Germany Beat Poland 2-0 In Women's Euro 2025 Opener

News18

8 hours ago

Jule Brand and Lea Schueller were on the mark as Germany defeated Poland in their women's Euro 2025.
Germany began their Women's Euro 2025 campaign with a victorious 2-0 win over Poland on Friday, propelling the eight-time continental champions to the top of Group C. Christian Wueck's team leads Sweden, who won 1-0 in a Scandinavian derby against Denmark, on goal difference. The hard-fought group opener in St Gallen saw second-half goals from Jule Brand and Lea Schueller securing Germany's triumph.
Germany, one of the three major contenders for victory in Switzerland alongside world champions Spain and holders England, did not perform at their best for much of the match. Wueck frequently urged his players to elevate their game. The team also lost captain Giulia Gwinn to a knee injury before half-time after a rough fall during a challenge with Ewa Pajor.
'She's injured her knee and will undergo an MRI tomorrow, at which point we'll know what's happened," said Wueck. 'It was a tough, hard-fought victory. Poland made it very, very difficult for us with their style of play… We're happy with the result and we know that we can do better."
Germany had previously won all six encounters with Poland, but the game remained even until Brand scored an unstoppable shot six minutes after half-time. Brand then provided a perfect cross in the 66th minute for Bayern Munich striker Schueller, who secured the points with a simple header.
Germany has now won six consecutive matches, scoring 26 goals in that streak, though they appeared below the standard set by tournament favourites Spain on Thursday. England is scheduled to face France on Saturday.
Poland performed admirably in their European Championship debut, but Barcelona's Pajor, who has scored 51 goals for club and country this season, was notably inefficient with her finishing. Pajor missed a great chance at Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger just before Schueller doubled Germany's lead and squandered another with a close-range header nine minutes before the end.
Filippa Angeldahl scored Sweden's winner in the 55th minute in Geneva, exchanging passes with Kosovare Asllani and firing into the far corner. Sweden missed a chance to double their lead 10 minutes later when Madelen Janogy headed Hanna Lundkvist's pinpoint cross narrowly wide. Moments earlier, Stina Blackstenius was denied by Frederikke Thogersen's brilliant goalline clearance.
'It was an enormous sense of joy and relief. There are so many nerves when you start a tournament that it was a wonderful feeling to score that goal," Angeldahl told reporters.
Peter Gerhardsson's team remains unbeaten in 13 games following their second consecutive win over Denmark, after a decisive 6-1 victory in the Nations League last month. Sweden tightly controlled Denmark's captain Pernille Harder, although she did hit the crossbar with nine minutes left in the match.
The Bayern Munich forward was also involved when VAR decided against awarding a penalty to Denmark in the opening minutes for a potential handball by Madelen Janogy, who was marking Harder.
With AFP Inputs
First Published:
July 05, 2025, 11:13 IST