Germans face race to recover after emotional Women's Euro win over France
With defender Kathrin Hendrich sent off in the 13th minute, Christian Wueck's side had to put in a Herculean effort to pull off a 1-1 draw after extra time.
It set the stage for goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's stellar shootout performance as she scored from the spot and saved two of France's penalties to send the Germans through.
"We just have to shake this pain off, look at who we have as resources. We need to take action, the doctors, physical therapists and our staff have to intervene, and I hope we can recover the players within three days," German coach Wueck told reporters.
"Of course, this game was very emotional because of our progression but in football, half of the worth is due to emotions and I think that's what decided for this game. Everybody who has enjoyed our win knows that."
After suffering a blow by losing 4-1 to Sweden in their final group game, the enormous physical effort required to defeat the French left several players in Wueck's squad carrying knocks, bumps and bruises, and the 52-year-old coach said it was their mental strength that carried them into the last four.
"We had enough time to be mentally fresh and recover, it was okay to have one day without football (after the Sweden game). The reaction that our team has shown is a performance level we have been able to maintain for more than 120 minutes," he said.
"I always promised this to the team that mentality beats the rest, and this is what we have proven today."
Germany take on Spain in their semi-final in Zurich on Wednesday, with reigning champions England facing Italy the day before in Geneva.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
What time is F1 qualifying at Belgian GP 2025?
F1 returns after a three-week mid-season break for the Belgian Grand Prix at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit - and the third sprint weekend of the 2025 season. Lando Norris won his home race last time out at the British Grand Prix, capitalising on teammate Oscar Piastri 's penalty to claim his second victory in a row. Piastri's lead in the world championship is now just eight points at the halfway stage of the season. Nico Hulkenberg secured his first-ever podium in F1 at Silverstone, while Lewis Hamilton once again finished fourth as he continues to chase a first podium in Ferrari red. Hamilton won last year's race at Spa-Francorchamps after George Russell was disqualified. This weekend's race will also be the first since Christian Horner's dismissal at Red Bull, with Laurent Mekies taking charge for the first time. Follow live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix with The Independent When is the Belgian Grand Prix? All times BST Saturday 26 July Qualifying: 3pm Sunday 27 July Race: 2pm How can I watch it online and on TV? The Belgian Grand Prix will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom - and ESPN in the United States. Sky's coverage of Sunday's race starts at 12:30pm (BST). Sky Sports subscribers can watch all the action at Spa-Francorchamps on the Sky Go app. If you're not a Sky customer, you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. If you're travelling abroad and want to watch the Belgian Grand Prix then you might need a VPN to unblock your streaming app. Our VPN roundup is here to help. F1 driver standings 1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 234 points 2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 226 points 3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 165 points 4. George Russell (Mercedes) – 147 points 5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 119 points 6. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 103 points 7. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 63 points 8. Alex Albon (Williams) – 46 points 9. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) - 37 points 10. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – 23 points 12. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) – 21 points 12. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 20 points 13. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 19 points 14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 16 points 15. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – 13 points 16. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – 12 points 17. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – 10 points 18. Ollie Bearman (Haas) – 6 points 19. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) – 4 points 20. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – 0 points 21. Jack Doohan (Alpine) – 0 points F1 constructor standings 1. McLaren - 460 points 2. Ferrari - 222 points 3. Mercedes - 210 points 4. Red Bull - 172 points 5. Williams - 59 points 6. Sauber - 41 points 7. Racing Bulls - 36 points 8. Aston Martin - 36 points 9. Haas - 29 points 10. Alpine - 19 points 2025 F1 CALENDAR IN FULL: ROUND 13 - BELGIUM (sprint weekend) Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps - 25-27 July ROUND 14 - HUNGARY Hungaroring, Budapest - 1-3 August ROUND 15 - NETHERLANDS Circuit Zandvoort - 29-31 August ROUND 16 - ITALY Monza Circuit - 5-7 September ROUND 17 - AZERBAIJAN Baku City Circuit - 19-21 September ROUND 18 - SINGAPORE Marina Bay Street Circuit - 3-5 October ROUND 19 - UNITED STATES (sprint weekend) Circuit of the Americas, Austin - 17-19 October ROUND 20 - MEXICO Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Mexico City - 24-26 October ROUND 21 - BRAZIL (sprint weekend) Interlagos Circuit, Sao Paulo - 7-9 November ROUND 22 - LAS VEGAS Las Vegas Street Circuit - 20-22 November ROUND 23 - QATAR (sprint weekend)
