World champion Spain will aim to break new ground on Wednesday when they face Germany in the Women’s Euro 2025 semifinal in Zurich. The Spanish side has never reached a European Championship final, nor have they ever defeated their formidable German opponents.
In eight previous meetings, Spain has recorded five losses and three draws against Germany.
“In the seven years I’ve been with the national team, we’ve competed against Germany five times and haven’t managed to beat them, but we have gotten closer,” said Spain coach Montse Tomé. “At the Olympics, we had chances to do it, and the game was good. They have a new coach now, but Germany is Germany.”
“Their essence is the same regardless of who is in charge,” she added. “We are very clear about the match we want to play tomorrow, how we want to influence it, and where we want to take it.”
After winning the World Cup and the Nations League in the past two years, Spain is looking to add the European trophy to its collection. The team advanced to its second-ever Euro semifinal—28 years after its first—by defeating Switzerland. La Roja has lost only one of its last 15 matches, a 1-0 defeat to Germany in last year’s Olympic bronze medal match in Paris.
“Each of us is trying to write our own history,” said captain Alexia Putellas. “Personally, I see it as an opportunity, not so much as revenge or a thorn in our side. I think the Olympics is a different competition.”
While Spain is widely favored to advance, eight-time European champion Germany has demonstrated that they can never be counted out. They beat France on penalties in the quarterfinals despite playing with ten players from the 13th minute, after midfielder Kathrin Hendrich was sent off for pulling an opponent’s hair.
“The performance we showed is the model for all our matches,” said German defender Rebecca Knaak. “It’s the perfect example of passion and mental strength. These are the characteristics we exhibited, and they will be important tomorrow.”
Germany will have to reorganize its defense once again. Hendrich is suspended, and Sarai Linder has joined captain Giulia Gwinn on the injury list. Midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken will also serve a suspension after receiving her second yellow card of the tournament against France. It was the second consecutive match in which Germany played most of the game a player down.
“It says a lot about the team that we accepted every situation as it came,” Knaak said. “We support each other, and in the end, it really doesn’t matter who plays next to whom. We are a team, and we have the squad for precisely these reasons, so we can adapt.”
In the tournament’s other semifinal on Tuesday, defending champions England played Italy. The final will be held on Sunday in Basel.
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