Germany suffered a 3-0 defeat to Spain in the second leg of the Women’s Nations League Final on December 2nd, making for a bitter end to a 2025 that had enjoyed many highs and leaving open questions about
the future. Highlights available online, courtesy of the DFB.
The Germans carried a 0-0 aggregate scoreline in from the first leg, having — somewhat improbably on both counts — controlled possession and created the lion’s share of serious scoring chances. The nil-nil felt ominous and sure enough Spain struck thrice in under 15 second-half minutes, through Clàudia Pina (twice) and Vicky López, to cement the result.
Nicole Anyomi, as she had in the game before, had a chance to punch the Germans aside. On the stroke of half-time, Elisa Senß found midfield partner Sjoeke Nüsken right at the top of the penalty arc, and Nüsken managed to slip it in for Anyomi inside the box. The Eintracht Frankfurt forward drove it low and across goal from a tight but reasonable angle, and her shot glanced wide by the slimmest of margins.
But quite unlike the first leg, Spain was not kept at bay really at any point. The Spanish started and finished strong, accumulating 14 total shots and forcing a number of key interventions from Germany keeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Spain had most of the possession and nearly all the initiative, overrunning Germany in midfield and especially down the left flank, commanded there by brace-scorer and player of the match Pina.
Where is this Germany team, two years and change out now from the 2028 Women’s World Cup? The question remains hard to answer. The Christian Wück era began with glimmers of optimism, and that is where they remain for now — glimmers. When his side plays with intensity and focus, they can hang with the best. But tactically, technically, individually, it does not yet look like like world-beaters or a team just on the verge of putting together a run of dominance, as Spain, England, or the USWNT.
Against Spain, squandered chances returned home to roost in both legs, and an opponent full of magic-makers — even in the absence of injured Ballon d’Or-ina Aitana Bonmatí in the second leg — made the first match look more mirage than resistance. When the dam broke, Spain surged in, goal after goal after goal, and all German hopes through some 150 minutes of play were extinguished as if it had been silly to ever entertain them.
With the Nations League campaign over, and EURO 2025 comfortably in the rear view as well, it is time for the DFB to assess where things stand. For the talent Germany has now, and has coming up the pipeline, are they building towards something special in the current project? If not, is there a worthy alternative?
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