Latest news with #ChristianWueck
CNA
12 hours ago
- Sport
- CNA
Comeback win gives Germany game plan for semi-final with Spain
GENEVA :Germany's gritty win over France has given them a template for how they should play for the rest of the tournament, defender Rebecca Knaak told reporters on Tuesday ahead of her side's Women's Euro semi-final against Spain in Zurich. The Germans had a player sent off and conceded a penalty early on against the French, but recovered to draw 1-1 after extra time and win the quarter-final shootout, pitting the eight-times champions against Spain on Wednesday. "Really, it's the perfect example for passion, strength, mental strength, all these things that are characteristics that we possess," Knaak told a press conference. "Of course, on a tactical basis, we are prepared by the coach and the team, but the basic, fundamental characteristic has been built for the Spanish (game) in the French match." After two first-half red cards in their last two games, coach Christian Wueck is hoping to keep 11 players on the pitch for as long as possible so he can make the most of his attacking talent. "I think we will chase them (Spain) a lot. We won't have a lot of possession, and we will suffer, but we have to find the right moments and take advantage of the right moments to push our game ... we are strong in possession, and this is going to be the big difference, because we want to play on the ball," he told reporters. The Germans have also been disrupted by injuries during the tournament, but Knaak said the sense of togetherness in the squad lessened the impact of losing players. "I think it says a lot about the team that we accepted every situation as it came along. There's so many different, unusual situations, and we adapted, we accepted those situations, and we supported each other," she said. "And at the end, it doesn't really matter who plays next to whom. We are a team, and we have the squad exactly for those reasons, so that we can adapt."
Reuters
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Comeback win gives Germany game plan for semi-final with Spain
GENEVA, July 22 (Reuters) - Germany's gritty win over France has given them a template for how they should play for the rest of the tournament, defender Rebecca Knaak told reporters on Tuesday ahead of her side's Women's Euro semi-final against Spain in Zurich. The Germans had a player sent off and conceded a penalty early on against the French, but recovered to draw 1-1 after extra time and win the quarter-final shootout, pitting the eight-times champions against Spain on Wednesday. "Really, it's the perfect example for passion, strength, mental strength, all these things that are characteristics that we possess," Knaak told a press conference. "Of course, on a tactical basis, we are prepared by the coach and the team, but the basic, fundamental characteristic has been built for the Spanish (game) in the French match." After two first-half red cards in their last two games, coach Christian Wueck is hoping to keep 11 players on the pitch for as long as possible so he can make the most of his attacking talent. "I think we will chase them (Spain) a lot. We won't have a lot of possession, and we will suffer, but we have to find the right moments and take advantage of the right moments to push our game ... we are strong in possession, and this is going to be the big difference, because we want to play on the ball," he told reporters. The Germans have also been disrupted by injuries during the tournament, but Knaak said the sense of togetherness in the squad lessened the impact of losing players. "I think it says a lot about the team that we accepted every situation as it came along. There's so many different, unusual situations, and we adapted, we accepted those situations, and we supported each other," she said. "And at the end, it doesn't really matter who plays next to whom. We are a team, and we have the squad exactly for those reasons, so that we can adapt." England play Italy in the first semi-final in Geneva on Tuesday, with the final in Basel on Sunday.
CNA
3 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Germans face race to recover after emotional Women's Euro win over France
Germany's players face a race to mentally recover for Wednesday's Euro 2025 semi-final against Spain after they were left drained following their epic 6-5 win on penalties against France on Saturday, when they had to fight back from a goal and a player down. With defender Kathrin Hendrich sent off in the 13th minute, Christian Wueck's side had to put in a Herculean effort to pull off a 1-1 draw after extra time. It set the stage for goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's stellar shootout performance as she scored from the spot and saved two of France's penalties to send the Germans through. "We just have to shake this pain off, look at who we have as resources. We need to take action, the doctors, physical therapists and our staff have to intervene, and I hope we can recover the players within three days," German coach Wueck told reporters. "Of course, this game was very emotional because of our progression but in football, half of the worth is due to emotions and I think that's what decided for this game. Everybody who has enjoyed our win knows that." After suffering a blow by losing 4-1 to Sweden in their final group game, the enormous physical effort required to defeat the French left several players in Wueck's squad carrying knocks, bumps and bruises, and the 52-year-old coach said it was their mental strength that carried them into the last four. "We had enough time to be mentally fresh and recover, it was okay to have one day without football (after the Sweden game). The reaction that our team has shown is a performance level we have been able to maintain for more than 120 minutes," he said. "I always promised this to the team that mentality beats the rest, and this is what we have proven today." Germany take on Spain in their semi-final in Zurich on Wednesday, with reigning champions England facing Italy the day before in Geneva.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Germans face race to recover after emotional Women's Euro win over France
