad, that we have players in the same position who can bring different things. Italy and Spain were different games. We felt we needed Jess in the starting line-up for the fight and the duels.' Carter was excellent, and possibly England's best performer on the night. She returned to being the Carter we know, England's most reliable defender in individual battles, a good reader of the game, a no-nonsense player who does her job unfussily. She coped with the power of Esther Gonzalez. She then coped with the speed of Salma Paralluelo. Her final action of the 120 minutes was reading the game, covering behind centre-back partner Leah Williamson and sweeping up to tackle Aitana Bonmati, sending the ball against her and out for an England goal kick. The second call was switching her wingers. Lauren Hemp had only played on the left in this tournament, but she was switched to the right flank and lasted 120 minutes without tiring. Lauren James was moved to the left and was an early threat before going off injured. Her replacement, Kelly, decisive as a substitute against Sweden with her crosses from the left, provided a pinpoint delivery for Alessia Russo's towering header. 'We wanted to switch the play and come in behind a little bit on the inside,' said Wiegman of her inverted wingers. 'So with Lauren James and Chloe Kelly from the left with the right foot, and Lauren Hemp on the right with the left foot.' The third big decision was altering the position of Lucy Bronze, asking her to move inside into midfield — a role she has previously suggested she dislikes. This opened up the passing lane into Hemp. It gave England an extra option in the engine room. 'We know with Spain they're very aggressive when they have to defend,' said Wiegman. 'So we wanted to get out of that first press. We wanted to create a midfield overload and create space a bit down the wing to bring Lauren Hemp a little lower at moments.' 'I think they changed,' Tome said of England's tactics on the night. 'In the first half, they had an additional player in the middle, and I think we managed that.' Advertisement And that was fair. None of these things ever gave England full control or unlocked the Spain defence, but it did help to nullify the world champions — the best possession side in the competition by miles. It did help England to compete. And 1-1, as a final score, was all fair enough, really. Call it a draw? Not in tournaments, of course, and on penalties, you consistently back this England side. This is four shootout wins in a row: Brazil in the Finalissima, Nigeria in the World Cup, Sweden in the quarter-final in Zurich, and Spain in the final in Basel. England's penalty record was not even any good in this tournament — only six of their 12 were scored — but they still won both shootouts. And doesn't that just sum it all up?
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
England: Sarina Wiegman hails Hannah Hampton's Euro 2025 'fairytale'
Sarina Wiegman has hailed Hannah Hampton's journey at Euro 2025 as a 'fairytale'. Hampton enjoyed an incredible tournament after being made England's No1 on the eve of the Euros, with Mary Earps retiring. Hampton excelled throughout the Euros and was named player of the match in the final, saving two penalties as England beat Spain. And asked about Hampton's tournament, Wiegman said: 'Every player has their one story and journey and hers has been incredible. 'Starting the tournament and losing the first game, there was so much riding on every game, we had five finals. 'She had to step up and I think she has been amazing. It's a little bit like a fairytale to stop those two penalties in the final.' England's final victory over Spain was in keeping with their run during the knockout stages as they edged another rollercoaster game. Spain took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Mariona Caldentey, but the Lionesses fought back. Alessia Russo equalised early in the second half, heading home Chloe Kelly's cross, and England battled their way to extra-time. Hampton's heroics got England over the line and Wiegman says she always had faith that the Lionesses would be European champions. 'To be honest, tonight I didn't have that,' said Wiegman, when asked if she had any doubts that England could go all the way. 'I had a couple of times in the Sweden game and the Italy game and I thought: 'We might keep going home tomorrow'. 'But we still had a couple of minutes to go, it's getting tight. But it's not a lack of belief, it's like... we're getting really close now. We had to score. 'And against Sweden, of course, when we had the penalty shootout, when we missed a couple of penalties, we were lucky that they missed theirs.'
