Euro 2025 | The Full Group Stage Report Card for the German Women’s National Team | OneFootball

Excitement among those who happen to love women’s football continues to mount as the 2025 UEFA Women’s European Championship in Switzerland enters the knockout phase. This very evening, the Italian women’s national team became the first nation to punch their ticket to the tournament semis. Women’s football maintains its place on center stage over the next three days with three highly intriguing matchups as the quarterfinals roll on. After defending European Champions England face Sweden on Thursday and defending World Champions Spain face the Swiss hosts on Friday, it will be Germany’s turn against France.

Get German Football News has been supplied coverage of the German women’s national team throughout the tournament. For more tangential fans, we’re pleased to supply an opportunity to catch up with what’s been going on with Christian Wück’s Frauennationalmannschaft through the group stage fixtures. After that, it’s time to score all 14 players who have seen relevant action through the competition’s first three fixtures. GGFN produced similar pieces for both the German national team and the Germany U21s after the March international break. Now it’s time to take an in-depth look at the girls.

Just as in the previous pieces, a cumulative German press grade is juxtaposed with the personal grade of the author. Germans mark players on a “1 to 6” scale system in which lower numbers correspond to a higher grade. The author uses the Anglo “A-F” system with “A” constituting the highest grade level. In the case of this particular piece, most of the author’s grades are higher than that of the German press. This is purely a matter of subjectivity, albeit with some optimistic fandom mixed in.

A total of 15 players are scored!

All 18 players seeing action receive some coverage.

First, the story thus far:

Match One: Germany 2, Poland 0

The story of the opening round victory very much could have revolved around Jule Brand. The newly signed Olympic Lyon professional scored one goal and set up another. It was nevertheless the devastating injury to DFB-squad captain Giulia Gwinn that ended up dominating the headlines. Wück’s team lost their anchor and skipper before the first half of football had been played.

Such an occurrence naturally necessitated a total reorganization of the team’s leadership hierarchy. Rallying around new captain Janina Minge, newly elevated vice-captain Sjoeke Nüsken, and Gwinn’s promising direct replacement Carlotta Wamser, the German women prepared to face Denmark in the second group stage fixture.

Match Two: Germany 2, Denmark 1

After often struggling against the deep lying Polish defense in the first match, the DFB-Frauen found themselves frequently overwhelmed by rolling waves of Danish counterattacks in the second. The Danes capitalized on one such counter and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. Germany saw one goal disallowed by VAR in the opening 45 and narrowly missed out on a chance to equalize from the penalty spot after review.

Thankfully, the Germans were awarded another penalty 11 minutes after the restart. Buoyed by her new leadership role, Nüsken stepped forward to equalize from the spot. Lea Schüller would then score the winner shortly before being subbed off. The successful comeback was complete, but most of the post-match discussion revolved around keeper Ann-Kathrin Berger’s dangerously risky play out of the back.

Match Two: Sweden 4, Germany 1

The Germans found themselves undone by the very Scandinavian nation that eliminated them from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. After Brand snatched an early lead for Wück’s team in the 7th minute, the Swedes totally overwhelmed the Germans with endless attacks down their right hand side. By the time 25 minutes had been played, Peter Gerhardsson’s team had taken a 2-1 lead.

Everything completely fell apart when Wamser earned a straight red for handling a ball on the goal line in the 33rd minute. Down 1-3 and short-handed after the 34th-minute penalty conversion, there would be no hopes of a comeback this time. Wück had to employ a major tactical shift at the half, switching from his preferred 4-2-3-1 to a 3-3-1. This only led to another Sweden goal late on.

Some thoughts on Wück’s tactical options moving forward shall come in a future GGFN piece.