The Independent
9 minutes ago
- The Independent
Life after Christian Horner begins with sprint win for Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen won the first Formula One race staged following Christian Horner's dismissal as Red Bull team principal in Saturday's sprint race in Belgium. Eighteen days after Horner was told his two-decade reign was over, Verstappen claimed the Red Bull's first win of any sort since he raced to victory in Imola on May 18. Verstappen started second, but batted aside pole-sitter Oscar Piastri on the opening lap before keeping the world championship leader at bay. Verstappen crossed the line in Spa-Francorchamps just 0.753 seconds clear of Piastri. Lando Norris started third and finished in the same position to allow Piastri to extend his title lead from eight points to nine ahead of qualifying later today for Sunday's main event. Horner's dramatic exit from Red Bull after 20 years in charge stunned the sporting world, and the Belgian Grand Prix marks the first F1 event in 406 races where he has been watching on from his sofa rather than from the Red Bull pit wall. Verstappen split the McLaren drivers in qualifying to join Piastri on the front row. Piastri started well to keep Verstappen behind on the short run to La Source only for the Dutchman – armed with a low-downforce rear wing to provide greater speed up through Eau Rouge and on to the Kemmel Straight – to jink to his left and sail past Piastri under braking for Les Combes. Further back and Norris – a distant six tenths behind Piastri in qualifying – was perhaps too timid on his brakes into the same corner, and lost out to Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, relegating him to fourth. On lap four, Norris cleared Leclerc to regain third spot, and by lap 10 he was within half-a-second of team-mate Piastri – the top three covered by a little more than a second. With four laps to go, Piastri was closer than he had ever been and Verstappen was forced to cover off the racing line under braking for Les Combes. However, that would be the closest Piastri would get to the Red Bull as the four-time world champion delivered Laurent Mekies' first win in charge of Red Bull with Norris only six tenths back from his McLaren team-mate. Leclerc took fourth spot, one place ahead of Haas' Esteban Ocon with Williams driver Carlos Sainz sixth and British rookie Ollie Bearman an impressive seventh. George Russell started a lowly 13th and improved one place to 12th, while Lewis Hamilton finished 15th of the 19 who took the flag – making up just three positions after he spun in qualifying.
Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
England receive Lauren James injury verdict as Lionesses confirm squad for Euro 2025 final
England will take on Spain on Sunday in the final of Euro 2025 at St Jakob-Park in Basel and the Lionesses have been sweating on the fitness of playmaker Lauren James Lionesses star Lauren James was involved in England's final training session ahead of the Euro 2025 final. James' availability for the final had been questioned after she was forced off in the semi-final against Italy and sat on the bench with ice on her injured ankle. Sarina Wiegman acknowledged on Friday that the Chelsea star was still recovering, but remained optimistic she could play a part on Sunday against Spain. '[We] don't know yet but that's what we're going to go for, for 23 players available for the game,' manager Wiegman said. If James is unable to start, England are expected to choose between Beth Mead and Chloe Kelly to replace her on the right. Mead started the opening game in the position and replaced James at half-time on Tuesday, but Kelly has made her case with decisive contribution from the bench in both knockout matches. James has started every match in the tournament so far, though, scoring an impressive brace in the 4-0 victory over the Netherlands. After joining the rest of the 23-player group in training in Zurich in Saturday, there is every hope she can play from the start on Sunday. The full complement of players took part in the session before England make the short hop to Basel. This suggests captain Leah Williamson felt no ill-effects from the 85 minutes she played against Italy after recovering from a rolled ankle. Lionesses boss Wiegman has been reluctant to change her starting line-up during the tournament, despite needing penalties against Sweden and extra-time against Italy. Nine of her squad members have started every game, with the only changes seeing Esme Morgan replace Jess Carter at centre-back for the semis and Ella Toone come in for Mead after the opening game, with James moving out to the wing. England's 'finishers' have been key, though, with Kelly and fellow substitute Michelle Agyemang scoring the goals in the comeback victory over Italy in forward Agyemang has still yet to start a senior game for her country, but her impact from the bench has made her hard to ignore. 'Michelle, I would think she's about 30 years old, she's so mature, so humble,' team-mate Toone said of the 19-year-old. 'She's come into this tournament with freedom, not a worry, not a care. 'She's turned up in big moments when we've needed her and she's got a lot of talent and she can do a lot of things that not many players can do. Even when she has scored and catches in games, she's been the same Michelle that she was when we started the tournament. 'I'm buzzing for her, it's nice for good people to get things that they deserve. She's definitely in the bubble now but when she gets out she'll be recognised by a lot more people than she was before the tournament, and she definitely deserves that.'
