Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Quarter Final - France v Germany - St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland - July 19, 2025 Germany's Linda Dallmann and Germany's Klara Buhl celebrate after winning the penalty shootout REUTERS/Matthew Childs
(Reuters) -Germany's players face a race to mentally recover for Wednesday's Euro 2025 semi-final against Spain after they were left drained following their epic 6-5 win on penalties against France on Saturday, when they had to fight back from a goal and a player down.
With defender Kathrin Hendrich sent off in the 13th minute, Christian Wueck's side had to put in a Herculean effort to pull off a 1-1 draw after extra time.
It set the stage for goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger's stellar shootout performance as she scored from the spot and saved two of France's penalties to send the Germans through.
"We just have to shake this pain off, look at who we have as resources. We need to take action, the doctors, physical therapists and our staff have to intervene, and I hope we can recover the players within three days," German coach Wueck told reporters.
"Of course, this game was very emotional because of our progression but in football, half of the worth is due to emotions and I think that's what decided for this game. Everybody who has enjoyed our win knows that."
After suffering a blow by losing 4-1 to Sweden in their final group game, the enormous physical effort required to defeat the French left several players in Wueck's squad carrying knocks, bumps and bruises, and the 52-year-old coach said it was their mental strength that carried them into the last four.
"We had enough time to be mentally fresh and recover, it was okay to have one day without football (after the Sweden game). The reaction that our team has shown is a performance level we have been able to maintain for more than 120 minutes," hesaid.
"I always promised this to the team that mentality beats the rest, and this is what we have proven today."
Germany take on Spain in their semi-final in Zurich on Wednesday, with reigning champions England facing Italy the day before in Geneva.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
