The plans best laid...
Whew! That was a journey.
Germany coach Christian Wück promised before the game that his side had analyzed the matchup against France — down two right-backs — and come up with the best solutions. Giovanna Hoffmann came in for Lea Schüller at striker, and three natural center-backs started on the pitch to close down central spaces more.
That all went right out the window after just 13 minutes when experienced defender Kathrin Hendrich inexplicably yanked the hair of French captain Griedge Mbock on a set
piece in the box. For a second straight game, Germany was a woman down, this time even earlier, and this time a goal down as a result.
How they reacted was one for the ages.
Compact Germany
Germany losing a player early for the second straight game should have been a back-breaker. That it came against the high-flying Les Bleues should have been that’s all she wrote. This was a team that was already not all that disciplined in defense, particularly in transition — or maybe mostly in transition, as it turned out.
Because what happened next was remarkable. Germany, forced to switch off the front foot, hunkered down and did they ever hunker down well. Freed from the imperative to press high, the Germans closed down France with zeal. French attackers received near the final third only to find themselves converged upon immediately, whether in central or wide positions. Germany keeper Ann-Katrin Berger — more on her later — made her most crucial save off an unfortunate deflection of her own player. France’s only goal came from that early penalty.
Can Germany play like this more often? Against pass-happy Spain, they may have to, even with a full strength team. The good news? Germany looks up for it.
Wing reliance
Now for the downsides. Germany’s all-out defensive effort, which spilled into 120 minutes of play including extra time, involved Herculean shifts from both wingers once again. Klara Bühl and Jule Brand have been mainstays in this German team and it is hard to imagine them without either.
Bühl and Brand aren’t just Germany’s most lethal players going forward, they’re also two of the most active and capable tracking back in defense — against France, by circumstance if nothing else. All that energy expenditure can come back to bite, even if it was fully justified. There was Brand, in stoppage time of the first period of extra time, giving her all to wrestle past attackers and cut out passes. And there was Brand, by the second half of extra time, totally gassed and unable to chase after passes on a rare Germany break.
It’s not so much reliance on the wing players as it is reliance on these two wing players to the degree that Germany has so far this tournament. While Germany came into the quarterfinal more rested than France, they have one fewer day off against Spain, and Spain won in regular time. The pathway to a German victory surely runs through another monster performance from this wing duo...do they have it left in the tank? They’ll need to dig very, very deep.
More absences loom
Fatigue will not be the only factor against Spain. Germany simply won’t have two mainstays available, and that’s not including captain Giulia Gwinn, who was lost in the first match of the tournament to injury.
Carlotta Wamser returns from her suspension to slot back in at right-back, only for midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken — goal-scorer in two of Germany’s four matches so far — to miss out on yellow card accumulation. And Sarai Linder, who filled in at right-back against France but also started each of the prior matches at left-back, is out at least for the semifinal with a ‘capsular ligament injury’, according to the DFB.
There’s also first central defender off the bench and starting XI contender Kathrin Hendrich’s suspension for her straight red.
The good news is that Franziska Kett really shined at left-back and should continue her slot, while Sophia Kleinherne also put in a solid shift on the right. But Wück’s tinkering and solutions-finding will have to continue, particularly in midfield, where he has not deviated from the Nüsken–Elisa Senß pivot.
ANN. KATRIN. BERGER.
OK, what is there to say really? Germany keeper Ann-Katrin Berger delivered a jaw-dropping performance, including that save, then two saves in the penalty shootout, and she stepped up and buried her own attempt.
We’ll save some waxing poetic for the Match Awards and just leave you with this highlight:
AKB
— Melina Melinae (@melinae07.bsky.social) 2025-07-21T00:36:30.276Z
Keeper like that, you can bet this team can imagine winning it all. On Wednesday, they’ll have the chance to get to the Final together.
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