July 20 (Reuters) - Germany's players face a race to mentally recover for Wednesday's Euro 2025 semi-final against Spain after they were left drained following their epic 6-5 win on penalties against France on Saturday, when they had to fight back from a goal and a player down. With defender Kathrin Hendrich sent off in the 13th minute, Christian Wueck's side had to put in a Herculean effort to pull off a 1-1 draw after extra time. It set the stage for goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's stellar shootout performance as she scored from the spot and saved two of France's penalties to send the Germans through. "We just have to shake this pain off, look at who we have as resources. We need to take action, the doctors, physical therapists and our staff have to intervene, and I hope we can recover the players within three days," German coach Wueck told reporters. "Of course, this game was very emotional because of our progression but in football, half of the worth is due to emotions and I think that's what decided for this game. Everybody who has enjoyed our win knows that." After suffering a blow by losing 4-1 to Sweden in their final group game, the enormous physical effort required to defeat the French left several players in Wueck's squad carrying knocks, bumps and bruises, and the 52-year-old coach said it was their mental strength that carried them into the last four. "We had enough time to be mentally fresh and recover, it was okay to have one day without football (after the Sweden game). The reaction that our team has shown is a performance level we have been able to maintain for more than 120 minutes," he said. "I always promised this to the team that mentality beats the rest, and this is what we have proven today." Germany take on Spain in their semi-final in Zurich on Wednesday, with reigning champions England facing Italy the day before in Geneva.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ten-woman Germany in Euros semis after stunning shootout win over France
Gritty Germany reached the Women's Euro 2025 semi-finals on Saturday after prevailing 6-5 in a penalty shootout against France after playing with 10 women for almost all of a gruelling match which finished 1-1 after extra time. Ann-Katrin Berger was the hero by saving Amel Majri and Alice Sombath's penalties to secure a last-four clash with Spain to Germany, who will take on the world champions in Zurich on Wednesday. Germany maintained their record of having never lost to France in a major summer tournament after battling back from going a goal and a woman down in the first 15 minutes to win a bruising encounter in Basel. "I would have loved to have had the game in 90 minutes and done and dusted," Berger told reporters. "I did my part of the game. In 120 minutes they (the team) worked incredibly hard and I think all the credit should go to the team, not me. "Maybe it was the decisive moment in the penalty shootout but everyone here should talk about it with him (coach Christian Wueck) now about the performance of the team because that was amazing and incredible." St Jakob-Park was dominated by fierce German support which flocked over the nearby border with Switzerland and roared their team on even after Kathrin Hendrich was sent off and gave away the penalty from which Grace Geyoro opened the scoring. Sjoeke Nuesken -- who also missed a penalty in the second half -- levelled the scores 10 minutes later and, after a long battle to hold off France, Berger sent the majority of the crowd wild with her shootout stops. France have now fallen at the quarter-finals stage in eight of their last 10 Euros after losing a match in which they had two goals ruled out for offside. "I don't think it was down to character, you have to remember that Germany are third in the FIFA rankings. They sat back and it was hard to break them down -- they put in a huge effort against us," said France coach Laurent Bonadei. "We couldn't make the difference, we had two goals ruled out for offside... it's a lack of being clinical in front of goal." - Battling Germany - Germany came into the match already missing key defenders Giulia Gwinn and Carlotta Wamser, to injury and suspension respectively, while star striker Lea Schueller was also surprisingly left on the bench. And the Germans' task was made even harder in the 13th minute when Hendrich was rightly dismissed for inexplicably pulling Griedge Mbock's hair while defending a free-kick, and giving Geyoro a chance to score she didn't pass up. But out of nowhere Nuesken drew a huge roar from Germany fans when she rose, completely unmarked, to glance home Klara Buehl's inswinging corner. From there Germany were content to sit back and hold France off by fair means or foul, and they were saved from being behind at the break by Delphone Cascarino needlessly straying offside before she flicked home Kadidiatou Diani's low cross. That was one of the few decent attacks France managed to conjure up with an extra woman, and they continued to struggle after the break. Even when Geyoro had the ball in the net for the second time, lashing home on the rebound after a fine save from Berger, the goal was ruled out as Maelle Lakrar impeded the Germany goalkeeper while in an offside position. And Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved France's skin when she kept out Nuesken's awful penalty in the 69th minute, given for a soft foul on Jule Brand. But it was Ann-Katrin Berger who made possibly the save of the tournament 12 minutes into extra time when she somehow clawed out Janina Minge's inadvertant header and stopped Germany going out to an own goal. Berger could only watch as Melvine Malard shook the crossbar with almost the last kick of the game before the shootout, but she stepped up in the shootout to allow Germany to win against all odds. td/rcw
