As of: November 27, 2025 7:16 p.m
The DFB women will face world champions Spain in the final of the Nations League. The German footballers want to take revenge in the two duels for the semi-final exit at the European Championships in the summer. The use of keeper Ann-Katrin Berger is questionable.
If she is tired, you can’t tell from Ann-Katrin Berger’s eyes: no dark circles under her eyes, no yawning, the goalkeeper looks “as usual” during the final training session in Kaiserslautern. However, the day before the game, the national coach left the 35-year-old’s commitment open: Last weekend, Berger won the title in the US NWSL with her club Gotham FC, and she played a major role in this with strong performances throughout the season.
But there were problems on the journey to Germany because Berger’s flight was canceled. “She has had an odyssey and came to us a day and a half late,” said Wück. “Yesterday she trained individually with the goalkeeping coach, but at the final training session she is on the pitch with the team for the first time. Anne is fit, but we won’t make the decision whether she will play until the morning of the match day.”
“I want to have players in the team who know what it’s like to win titles and of course she’s a prime example.”
National coach Christian Wück about Ann-Katrin Berger
The plan was for the German number to return to goal – Germany’s female footballer of the year missed the Nations League semi-finals against France in October due to a knee injury. Berger had shown strong performances in several games at the European Championships in Switzerland and, particularly in the quarter-finals against the French, her saves enabled the German team to reach the semi-finals.
“Her experience is important for every team. She has just won the next title in her career with Gotham FC. I want to have players on the team who know what it’s like to win titles and of course she is a prime example,” explains Wück.
See you again with Spain on the Betzenberg
There will now be a reunion in front of at least 38,500 fans on the Betzenberg. In Zurich, the Germans lost 1-0 to the Spanish at the end of July, with Aitana’s decisive goal only coming in extra time. Nevertheless, the victory for the favorites, who dominated the game, was deserved. Now a revenge should succeed.
“Of course we are in the mood for the final. Since we met in Frankfurt on Monday, we felt that something was at stake,” said the national coach in the press conference on Thursday. “We want to crown our journey in the Nations League after some highlights but also hurdles that we have overcome. And we want to hold our own against the Spaniards, who will demand everything from us, and hold the trophy in our hands.”
Wück doesn’t want to “give any space” to Soanians
When asked what the team wanted to do differently this time, vice-captain Janina Minge replied: “We want to win the game, we want to do that differently. We know that Spain has extreme quality, especially in attack, but we also know about our quality. It’s about not conceding a goal first, but we also want to play courageously forward. Then we can also hurt the Spaniards.”
Wück added about the match plan: “We can’t give them the space they want for their short passing game. We have to take away the fun in football. And we need efficiency up front, which we lacked at the Euros. That was a focus of training and I hope that we can continue the development we had against the French against the Spanish.” And Minge says quite confidently: “I’m sure we can pour them one or two.”
Schüller is missing, Knaak is back
The national coach has to do without striker Lea Schüller, the Munich player is not available for family reasons. Nicole Anyomi could start again in attack, as she did against France. The Frankfurter is currently the third best scorer in the league.
In central defense, Rebecca Knaak, who was injured for a long time after the European Championship, seems likely to return. The 29-year-old played for her club Manchester City for the first time almost two weeks ago and scored a goal in the derby win against Manchester United. The spot next to her could belong to the consistently reliable Wolfsburg player Minge, who could also be used in defensive midfield.
Some failures, some constants
As was announced the day before the game, both Minge’s club colleague Camilla Küver and midfielder Sydney Lohmann will be out for both games due to muscular problems. The national coach had already nominated Bibiane Schulze Solano from Athletic Bilbao for the defense center.
Sjoeke Nüsken (Chelsea FC) and Elisa Senß (Eintracht Frankfurt) are in midfield. Winger Klara Bühl is in top form, and Jule Brand will certainly be in the starting line-up – on the right wing or, as was the case recently, as a playmaker. They were all on the pitch for the most recent duel against Spain in Zurich.
Spain wants to defend its title in the Nations League
Nothing has changed in terms of the distribution of roles: Spain is number 1 in the FIFA world rankings, won the World Cup title in 2023 and also won the Nations League last year. However, the star ensemble around Aitana and Alexia had to accept a bitter defeat – of all places in the European Championship final against England this summer.
Before the first final match in the Nations League, the team completed their final training in Spain and will therefore only set foot on the pitch at the Betzenberg Stadium on Friday. Most fans there will side with the Germans. “We have to put in a very good performance, otherwise the second game has no meaning. We want to be very confident here in Germany and present ourselves in order to have a really good starting position for Tuesday,” said Minge. “I think the stadium will burn and that will definitely help us.”
Whether Ann-Katrin Berger will be among the spectators or take on a leading role – that will probably only be known when national coach Wück announces his line-up 75 minutes before the game.