analysis
FC Bayern’s show of strength in the Champions League is good for all of German women’s football. Eintracht Frankfurt also scores points for the league.
The FC Bayern players positioned themselves hand in hand in front of the south curve. There don’t always have to be 75,000 people in the arena and it doesn’t always have to be the men who have clear victories: the women’s race to catch up in the Champions League can also be a lot of fun. What the Munich team achieved on the third matchday of the league phase against defending champions Arsenal WFC (3:2) in front of 15,407 eyewitnesses not only put a broad smile on the lips of captain Glodis Perla Viggosdottir.
The DFB team as a role model
The resolute Icelandic defender decisively scored the 3-2 winning goal (86th) – and thus turned the 0-2 deficit. There was one on the FC Bayern homepage “Magical night in the north of Munich” the speech, which sounded a bit exaggerated, but the signal for German women’s football should not be underestimated on Wednesday evening (November 12th, 2025).
It’s not just the German national team that qualified for the final of the Nations League against Spain that can once again compete at the highest level if everything in terms of cohesion, commitment and passion is unpacked in order to remedy one or two deficiencies in the game. Even at club level, where there have been so many sobering results against the top teams from Europe in recent years, a German team has reported back against a top team from England.
Klara Bühl in top form
Similar to how the DFB women recently prevailed in the semi-finals against France (1:0, 2:2), the German double winners now defeated a strong opponent with the outstanding national striker Klara Bühl, who prepared all three goals from the left wing. The 24-year-old, who was voted player of the match, said: “I think a win like this is extremely good, especially in the table, but also for our self-confidence that we can keep up and play at this level.”
Just like Christian Wück, Bayern coach José Barcala also had a lucky touch: the top talent Alara, who he substituted, scored the 1-2 goal (67th), and the world-class striker Pernille Harder, who he substituted, equalized the score at 2-2 (80th). The passive first half was forgotten.
Coach José Barcala happy
“We can accept if we suffer if the opponent is better, but we must remain calm, remain united and face the difficulties together”said the Spaniard. “I’ll take that with me for the future. We have to fight until the last minute.” That is the most important thing that he takes away from the game as a coach.
His commitment to the Bayern campus was accompanied by the hope of doing better at international level. The FCB footballers only made it to the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, embarrassed themselves in the group phase in 2023 and seemed overwhelmed in the quarter-finals against Olympique Lyon in the spring (0:2, 1:4).
The French record winner also beat VfL Wolfsburg (3-1) on Tuesday (11/11/2025). taught a lesson in speed and technique. It’s good that the runner-up already had six points. The two German Champions League participants have a good chance of at least reaching the playoffs next year. The first four places, which entitle you to advance directly to the quarter-finals, are difficult to achieve among the now 18 teams.
Laura Freigang draws confidence
Overall, the German record is again impressive, as Eintracht Frankfurt also has a good chance of reaching the quarter-finals of the newly created Women’s Europa Cup after their late win away to PSV Eindhoven (2-1). “It’s an important take-away to believe in it until the end. That’s good for the whole group.”said national player Laura Freigang, who scored the 1-1 equalizer (85th), before Remina Chiba rewarded Frankfurt’s constant rush (90th).
Just like the men, Eintracht’s women take every European Cup game extremely seriously, because every point in the UEFA five-year ranking helps. With its current club coefficient this season (9.500), Germany has already surpassed the 2024/25 (8.833) and 2023/24 (7.333) seasons, but is clearly behind Spain, France and England, who are in the top three places with a minimal gap.
Bernd Neuendorf wants to keep the best players
In order not to lose touch internationally, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf justified the start-up financing of 100 million euros for the spin-off of the women’s Bundesliga at the DFB Bundestag: “Developments show that this step is absolutely overdue and that we have to make this investment. Otherwise we run the risk of losing our national players and perhaps also talents to England, Spain and also the USA.”
In his speech to the delegates, the 64-year-old also argued that in women’s and girls’ football “a great potential” that the association wants to awaken with the joint venture. The clubs want to invest a minimum of 300 million euros over the next few years; significantly more than the association, which is why the founding of the Women’s Bundesliga Society (FBL GmbH) was delayed for so long.
The founding date for the league association will now be December 10th, when the representatives of both sides also want to determine the chairmanship of the shareholders’ meeting. One candidate is reportedly Katharina Kiel, who has just been promoted to director of women’s football at Eintracht Frankfurt and who maintains a good network but is reluctant to communicate publicly.
Directional Decision at UEFA on December 3rd
The management of FBL GmbH, whose composition is still a mystery, will have the say anyway. League representatives have also kept a low profile so far, but are insisting on having a say. What is certain is that the German footballers will play their Nations League finals against the strong Spanish women. The first leg on November 28th (8:45 p.m.) in the Fritz Walter Stadium in Kaiserslautern is almost sold out. The second leg of the final will take place on December 2nd (6:30 p.m./live ARD) at the Estadio Metropolitano.
On December 3rd in Nyon, the Uefa Executive Committee will decide on the host of the 2029 Women’s European Championship. The DFB absolutely wants to host the tournament in order to create a boost for women’s football deep into society, similar to England with the 2022 European Championship. Therefore, the Bavarian statement in the premier class against the Gunners comes at just the right time in these trend-setting weeks.