In the 113th minute at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Aitana Bonmati broke a 0-0 game in extra time and sent Spain to its first-ever UEFA Women’s Euro final by beating Germany’s Ann-Katrin Berger near post with an angled shot to the bottom right-corner.
Near the end of an otherwise outstanding outing, Berger made an unusual mistake in judgement by seemingly expecting a cross. Germany had never lost against Spain in a major tournament, winning six consecutive Euros between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. Spain won the third such meeting between the countries. Following a startling and contentious victory against Italy on Tuesday, Spain will play England on Sunday at noon ET on Fox.
Match Review
Spain controlled the ball for the majority of the first half on Wednesday, completing 219 passes while Germany only completed 39. Spain had made 12 shots before the half, 10 more than Germany, coming into the interval. After playing with ten players for the majority of regulation and then extra time during their thrilling quarterfinal victory over France on penalties, Germany started the game with a lot of physicality and never really gave up.
In the opening twelve minutes of play, Germany committed three fouls, but it was worth it for the whistles. With 16 goals in the competition going into the semifinals, Spain’s typically clinical attacking operation appeared to be rattled by manager Christian Wuck’s team. Nevertheless, Spain gained significant momentum in the latter part of the first half. The driving force behind the surge was Esther Gonzalez, who entered the game as the front-runner for Golden Boot with four goals. A dangerous header by Irene Paredes struck the right post after she won a corner kick in the 41st minute. Gonzalez attempted a bicycle rebound, but it went wide and high.
Gonzalez was replaced by Salma Paralluelo in the 68th minute by Spain manager Montserrat Tome. Two-time Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Bonmati, or any other player in the starting lineup, had to score for Spain to break the tie in regulation. In the closing moments of the second half, Paralluelo had her opportunities, but she was again unsuccessful.
Two of Germany’s three shots on goal in regulation were consecutive, and they dared to end the game in extra time.
Also Read: MLS All-Stars Outperform Liga MX 3-1 Without Lionel Messi
