Defeat in the Nations League final: Spain too strong for the DFB women

by Tobias Knaack

Claudia Pina (61st and 74th) and Vicky Lopez (68th) caused collective cheers among the “Furia Roja” fans at the Estadio Metropolitano under the eyes of Spanish King Felipe – and long faces for national coach Christian Wück and his team.

“We saw over two games that we can keep up with the Spanish.”

National player Sjoeke Nüsken

“The 1-0 win broke our necks,” said midfielder Sjoeke Nüsken in an ARD interview after the game. “Nevertheless, we saw over two games that we can keep up with the Spaniards.” Therefore, there are “a lot of positive things to take away, but we have to be more efficient up front,” as she said, especially with regard to the many missed opportunities from the first leg (0-0).

Because unlike the game in Kaiserslautern last Friday, when the DFB women dominated, the Spaniards were superior to them in Madrid for long stretches of the match and could have taken the lead at the break.

While the world champions defended the Nations League title – last year they defeated France in the final – the German footballers’ wait for the next triumph after Olympic gold in 2016 continues.

Spain was furious at the start

Wück decided not to make any personnel changes in Madrid. The national coach sent the same eleven players onto the field that started on Friday. Spain coach Sonia Bermudez had to seriously injured Aitana Bonmati replace – the world footballer broke her fibula on Sunday. Lopez took her role in midfield.

And the 19-year-old was immediately in the game. With a clever back pass from the baseline, she set up Alexia Putellas’ first opportunity, but she stumbled on the ball in the penalty area (2′). The world champions continued cheerfully and came closer and closer to the lead: Esther put the ball just centimeters past the right post after a wonderful one-two with Pina (5th), and a little later goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was just able to scratch a Putellas header off the line (6th).

Spanish usury of chances, Anyomi narrowly misses

Only gradually did the DFB women swim free, Franziska Kett had the first finish (15th). Despite an acrobatic Esther side kick (23′), the Wück team subsequently managed better and better to calm the encounter through their own possession phases. However, the Germans were too imprecise in their forward play for a long time.

At the end of the first period, the Spaniards increased the tempo again and shifted the game back to the DFB women’s half, who were lucky that Mariona completely botched a volley from eight meters (38′) and was denied by Berger from close range (45’+1). In addition, a Lopez blast went just over the goal (45th).

But the first half was still not over: Nüsken directed a pass from Elisa Senß into the path of striker Nicole Anyomi, whose shot – similar to Esther’s at the beginning – just missed the right post (45th + 3).

Pina scores for the Spanish lead

Things didn’t go quite as furiously in the second half. The Bermudez team pushed the DFB women deep into their own half. However, there were initially no chances to score.

But that changed in the 61st minute and Pina made it 1-0. And the winger prepared the goal herself: She moved from the left side to the middle and shot after a one-two with Mariona. Berger was only able to direct the low shot into the bottom right corner into the corner, but not next to the goal.

Dream goals for Spain’s triumph

The Spaniards now played like they were unleashed, the DFB women found themselves in a kind of footballing “Bermudez triangle”. Because the world champions let the ball and the German team run and – completely different than on Friday – felt immense joy in the game with the lead behind them.

They followed up with two dream goals: First Lopez flicked the ball wonderfully with his left hand next to the left post to make it 2-0 (68′), six minutes later Pina finally made everything clear. Janina Minge played the ball into her foot. At the end of a strong solo, the 24-year-old hammered the ball under the crossbar from 20 meters.

The fans in the Estadio Metropolitano celebrated their team with loud shouts of “Olé” and “Espana”; the German team was defeated.