Germany beats France on penalties to reach Euro 2025 semifinals despite early red card
A drama-filled match finished 1-1 on Saturday, then Germany won the shootout 6-5 thanks to the heroics of Ann-Katrin Berger, who saved two shots as well as dispatching her own spot kick.
There were tears of joy from the Germany players after perhaps one of the greatest examples in soccer history of digging deep to defy the odds.
"Everyone was in each other's arms," Germany coach Christian Wück said. "Everyone was celebrating; everyone was happy that this hard-fought performance led us to victory.
"I can only say it again and again: I'm so proud of the team for the way they took on this challenge against an opponent who demanded everything from us. That was incredible."
Germany, which is bidding for a record-extending ninth European Championship title, will face World Cup winner Spain in Zurich on Wednesday.
Early drama over hair-pulling
That seemed improbable after less than 13 minutes when Germany midfielder Kathrin Hendrich pulled the hair of France captain Griedge Mbock and issued a straight red card.
Grace Geyoro converted the resulting penalty but Sjoeke Nüsken headed her team level just 10 minutes later.
Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Germany could have taken the lead with a penalty of its own in the second half but France goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin saved Nüsken's spot kick.
Nüsken scored Germany's last spot kick in the shootout.
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The universe sometimes conspires — almost magically — to bless a few individuals with the power not only to write their scripts, but to live them out on the grandest stages of life. Act I: T20 World Cup final, Eden Gardens, Kolkata, 2016 The tension was palpable. West Indies needed 19 runs off the final over. It was advantage England, as things stood. Marlon Samuels — calm, ice-cool and unbeaten on 85 — was stranded at the non-striker's end. The moment was ripe — not for Samuels, not for West Indies — but for a young 24-year-old Englishman full of fire and fight. Ben Stokes had the ball. History was in the making. But in his, and England's, way stood a player and a performance immortalised by Ian Bishop's iconic scream: 'Carrrrrlos Brathwaite! Carrrrrlos Brathwaite — remember the name!' Four sixes on the trot, each sailing into the night sky and then swallowed by the crowd, stunned Stokes and his teammates into shock. 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Act II: Rock Bottom to Rock Star 'You've got to lose to know how to win…' — Aerosmith famously crooned in their 1973 classic 'Dream On'. Stokes held that loss at the Eden close to his heart. The itch of that adamant scar dragged him back to the drawing board. Only this time, it wasn't just blind hard work; he trained smarter. It dawned on him that technique wasn't the only area of work: far more important were temperament and mindset. Stokes needed to find a way to give direction to the fire that burned within. He needed to find purpose. And where better to find that than at home! His father, Gerard, was a tough, no-nonsense rugby player-turned-coach. His mother, Deborah, who introduced him to cricket as a young boy, worked as a counsellor for victims of violent crime. Growing up, young Benjamin excelled at both sports. 'In a room full of people, you'd spot a Stokes straight away,' the all-rounder once said. 'The sense of humour is the same. We take the mickey out of each other constantly. My brother's a grouch around people — he just grunts. That competitiveness, the frustration, the inside build-up of anger — that's from my old man. I've definitely got that in me,' the Christchurch-born English all-rounder said. Gerard wasn't one for excuses. For years, he told his son he'd lost a finger to a crocodile. The truth, when it came out, was equally striking: 'He kept dislocating the same finger,' Stokes recalled. 'The doctor said he needed surgery. But Dad couldn't afford to miss games — he had bills to pay. So he just got it cut off.' That missing finger would eventually be his son's iconic celebration. But it was in that kind of environment — relentless, raw, real — that Ben Stokes was shaped. 'If I didn't do well, I'd beat myself up,' he remembered. 'Especially when I was younger. I'd just get angry. I'm not someone who hates people for beating me. But I. Just. Don't. Like. Losing'. But somewhere along the way, something shifted. From pain came a hard-earned truth: stop chasing moments…become them. While others shrank in the wake of chaos, Stokes always found himself drawn to it. Take the 2019 ODI World Cup, for example. Once again, a final – this time at Lord's – and a final over, except this time he was the one batting. Fifteen runs were needed for a famous win against New Zealand. History stared him down once more, but this time, Stokes didn't blink. Stokes would drop to his knees once more, but this time after willing his team across the finish line, in a Super Over no less. He took the weight of a nation and turned it into poetry. Act III: Immortality in Leeds If Lord's was redemption, Headingley was a step above. With the Ashes slipping away, England — chasing 359 — collapsed to 286 for nine. With 73 runs still needed and just one wicket in hand against an Australian attack baying for blood, it seemed foolish to hope. 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'It was beyond greatness,' said former England captain Nasser Hussain. 'It was something else. Something beyond cricket.' 359 was chased, the Ashes remained alive, and the game got a masterclass on the power of belief. Final act: Leading from the front In 2022, when Stokes was handed the reins of the England Test team, the side was adrift. One win in 17 outings didn't inspire any confidence. Spirits were low. The team's brand of cricket was unclear. England had lost its soul. Early on in his partnership with coach Brendon McCullum, it was evident the duo were cut from the same cloth: bold, unafraid, instinctive. Together, they didn't just rebuild a team; they redefined it. They exorcised passivity from England's character. No more playing for the draw. No more waiting for the game to come to them. Stokes and McCullum lit a fire and gave it a new name: Bazball. Its evangelists were keen to underline that this style of cricket was not about reckless bravado, but about freedom. 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Stokes, the bowler, has been exceptional all through this series, but more so at Lord's. He struck twice in the first innings, however, it was his performance later in the match that defined the contest. He bowled himself for 24 overs on the trot, at speeds exceeding 137 kmph, removing K.L. Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and nightwatchman Akash Deep in a pivotal session on the penultimate day. His sustained 9.2-over burst on the final morning laid the foundation for England's eventual victory. As a leader, his composure and tactical might took centrestage whenever tempers ran high. Sharp catching positions, attacking bowling changes and faith in their short-ball strategy to dismantle the lower order paid rich dividends. He managed 44 and 33 in testing conditions and against menacing opponents like Bumrah, anchoring England's lower-order resistance. The home side won by a narrow 22 runs, proving his shifts invaluable in the end. That triumph gave England 2-1 lead in the series, reaffirming Stokes' own status as the pulse of the red-ball setup. Bazball is an easy concept to bash because of its volatility. But its champions remain unfazed. What Stokes and McCullum have built is more than a team. It's a culture. They've made Test cricket thrilling again. Not because they win every time, but because they aren't afraid to lose. And that, oddly, is what makes them win more. Stokes' redemption is more about persistence than perfection. His ascendancy was anything but smooth — in fact, the first chapter of his career had more infamy than glory. The 2016 T20 World Cup final cast a long, painful shadow. The 2017 nightclub brawl in Bristol led to an arrest, a trial, and a suspension. He lost the England vice-captaincy and missed the 2017-18 Ashes. It takes something special to resist spiralling and emerge transformed in spirit. Stokes didn't just have to reclaim his place in the team — he had to earn back the trust of a dressing room, and a nation. Turns out, he's done that and in some style. Some players create history. But once in a generation, one becomes it. Benjamin Andrew Stokes — Remember the Name!