The grades:

Klara Bühl, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 265/270

Positions played = LW, RW, LS, LB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,67

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A+

The Bayern Munich ultra-talent continues to serve as an undeniable asset in attack. Bühl almost always finds creative improvisational ways to add to every charge. The Poles knew precisely how to handle her in the first match, however. She had consistent problems breaking through against double (sometimes triple) coverage. That didn’t stop her from rattling off three dangerous efforts and assisting on six more. Simply sensational stuff from the 24-year-old. It’s no exaggeration to say she was the most dangerous attacker on the pitch in the first match, even better than Brand.

The team owed quite a great deal to Bühl in the comeback win over Denmark. She generated more efforts toward goal than one can reasonably keep track off. She kept popping up on both flanks and sometimes in the middle. As a corner taker, she again managed to assist on four shots. It proved genuinely sad to see her 8th-minute tally disallowed due to Nüsken’s offside position. Bühl absolutely deserved to get her name on the scoresheet in this tournament. It’s frankly shocking that she hasn’t.

A fabulous start to the Sweden match (excellent clicking with left-back Sarai Linder in the early going) quickly fades from memory after the red card forced Bühl herself to work as the left back whilst Linder moved right. Another shame. Even after she technically moved up front again for the second half, she dropped deep in assistance of her teammates. One just has to shake one’s head when thinking about all the hard work this player has put in to such little avail. Football can simply be brutally unfair at times.

Jule Brand, Olympique Lyonnais

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 269/270

Positions played = LW, RW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 2,6

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A

Perhaps the most talented player on the team falls prey to the usual curse of those possessing enormous potential. Every move invites greater scrutiny. Brand has had to deal with this ever since she burst onto the scene in 2021 as a teenage talent. The matter of her age and maturity level also came into play. Often times, she would lose her cool on the pitch; making obvious mental errors or employing late tackles. The whole case reminds one of Jude Bellingham’s early Borussia Dortmund days.

Like Bellingham, Brand genuinely is an incredible box-to-box talent. She was involved in both goals in the opening match and turned in plenty of solid work from the deep. That being noted, mot all of her efforts on goal were of the greatest quality. She also demonstrated clear timing issues on her ground challenges. Brand again was involved in two goals (one disallowed) in the second match, but a lot of the focus remained on her imprecise passing, wayward runs, and possession losses.

After scoring another lovely goal in the Sweden fixture, there was more erratic passing and several risky forward dribbles that made no sense given that the team was outnumbered. An issue one noticed in all three games was her tendency to shift inside with the ball far too early. A little more patience on the ball from Brand would do her a great deal of good. Oftentimes, she doesn’t allow the play time to develop. She seems far too impetuous and raw on occasion.

The author should emphasize that none of this leaves him in line with the German press when it comes to Brand. To her great credit, she’s displays full awareness of the weakness in her game whenever conducting post match interviews. If all develops in accordance with German hopes in this tournament, Brand will continue to thrive and most all of this criticism shall be forgotten.

Sjoeke Nüsken, Chelsea FC

Minutes played = 257/270

Positions played = CM, ADM, ATTM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A

One can genuinely find little fault with the newly-elevated vice captain, apart from some woeful shooting and heading on the offensive chances she had in the Poland match. Nüsken remained strong in the midfield duels and coordinated her movements with midfield partner Elisa Senß quite well. One hardly saw her contest midfield duels in the second game. The Chelsea Ladies star took her newly bestowed responsibility quite seriously and was always charging forward. True, her offside position cost the team a goal, but serious bonus points are in order for the manner in which she took responsibility from the penalty spot.

After getting wrongly booked for a completely fair tackle in the Sweden match, Nüsken was forced to play more cautiously. The 24-year-old still kept her shorthanded team alive with plenty of solid actions on the ball in the interest of directing counters. She bailed everyone else at the back out with a monster stop on Johanna Rytting Kaneryd at the half-hour-mark. Her passing against the Swedes oftentimes appeared pretty frazzled, but not all that much more than the rest of her teammates. In point of fact, she was often the calmest of the bunch.

