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The Star
7 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Women's Euro exit shows once-mighty Germany battling to keep pace
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Semi Final - Germany v Spain - Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland - July 23, 2025 Germany's Jule Brand in action with Spain's Patri Guijarro REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo (Reuters) -A courageous German performance in their 1-0 Women's Euro semi-final defeat by world champions Spain means they leave Switzerland with heads high, but the once-dominant team need to find a cutting attacking edge to keep up with the best. Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati proved to be the difference, conjuring up a superb winner in extra time. Though Christian Wueck's young side performed well on the night, they lackeda truly world-class attacking talent to turn a game in their favour at such a high level. "We have to evolve, we have to improve, we had phases of ball possession today that we simply did not exploit well, and those are areas where we need to improve, especially in the youth system, so that we can develop well-trained players for the Bundesliga," Wueck told reporters. "Also (we need to) perform better in those phases of ball possession that were not well-executed today, especially at that level. That is part of being a top team, and of course we are still lacking in comparison to Spain and England." Spain face England in Sunday's final. Eight-time champions Germany have not won the tournament since 2013 in Stockholm, and in the meantime they have been reined in and passed by as other countries pour money into the development of the women's game. The 2013 victory was built on the back of the stunning goalkeeping of Nadine Angerer, who saved two penalties in the final against Norway, and the 2025 squad looked to have a similar net-minding talisman in the shape of Ann-Katrin Berger, who pulled off a miraculous save in their quarter-final against France to prevent an own goal. Berger followed that up with a stellar performance in the penalty shootout win over the French that followed, but on Wednesday she was caught out by Bonmati's lightning shot from a tight angle to her uncovered near post that ended up as the only goal of the game. Though Berger took the blame for the defeat, it was not solely hers to bear. Germany had plenty of chances, with Klara Buehl superb down the left, but they lacked the killer instinct in front of goal that Bonmati displayed. All in all, the Germans displayed plenty of promise as they beat Poland, Denmark and the French in Switzerland, with the only blemish a shock 4-1 defeat by Sweden in which they had a player sent off in the first half. Though some of his choices have been questioned, Wueck says his focus on young players is paying off. "I recently read that the (German Football Association) DFB is miles behind the top nations, and three days later I read that we are in the semi-finals. So maybe the Germans need to learn a little bit that we do everything together, that we want the best for the German nation," he said. (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
Women's EURO 2025: World champion Spain knocks ends dream run of Switzerland to enter semifinals
Athenea del Castillo came off the bench to open the scoring, and Claudia Pina added a superb second as Spain beat host Switzerland 2-0 on Friday to reach the 2025 Women's Euro semifinals. For the best part of an hour, the Swiss defended doggedly and attacked on the break, but once Spain found its groove, it was able to kill the game off quickly. 🇪🇸 Spain are into the final four! 👏# — UEFA Women's EURO 2025 (@WEURO2025) July 18, 2025 'It is true that many times we are used to winning the first parts (of games) very quickly but in real football it is not like that. In real football, you play 90 minutes, especially when you're in the European championship,' Spain playmaker Aitana Bonmati told reporters. Spain looked to have made the perfect start when a rash challenge by Nadine Riesen upended Mariona Caldentey, but having opted to take the spot-kick herself, the forward rolled it wide of the post. Pina had several chances for Spain, but stout defending by the host side saw it go in level at the break, much to the delight of the raucous home crowd. It took a moment of brilliance from Bonmati to break the deadlock for the world champion in the 66th minute, teeing up Athenea with an instinctive back-heel for the substitute to guide the ball past Swiss keeper Livia Peng. Five minutes later, Pina doubled her side's advantage as Switzerland captain Lia Waelti was dispossessed just outside her own penalty area, and Pina curled a superb shot into the top corner before wheeling away in celebration. The drama continued right to the end, with Spain's Alexia Putellas missing a late penalty and Switzerland's Noelle Maritz shown a straight red card for a stoppage-time challenge. More from Women's Euro 2025: Girelli brace fires Italy past Norway and into semifinals As the Spaniards danced in a circle to celebrate advancing to the last four, the Swiss fans sang loudly in appreciation of the team, and the players bounced together in unison as the hosts exited the tournament with their heads held high, having made the knockout stages for the first time. Switzerland's players applaud fans to turning up for its historic match, its first game in the quarterfinals of the Women's Euros ever. | Photo Credit: REUTERS 'The truth is that Spain has brought out a bit of that maturity, that insistence that I think is important, because it's not easy in the quarterfinals, and in the end, that was the mentality that the team had,' defender Laia Aleixandri said. 'The semifinals were up for grabs, and I think that weighs heavily. You had to be very careful in the back, because we always say it — we attack with many players and Switzerland was very good, but I think that in the end we have been mentally very strong, not only me but the whole team,' she added. Spain celebrates qualifying for the semifinals of the 2025 Women's EURO, after beating Switzerland in the quarters. | Photo Credit: REUTERS The Spaniards formed a guard of honour for their Swiss hosts as they left the field. They will next face the winner of the other quarterfinal between France and Germany. 'It's a party, dancing, singing, as it should be. It's a step to the semifinals, I think we have to enjoy it now. One way or another, we will find out our opponent,' Aleixandri added.
The Star
14-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Tactical growth on show as Women's Euros enters knockout stage
(Reuters) -When Norway's plan for their opening Women's Euro clash with Switzerland was thrown into disarray by a first-half goal for the hosts, it marked the first of many occasions that coaches at the tournament have had to adjust their tactics on the fly. At halftime in that game, Norway coach Gemma Grainger managed to get her side to calm down and change tack. They went on to win 2-1 and then topped Group A with three wins in three games to set up a quarter-final clash with Italy in Geneva on Wednesday. "For me, the best coaches make those decisions in game. It's easy to sit after a game, look at the video footage, look at the review and say, 'You know, we should have done this, we should have done that' -- for me, the best coaches do that in game," Grainger told Reuters. Up against another master tactician in Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage, the battle of wits ebbed and flowed through the game with Grainger and the Norwegians targeting the space behind the Swiss defence and the hosts trying to hit them on the break. "In football, I think you have to take the space that you're given, and that was where the space was. For them, they played a direct game -- I think that that was their game plan, to try and stretch us and also to build a little bit of pressure," Grainger explained. "When you're dealing with long ball after long ball, you have to have high concentration, high focus. We knew that our forward players were quicker than their back-line players, so we had to get the ball in behind, but with good quality as well." Communication is key when making adjustments, and though coaches trust players to solve the problems they encounter on the pitch, they are expected to do so within the tactical principles laid out in the game-plan. "We just follow her instructions," Norway midfield linchpin Vilde Boe Risa told Reuters when asked how much scope she and her teammates have to improvise. "What we should change in the way we press, the way we play out, that's not up to us, we only have to do our best while we're out there, and deliver the game plan." ADVANCED TACTICS The 30-year-old, who plays her club football at Atletico Madrid, said that the tactics in the women's game have become much more advanced since she made her national team debut in 2016, and that teams were forever changing and adapting in order to create even a small advantage. "People understand how we play, and they close us down quite a lot, so we end up playing quite a lot of long balls, which is not really the part of our game or how we want to play, but we just need to adapt to it," she said. Grainger pointed to a couple of tactical trends that she would be paying close attention toas the eight teams left in the competition head into the quarter-finals. "If games turn into too many transitional moments as the tournament goes on, that's certainly going to affect (their stamina)," she said. "We know that Spain are a high-possession team ... I think game by game, we could be seeing that trend evolve, but for me, for now, it's the transitions." (Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
