The year of 2025 was quite eventful as a Germany fan, with both the men and women making the podiums of every competition they played in (yes, we’re calling fourth place a podium finish as well, because
this writer says so). On that triumphant note, here are the top five games from the Germany national team in 2025.
5. Germany 4-0 Netherlands
UEFA Nations League Group 1 Matchday 5
May 30, Weserstadion, Bremen
Germany were high flying in the Nations League, and they had no plans to stop when the Netherlands came to town. In the 9th minute, Klara Bühl sent in a low ball which Janina Minge laid off for Bayern Munich midfielder Linda Dallmann to score her 14th goal for her country. 15 minutes later, Lea Schüller finished off a cross from Jule Brand to make it two, and Sarai Linder made it three right before halftime, Minge getting her second assist of the game.
Barely three minutes had been played in the second half when Dallmann and captain Giulia Gwinn linked up to send in a cross for Schüller to get her second goal – a Bayern Munich connection that worked to perfection. The game ended 4-0, and Germany booked their place in the Nations League finals with ease. More on that later.
4. Germany 3-3 Italy
UEFA Nations League Quarterfinal Second Leg
March 23, Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Germany were aiming to reach their first ever Nations League finals, but first, they had to overcome their arch-nemesis Italy. Having salvaged a 2-1 win in the first leg through Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka, Germany returned home brimming with confidence. With less than half an hour gone, Germany extended their advantage when Kleindienst was pulled down in the box. Captain Joshua Kimmich confidently put the penalty away. Kimmich then turned provider by sneaking in a “corner taken quickly” to Jamal Musiala while the Italian players were still gathering for the set piece. It would not be Kimmich’s last assist of the match, though, as he also crossed for Kleindienst to head home just before halftime. Game over, right?
Well, Italy had other plans. Moise Kean pulled one back after a mistake from Kimmich right after the restart. 20 minutes later, Kean added another one to make it 3-2 and suddenly turn the game in the Azzuri’s favor. Germany had a major scare when a potential Italian penalty was overturned, but the visitors eventually did get a penalty in stoppage time, which Giacomo Raspadori converted to complete a stunning comeback. After playing some of their best football under Julian Nagelsmann, Germany were nearly the victims of an immense upset, but they managed to see the dying minutes out to reach the final four after one of the craziest games in Nations League history.
3. Germany 1-0 France
UEFA Nations League Semifinal First Leg
October 24, Düsseldorf Arena, Düsseldorf
Remember how the DFB-Frauen had made the Nations League finals earlier? Well, they were aiming to do better than that. France stood in the way of Germany making their first ever Nations League final (men or women). However, despite the formidable opponent, Germany came out of the gates all guns blazing, forcing the French into frantic defense right from the opening minutes.
Other than a few French chances here and there, one of which drew a fantastic save from Stine Johannes in goal, the game was mostly in Germany’s hands. The game remained goalless, though, and it looked like Germany’s efforts would be in vain, when Klara Bühl struck. The Bayern Munich superstar cut in from the left and unleashed a fierce low drive that bounced right through the keeper’s hands to give Germany a 1-0 advantage, an advantage they kept going into the second leg. A 2-2 draw on foreign soil saw Germany advance to the final, where they sadly lost to Spain after a spirited first leg performance.
2. Germany 6-0 Slovakia
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group A Matchday 6
November 17, Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Germany’s World Cup qualifying campaign was not aesthetically pleasing, to say the least. After a shock defeat to Slovakia in their opening game, Germany did regain top spot in their group eventually, but through very poor games against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland. Slovakia awaited them in their final match with a direct ticket to the World Cup finals at stake. Would Germany deliver, or would they choke again?
The answer came in the 18th minute, when Joshua Kimmich crossed for Nick Woltemade to open the scoring. About ten minutes later, Aleksandar Pavlović, Leon Goretzka, and Serge Gnabry made a Bayern Munich link-up to make it 2-0. Germany were far from done, though, as Florian Wirtz then fed Leroy Sané with a sumptuous long ball, and the Bayern alum made no mistake with a cool finish. The two combined again with five minutes to go until halftime to put the game beyond reach.
Having one foot already in North America, Germany kept their “no risk, full push” approach, and in the 66th minute, Woltemade and Gnabry fed substitute Ridle Baku to score Germany’s fifth. There was also time for an international debut from Assan Ouédraogo, who celebrated the occasion with a goal of his own. The finish was good, but the buildup from Felix Nmecha, Woltemade, and Sané was something to watch. Germany thus punched themselves into the World Cup, hoping for a better result than their last two tournaments.
1. Germany 1(6PK5)1 France
UEFA Euro 2025 Quarterfinal
July 19, St. Jakob-Park, Basel
The grand winner of this list goes to a game that can only be described as a victory of will.
Germany were up against France in the quarterfinals of the Euros with the podium at stake. However, things took a very sour turn when Kathrin Hendrich made a very foolish decision and decided to pull an innocent opponent’s hair in the box for no reason. She was rightfully penalized and sent off, and Germany found themselves a goal and a player down after less than 15 minutes.
But for some reason, France did not walk all over the Germans as expected. Rather, ten minutes later, Sjoeke Nüsken scored from a corner to level the scores out of nowhere. What should have been a blowout became a deadlock, with one mistake threatening to tip the needle in either direction. The needle swayed quite a bit, with France having two goals chalked off for offside, and Germany missing a penalty.
90 minutes were evidently not enough to separate the two sides, so to extra time they went. Ann-Katrin Berger then produced arguably the save of the tournament when she somehow clawed out a looping header (ironically from teammate Janina Minge) that looked destined to hit the back of the net, all while being caught off guard. France eventually failed to take advantage of their, well, numerical advantage, and the game went to penalties.
Berger’s heroics continued as she saved the first French penalty, while Minge, Linda Dallmann, and Rebecca Knaak scored theirs. However, veteran Sara Däbritz of all people rattled the crossbar to level things up. Berger then swapped her keeper hat for her kicker hat and converted the fifth penalty, but France forced sudden death. Klara Bühl scored and Nüsken made amends for her missed penalty in the second half. Berger then ended the long battle by saving France’s seventh penalty and sending Germany into seventh heaven.
Despite playing a player down for nearly 110 minutes, Germany somehow managed to hold on and pull off the impossible. Just goes to show that football really is quite the sport – with heart, willpower, and just the tiniest taste of death-inducing anxiety.
