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The Guardian
a day ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Women's Euro 2025 team guides: Germany
This article is part of the Guardian's Euro 2025 Experts' Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 16 countries who qualified. is running previews from two teams each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 2 July. The past few years have seen Germany lose a European Championship final, exit the 2023 World Cup at the group stage, and finish third at the Olympics. Which begs the question: how good (or bad) is the German national team? No one seems to know, not even the players, as some of them have admitted. The past two years have also been a period of upheaval. The urgently needed analysis of the World Cup had to wait, as Martina Voss-Tecklenburg took a break but remained in post. She later revealed that she had suffered from depression and panic attacks before the World Cup. Voss-Tecklenburg's departure was eventually announced in November, with the DFB saying a fresh start was needed. Horst Hrubesch was appointed interim coach and they finished third at Paris 2024 but did not always play well. Several important players – such as Alexandra Popp, Svenja Huth, Marina Hegering and Merle Frohms – retired from international duty after the Olympics. In March 2024 Christian Wück was finally given the full-time job. Under the 51-year-old things have been up and down. A very poor first half might be followed by an outstanding second, or vice-versa. Wück has not held back with his criticism. 'Unfortunately we are not yet where we would like to be,' he said in March. Klara Bühl admitted in a Kicker podcast 'that there had been many 'ups and downs'. But she added that could be to Germany's advantage because 'maybe people aren't expecting so much from us'. Germany have had a successful 2025 (five wins and one draw). They were in fine goalscoring form for their last two Nations League games, beating Netherlands 4-0 and putting six past Austria without reply. The main selection headache for Wück was whether to pick Lena Oberdorf. The coach was naturally reluctant to be without arguably the best Germany player but she had not played a game in 2024-25 after tearing her ACL and was left out in the end. Wück said Oberdorf was on the right track 'but that the European Championship will be too soon for her'. Eintracht Frankfurt's Elisa Senß has taken her place. There has been a lot of talk about the new national team coach not talking enough. Two players, Felicitas Rauch and Nicole Anyomi, complained about a lack of communication from Christian Wück. The result? Wück and his team talked things through and the coach admitted he had got it wrong. Communication is key and he should know that now. Wück ended his playing career (having played 168 Bundesliga games and won goal of the month in May 1993) at the age of 29 because of injury and pursued a coaching career. He has spent more than a decade with the German FA and in 2023 he won the World Cup with the men's under-17 team. He tends to favour an attacking style. It made perfect sense for Wück to choose Giulia Gwinn as captain. She is only 25 but has more than 60 caps, despite having torn cruciate ligaments in both knees. 'Giulia is an absolute key player. She is opinionated and a personality who leads the way both on and off the pitch,' Wück said. In May she released her biography, which went to No 1 on Der Spiegel's bestseller list. Gwinn, who has more followers on Instagram than any other female German footballer is the face of the national team. Linda Dallmann is not new on the scene. She is a four-time German league winner and, at 30, one of the most experienced players in the side. But somehow the technically gifted midfielder has often been overlooked. Not any more, though. Wück is counting on the playmaker, who, he says, has the ability to change a game. Dallmann has good spatial awareness and is calm in possession. It is very difficult to take the ball off her. With her, the wingers finally have a teammate they can exchange passes with: a cross into the penalty area is not the only option. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion In two words: in crisis. Between 2002 and 2015, Bundesliga teams won nine Champions Leagues but since then other leagues, especially the WSL, have overtaken the German top flight. The move to professionalism is not fast enough and that is why the gap between teams is still huge. In 2024-25 Turbine Potsdam (two-times Champions League winners) were relegated without winning a game. In Europe, Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg were not competitive enough to go as far as the semi-finals. Wolfsburg, in fact, were demolished 10-2 on aggregate by Barcelona. After the early exit from the 2023 World Cup targets have been lowered. However, reaching the quarter-finals is still seen as a must. There, Germany could face France or England, when they would be considered underdogs. The Germany team guide was written by Nicholas Horn for Die Zeit.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Women's Euros 2025: Guide to Group C – historic heavyweights and Pajor's Lewandowski likeness
