As of: November 18, 2025 2:04 p.m
On November 28th and December 2nd, the DFB women’s team will meet the world champions from Spain in the home and away games. It’s about the title in the Nations League. National coach Christian Wück is happy about the return of regular goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.
The German number one was a strong supporter of the team at the European Championships in the summer; Berger then missed the semi-final games in the Nations League against France due to a knee injury. Now the goalkeeper from Gotham FC from the US professional league NWSL is ready for action again. “The team will benefit from Anne’s experience – from her years of experience, but also from that on the pitch,” said Wück at the press conference to announce the squad on Tuesday.
Berger’s future in the national team is open
Berger recently played a major role in Gotham’s semi-final victory in the NWSL play-offs – with a brilliant performance in stoppage time, she saved her team from equalizing by defending champions Orlando Pride. The final will be played next Saturday, after which Berger will travel to Frankfurt, where the team will meet before the first leg in Kaiserslautern.
It is still unclear whether the 35-year-old will continue her career in the national team. The national coach announced that he would be holding talks with the goalkeeper about the upcoming international matches. It wasn’t just about Berger’s decision about her future. “It’s also about whether we trust her to perform at her full level at the 2027 World Cup,” explained Wück.
Knaak and Linder also return
Another returnee is Rebecca Knaak: The central defender was out injured for months after the European Championships and was back in the starting line-up for her club Manchester City for the first time last weekend. Knaak crowned his comeback with a header goal in the derby against Manchester United. Full-back Sarai Linder is also back in the squad after injury.
Revenge for the semi-final exit at the European Championships?
Germany lost its last duel against the world number one from Spain in the semi-finals of the European Championship at the end of July 0-1 after extra time; in the 113th minute, world footballer Aitana Berger beat the German goal. It was a deserved victory for the eventual vice-European champions. Now there is the opportunity for revenge.
“Finals like this are highlights for everyone, that’s what we work for,” said Wück. “We’re all really looking forward to it. And especially that it’s against Spain. Because we’ll be challenged and need a top performance to be able to survive. We know that we have the opportunity to win the games on our side.”
Final atmosphere in Kaiserslautern
In the semi-finals in Zurich, Spain had 67 percent of the ball, and the national coach expects a similar distribution of game shares in the coming games. “The Spaniards define themselves by possession of the ball. We want to narrow down spaces, play in spaces, and use the spaces that the Spaniards offer us,” explains Wück. “And this time we have to finish the counter-attacks that we do efficiently, so we also have to turn the chances into goals.”
37,000 tickets have already been sold for the first leg in Kaiserslautern on Friday next week, so there will be great support for the German team when they face the overwhelming stars like Aitana, Alexia and Claudia Pina. Wück sees his team’s chance in unity: “Eleven good individuals will always lose against a real team. We want to be that team.”
