Germany in the semi-finals: women's football surprises the fans!

Germany in the semi-finals: women's football surprises the fans!

A big football evening for Germany: On July 22, 2025, the German women's national football team triumphed against France in the quarter-finals of the European Championship. After an exciting 110 minutes and a thrilling penalty shootout that ended 6-5, Germany moved into the semi-finals. The game took place in Basel, Switzerland and was characterized by both thrills and impressive performances.

Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who was celebrated by the spectators in her green jersey for her brilliant parades, played a decisive role in the victory. She saved two penalties and proved to be a real support for her team. DFB captain Janina Minge was proud of her teammates' performance and gave a positive assessment of the match. National coach Christian Wück had changed his line-up compared to the previous game against Sweden (1:4) in order to be able to react optimally to the French offensive.

The course of the game

The German team started with a 5-4-1 system. However, the game took an early setback for Germany in the 15th minute when Kathrin Hendrich was sent off with a red card after a foul in the penalty area, which resulted in a penalty for France. Grace Geyoro converted this to give the French a 1-0 lead. But after just ten minutes, Sjoeke Nüsken managed to equalize for Germany - a goal that gave new hope. Viewers subsequently witnessed other exciting moments, including a disallowed goal for France due to offside and a VAR review that saw another goal for Geyoro disallowed.

The second half brought additional emotions: Nüsken missed a penalty in the 69th minute, but Berger held strong and parried several shots from the opponents. Shortly before the final whistle, Malard had the chance to make the decision, but only hit the crossbar.

A look forward

With this victory, Germany will face Spain in the semi-finals. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 9 p.m. Not to be mentioned is Nüsken's suspension for the upcoming game. Wück had already made humorous comments about the possible line-up in advance, while the fitness of player Linder is still unclear.

Meanwhile, RHEINPFALZ asked local women's teams how they followed the tournament. There is discussion on social media about the impressive performance of the European Championships and the high number of spectators in the stadium. In fact, the match between Germany and Denmark achieved the highest viewership for this tournament with 34,165 spectators. The statistical records also add interesting aspects: Germany was the first team to receive two red cards in European Championship finals, while France was the first nation to fail three times in a penalty shootout.

How the national team performs and how the games in the semi-finals develop remains exciting. For the fans and players, the European Championship is in full swing and hopes for the title are high.

You can also read more about the key players in this European Championship and the developments at ZDF and find out statistics and records for the 2025 European Championship Wikipedia.