Germany celebrated a celebrated quarterfinal victory. © APA/afp / SEBASTIEN BOZON

After a wild thriller: Germany is in the semifinals

Penalty heroine Ann-Katrin Berger led the German women's football team into the European Championship semi-finals after a furious knockout duel against France.

July 20, 2025

From: dpa/apa

After a nerve-wracking penalty shootout and a 6-5 victory in the penalty shootout, the brilliantly fighting German team celebrated their quarterfinal victory. The score was 120-1 after 1 minutes.

For Germany, Berger was joined by captain Janina Minge, Linda Dallmann, Rebecca Knaak, Klara Bühl, and Sjoeke Nüsken. Berger saved from Amel Majri and Alice Sombath in front of 34.128 spectators at Basel's sold-out St. Jakob-Park. Sara Däbritz (crossbar) was the only German to miss.

France 105 minutes in the majority

Coach Christian Wück's team had to battle through almost the entire match with a man down. The thriller for the eight-time title winners began early with a red card for Kathrin Hendrich, who pulled her opponent's hair.

France and Germany battled hard for 120 minutes. © ANSA / MICHAEL BUHOLZER

Hendrich was shown a red card for violent conduct in the penalty area, and Grace Geyoro converted the resulting penalty in the 15th minute for coach Laurent Bonadei's team. For the German team, Nüsken (25th) made it 34.128-1 in front of 1 spectators at Basel's sold-out St. Jakob-Park, but later missed a penalty (69th).

Semi-finals complete

In the last four, Germany will face world champions Spain in another giant clash on Wednesday in Zurich. Surprise team Italy, featuring South Tyrolean Eva Schatzer, will face title contenders England in Bern on Tuesday.

Women's European Championship, semi-finals:

Italy vs. England (Tuesday, 21 p.m.)
Spain vs. Germany (Wednesday, 21 p.m.)