Nüsken has conducted herself well both on and off the pitch in this tournament. The new vice-captain tag brought with it the extra responsibility of more media appearances. She’s effectively charmed the press throughout, eliciting chuckles all around at a Tuesday presser during which she admitted that reporting to press conferences wasn’t the most fun aspect of her job. She’s collected, professional, and fun to watch whether it’s in front of the cameras of representing the team. Top level marks are very much in order.

Elisa Senß, Eintracht Frankfurt

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 244/270

Positions played = CM, ATTM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A-

Germany’s new “Queen of the wonder goals” (so named for her breathtaking efforts against Zambia in the Olympics last summer and against Scotland at Tannerdice this past April) hasn’t given us another super-strike to discuss quite yet. She’s nevertheless proved a joy to watch whenever directing midfield traffic. Senß is an energetic player with supreme field vision. She got the whole team rolling with a lovely through-ball to Brand against Poland. Regrettably, she faded significantly after that.

Senß turned in a much more consistent performance against Denmark, really digging in against the early Danish assault and winning some crucial duels. The comeback victory would not have been possible without Senß’ vital tackles and clearances. The 27-year-old remained fearlessly aggressive, especially on the ground. She ticked up going forward as well with noticeably more vertical passes than in the opening fixture. Not all of them connected, but one could tell her ideas were basically on the level.

Prior to the red card in the Sweden match, Senß was literally on fire defensively. In a couple of cases, she took on double-pronged Swedish assaults and won. The unfortunate reality after Wamser’s sending off concerns the fact that she tanked badly in the final two-thirds of the match. For whatever reason, the numerical disadvantage saw her fail to win another duel (at least in the author’s recollection) for the rest of the night. An odd development considering she did well against multiple opponents prior to that.

Plenty of grace is in order for this player, whom one “Senßes” is far from finished in this competition. One way or another, Senß should become part of the story. She works very well with Nüsken in the double-six (though Nüsken often functions more as an eight) and is uncompromisingly brave in her tackling. Another wonder goal could come. So too could a bad booking given that her tackling is sometimes too uncompromising. One hopes that we’ll receive the former story rather than the latter.

Lea Schüller, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 203/270

Positions played = CF, LW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A-

Schüller’s performances in the first two matches led Wück joking that the 27-year-old “knows when we’re about to take her off.” Humorously enough, both of Schüller’s goals in the first two matches came in the 66th minute; four minutes prior to her exiting proceedings. She was actually decent enough in the opening match. All three of her shots on target had some merit to them. The second match nevertheless furnished little positive of note on both sides of the pitch. She accidentally set up Denmark’s opening goal.

After her second 66th-minute tally, Schüller actually missed out on a chance to grab a quick brace seconds before her subbing off. This momentum carried over to the Sweden fixture. during which she found herself rather unlucky not to score on two separate instances inside the first five minutes. She also picked out Wamser in the lead-up to Jule Brand’s 1-0 in the 7th. After Wamser’s straight red, she moved over to the left wing and still managed to get another effort shortly before the halftime.

Schüller has actually looked significantly more confident in this competition than in previous tournaments, though one wishes she’d be a little more confident in aerial duels at times. For the most part, however, one likes the strong body language one sees from her throughout. The real story of the two 66th-minute goals concerns the fact that she doesn’t let adversity get to her; certainly not the way she did in the 2022 and 2023 internationals or even (albeit to a lesser extent) at last summer’s olympics.

Janina Minge, VfL Wolfsburg

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 270/270

Positions played = CB, CM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,3

Author’s Cumulative Grade = A-

The newly elevated DFB captain turned in a solid performance in all three of her games. One still finds oneself wondering – given her talents as an attack-minded midfielder – whether or not she’d be better off working farther upfield on the German national team. In any event, she directs the defensive line exceedingly well. Minge inspired quite a bit of confidence in the first match, calmly serving as a stay-at-home anchor as the perfect counterpart to her playmaking counterpart Rebecca Knaak.