Group C pits two historic heavyweights against each other as Germany and Sweden — two teams England beat in their run to victory at Euro 2022 — meet. They are joined by 2017 finalists Denmark and European Championship debutants Poland. On the face of it, this might look like quite a straightforward group but Germany and Sweden have shown in recent months they both have a wobble in them. This might be the one to keep your eye on for surprises. The favourites are… Between 1995 and 2013, Germany won the European Championship on six consecutive occasions but an embarrassing group-stage exit from the 2023 World Cup showed how far they had fallen from their time at the very top of the women's game. That spelled the end of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's four-year reign as head coach, with Horst Hrubesch guiding them to a bronze medal at last summer's Olympics. Now Christian Wuck will lead them into Euro 2025, having been appointed with over a decade's worth of experience managing Germany's boys' teams. Advertisement Some of the familiar faces from their run to the final in 2022 have moved on, with Alexandra Popp announcing her international retirement last September and Svenja Huth also having decided to stop playing internationally. The result is a younger, more diverse Germany squad — we are a long way removed from the days when almost everyone in it would play for Wolfsburg or Bayern Munich. For nearly a year the issue was whether the influential Lena Oberdorf would be fit for these Euros. The imposing defensive midfielder tore her anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments last July in a qualifier against Austria. A return to full fitness would have been a big boost for Germany but Wuck has decided to leave her out of the squad given her lack of preparation time. 'She's on the right track, but the European Championship is coming too soon for her,' he told Sky Germany. The standout match will be… Germany vs Sweden A rematch of the 2003 World Cup final (which was won by Germany), this will likely be the game that determines who tops the group. If Germany are fallen giants in the process of refreshing themselves, Sweden are perhaps a year or two behind them. This tournament will be the curtain call for Peter Gerhardsson, who has managed them since 2017, leading them to two third-placed finishes at World Cups. His replacement will be the man he beat in the third-place play-off in 2023, former Australia manager Tony Gustavsson. Advertisement Sweden's squad definitely still leans into its experience, with legendary players like Kosovare Asllani, Sofia Jakobsson and Linda Sembrant all still featuring despite being over 35. However, you cannot ignore their experience and Sweden have made at least the semi-finals of the past four international tournaments they have participated in. The group's galatico is… Pernille Harder (Denmark) A return to the Frauen-Bundesliga has pushed Harder back to her best. Now in her second season at Bayern Munich, she appears to have overcome the injury issues that limited her playing time at Chelsea and has scored more goals this season than she did in any of her seasons in England. Now 32, Denmark's record goalscorer and captain is still the lynchpin of her side. At Euro 2022, they ended up in a tough group with Germany and Spain, and while they will not be favourites to progress here, Harder will hope she can inspire an upset. The player who could make a name for themselves Ellen Wangerheim (Sweden) Despite Sweden's penchant for slightly older players, there is no shortage of young talent coming through. Forward Wangerheim, 20, has impressed over the past couple of seasons for Hammarby, with this season's Champions League performances against Manchester City demonstrating she can excel against high-level opposition. Able to play in any of the forward positions, Wangerheim has an eye for goal and while she is unlikely to start, she could make an impression off the bench. A story to look out for Poland are one of two countries making their debut at a European Championship, along with Wales in Group D. The Poles beat Austria 2-0 over two legs to make it to the competition, no mean feat given they lost 3-1 to them twice in their actual qualifying group. Their key threat is Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor, who has scored 43 goals this year in 46 matches, her best single-season tally ever. Inevitably, she draws comparisons with compatriot Robert Lewandowski, the superb striker on the men's side. You might not know this Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger has twice battled thyroid cancer and returned to the very top of the game. The 34-year-old was first diagnosed in 2017 while playing for Birmingham City and then again in 2022 during her time at Chelsea. Berger took a circuitous route to the top of the women's game and did not make her Germany debut until 2020 but has been a staple of the side in recent years. Advertisement Now playing at Gotham FC in the NWSL, she is well known as a penalty specialist, most notably saving two and scoring the winning spot-kick in the quarter-final shootout at last summer's Olympics. She also saved Alexia Putellas' penalty in the final minute of extra time in the bronze-medal match to help Germany win. Fixtures in full 4 July: Denmark vs Sweden, 17:00 BST, 12:00 ET 4 July: Germany vs Poland, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 8 July: Germany vs Denmark, 17:00 BST, 12:00 ET 8 July: Poland vs Sweden, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 12 July: Sweden vs Germany, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 12 July: Poland vs Denmark, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Germany, Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Women's Euros 2025: Guide to Group C – historic heavyweights and Pajor's Lewandowski likeness
