Germany got exposed — brutally
Saturday’s 4-1 result was probably a long time coming. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Germany had issues in defense, but the attack was playing well enough that it might have made you wonder if they could simply suffocate teams by keeping their feet on the gas.
Not so with Sweden. Whether it was dribbling through swathes of green in the center or switching into acres of open real estate on the right, the Swedes absorbed the blow of the early Jule Brand goal and cut the Germans open time and time again.
Carlotta Wamser’s red card may have made the comeback nigh impossible but the better team had shown their faces by then.
If Sweden had been held to a single goal it might have looked a different story. Center-back Rebecca Knaak lost track of Arsenal FC forward Stina Blackstenius — a player emphatically not one to lose track of — en route to the equalizer. But the repeat slicing and dicing showed the issues ran deep. Germany’s desire to play on the front foot is a tactical vulnerability waiting to be punished. And it’s only teams that can do that from here on out.
Tournament...management?
If this did not start out as quite a dead rubber match — Germany could have won first place in the group rather than second, but needed a win to do so — it was pretty much there by half an hour in, with Carlotta Wamser’s red card and conceded penalty that would soon turn into a successful spot kick from Fridolina Rolfö for the 3-1.
So naturally, the Germans had their two best players, Brand and Bayern Munich’s Klara Bühl, play on for another 60-plus minutes, pulling double duty up and down the wings only for the final score to be 4-1. For what?
More rest to the quarters
If there were somehow to be a silver lining to come from the result it is that Germany now has two extra days of rest. Sweden plays England on Thursday, while France vs. Germany is not until Saturday. UEFA probably could have balanced the schedule better but Germany will take it. The team needs some time to regroup and recharge, mentally and physically.
Oh, and a few days more to figure out what to do about right-back, with Giulia Gwinn out and Carlotta Wamser suspended, won’t hurt.
One for the pun-spinners
It was a bad day for Germany but a good day for puns. So let’s enjoy what we can, shall we?
Jule, on Brand
— maggie (@maggiemack.bsky.social) 2025-07-04T20:13:56.815Z
she hurtig germany
— maggie (@maggiemack.bsky.social) 2025-07-12T20:38:36.176Z
Nothing’s going to change, will it?
So before Germany roar into we’re so back with a trouncing of France this weekend let’s end on a sour note. If Germany had a different way of playing — with midfield control and more defensive stability to unlock rather than rely on the star power in attack — why wouldn’t it have been Plan A for Christian Wück and his staff?
Instead, it looks like throw Bühl and Brand out there and hope for the magic. Bühl was substituted in the 85th minute against Poland and not at all otherwise. Brand came off just once, in the ninth minute of stoppage time against Denmark. Does Germany know its identity without them?
There’s something so German about the way they kept plugging at it against Sweden too, at all odds, fighting for a result. Pushing forward at the risk of getting hit back...which happened. Do the Germans need to reassess against France? Probably. Will they?
Hang on for the ride.
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