Soccer-Spain out to finally end winless run against Germany in Euro semi
ZURICH (Reuters) -World champions Spain will aim to secure a first-ever win against Germany in their Euro 2025 semi-final on Wednesday, though the Spaniards insist reaching their first European Championship final matters more than settling old scores.
Spain have never beaten eight-times European champions Germany, most recently losing to the Germans for bronze at last year's Paris Olympics.
"Personally I see it more as an opportunity, not so much a revenge or a thorn in my side," Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas said in Tuesday's pre-game press conference.
"The Olympics are a completely different competition and any player who has been able to play the Olympics and a European Championship or a World Cup, I think we all agree, it is a totally different context, other stadiums, another way of competing.
"So I think that the Olympic Games will have nothing to do with the European Championship, with tomorrow's game, but, well, in the end it was a rival against whom we lost and tomorrow we have the opportunity to win it for the first time."
Spain coach Montse Tome would love to end their winless run against Germany.
"We have not been able to beat them, but we have been closer and closer to beating them," Tome said. "In the Olympic match, we had a chance to do so, it was good and now we are at another point.
"I think they are also another team, they have another coach, but Germany is Germany and they have eight European Championships. Their essence is the same, regardless of who is in charge, and we are very clear about the game we want to play tomorrow, how we want to condition it and where we want to take it."
Spain won their three group stage games by a combined score of 14-3 before defeating a spirited Swiss side 2-0 in the quarter-finals.
"My feelings are good, full confidence in what we are creating, in the mentality we have, in the game we have played throughout the European Championship," Putellas said. "It will be a very tough game, like any semi-final of a major tournament, but with maximum enthusiasm and maximum motivation to move forward and make history once again."
The winner meets either England or Italy in the final on Sunday in Basel.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing in GenevaEditing by Toby Davis)
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