Group C pits two historic heavyweights against each other as Germany and Sweden — two teams England beat in their run to victory at Euro 2022 — meet. They are joined by 2017 finalists Denmark and European Championship debutants Poland. On the face of it, this might look like quite a straightforward group but Germany and Sweden have shown in recent months they both have a wobble in them. This might be the one to keep your eye on for surprises. Between 1995 and 2013, Germany won the European Championship on six consecutive occasions but an embarrassing group-stage exit from the 2023 World Cup showed how far they had fallen from their time at the very top of the women's game. That spelled the end of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg's four-year reign as head coach, with Horst Hrubesch guiding them to a bronze medal at last summer's Olympics. Now Christian Wuck will lead them into Euro 2025, having been appointed with over a decade's worth of experience managing Germany's boys' teams. Advertisement Some of the familiar faces from their run to the final in 2022 have moved on, with Alexandra Popp announcing her international retirement last September and Svenja Huth also having decided to stop playing internationally. The result is a younger, more diverse Germany squad — we are a long way removed from the days when almost everyone in it would play for Wolfsburg or Bayern Munich. For nearly a year the issue was whether the influential Lena Oberdorf would be fit for these Euros. The imposing defensive midfielder tore her anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments last July in a qualifier against Austria. A return to full fitness would have been a big boost for Germany but Wuck has decided to leave her out of the squad given her lack of preparation time. 'She's on the right track, but the European Championship is coming too soon for her,' he told Sky Germany. Germany vs Sweden A rematch of the 2003 World Cup final (which was won by Germany), this will likely be the game that determines who tops the group. If Germany are fallen giants in the process of refreshing themselves, Sweden are perhaps a year or two behind them. This tournament will be the curtain call for Peter Gerhardsson, who has managed them since 2017, leading them to two third-placed finishes at World Cups. His replacement will be the man he beat in the third-place play-off in 2023, former Australia manager Tony Gustavsson. Sweden's squad definitely still leans into its experience, with legendary players like Kosovare Asllani, Sofia Jakobsson and Linda Sembrant all still featuring despite being over 35. However, you cannot ignore their experience and Sweden have made at least the semi-finals of the past four international tournaments they have participated in. Pernille Harder (Denmark) A return to the Frauen-Bundesliga has pushed Harder back to her best. Now in her second season at Bayern Munich, she appears to have overcome the injury issues that limited her playing time at Chelsea and has scored more goals this season than she did in any of her seasons in England. Now 32, Denmark's record goalscorer and captain is still the lynchpin of her side. At Euro 2022, they ended up in a tough group with Germany and Spain, and while they will not be favourites to progress here, Harder will hope she can inspire an upset. Ellen Wangerheim (Sweden) Despite Sweden's penchant for slightly older players, there is no shortage of young talent coming through. Forward Wangerheim, 20, has impressed over the past couple of seasons for Hammarby, with this season's Champions League performances against Manchester City demonstrating she can excel against high-level opposition. Able to play in any of the forward positions, Wangerheim has an eye for goal and while she is unlikely to start, she could make an impression off the bench. Poland are one of two countries making their debut at a European Championship, along with Wales in Group D. The Poles beat Austria 2-0 over two legs to make it to the competition, no mean feat given they lost 3-1 to them twice in their actual qualifying group. Their key threat is Barcelona striker Ewa Pajor, who has scored 43 goals this year in 46 matches, her best single-season tally ever. Inevitably, she draws comparisons with compatriot Robert Lewandowski, the superb striker on the men's side. Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger has twice battled thyroid cancer and returned to the very top of the game. The 34-year-old was first diagnosed in 2017 while playing for Birmingham City and then again in 2022 during her time at Chelsea. Berger took a circuitous route to the top of the women's game and did not make her Germany debut until 2020 but has been a staple of the side in recent years. Advertisement Now playing at Gotham FC in the NWSL, she is well known as a penalty specialist, most notably saving two and scoring the winning spot-kick in the quarter-final shootout at last summer's Olympics. She also saved Alexia Putellas' penalty in the final minute of extra time in the bronze-medal match to help Germany win. (Top photos: Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