Minge’s performance in the second group stage fixture essentially mirrored her first. Confining herself mostly to lateral passes, the 26-year-old didn’t draw much attention to herself. Her movements and positioning clearly reflected the specific instructions she was given by the coaching staff. In the third match, she defended solidly in both the back-three and back-four. A few minor mistakes were to be expected. Some misplaced passes and losses in direct duels with the Swedish attackers at least weren’t egregious.

One could find fault with Minge on Sweden’s 1-1, but Minge’s block directly onto the feet of Kosovare Asllani was inadvertent. In general, she adapted very well to Sweden’s spamming of the right-hand-side on the charge. Of all the DFB-players, Minge probably did the best keeping up with marks as the opponent overloaded the right wing. She did her level best to keep her teammates structured against the assault. There’s definitely no questioning her leadership qualities.

Ann-Katrin Berger, Gotham FC

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 270/270

Positions played = GK

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B+

Welcome to the center of the controversy. The 34-year-old’s highly interesting professional saga continues, only this time it’s the very style-of-play that enabled her to claim the #1 spot that has Berger taking heat. Berger replaced Merle Frohms in the lead-up to the 2024 Olympic tournament by recording two assists in pre-tournament fixtures. That – combined with some shaky play from Frohms – led then German interim Bundestrainer Horst Hrubesch to tap her as the starter between the sticks ahead of the bronze-medal run.

None of Berger’s risk-oriented playing style proved much of a problem in the first match. Her long throws and wide distribution out of the back created a few nervy moments, but nothing came of it. In terms of her primary responsibility, she made two excellent saves and was always impeccably positioned to deal with crosses. A critical reflex-reaction save against Polish captain Ewa Pajor in the 81st will live long in the memory. Against Denmark, there were two more top-notch parries against Pernille Harder and Sara Holmgaard.

After the second win, however, the talk began to crop up. Berger went out to tackle on a few occasions when she should have been tending to the posts. Some genuinely weird throw outs and direct dribbles led to several nerve-wracking moments. Wück even admitted that Berger left him nervy in a post-match interview and directly stated that she needed to alter her playing style. One could initially see the effects of the internal conversation she surely had with Wück against Sweden, but she began melting down with the rest of the team shortly after the half-hour-mark.

So many avoidable mistakes placed the ball directly on the feet of Swedish attackers. Wück chose to defend his keeper this time after the match, insisting that the public criticism had nothing to do with her poor outing. Berger also admitted she needed to study the specific instances in which she played the ball out unsafely. Four goals against (one penalty) hardly constitutes a good day at the office, but some solid saves whilst the team was shorthanded ensure that her grade isn’t docked too hard.

Linda Dallmann, FC Bayern München

Matches played = 2/3, Matches started = 2/3

Minutes played = 140/270

Positions played = AM, SS

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,25

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B+

Dallmann started the first two matches in the ten-slot. The 30-year-old faces the unenviable task of filling the boots of Alexandra Popp’s late-career “Raumdeuter Role”. After a largely anonymous first half against Poland in the opening match, she got a few useful passes into the box before it was time to head into the tunnel. In her defense, Poland sat very deep. Spaces remained tight. It counted as a small miracle that Dallmann was able to thread in any passes at all. She largely did well.

Dallmann did an excellent job of eventually picking the Polish lock and got off three efforts of her own in the second half. She clearly tried to do the same against Denmark, but frequently looked lost despite all her movements in the second match. She nevertheless got off a shot, recorded an assist based on the fact that she drew the penalty, and set up three efforts before exiting proceedings in the 70th. Laura Freigang started in her place in the third fixture and she remained on the bench throughout.

The question as to whether Dallmann or Freigang should start in the quarterfinal fixture isn’t an easy query to answer. Wück has been alternating between the two all year. Dallmann has netted two goals (one as a starter and one as a substitute) in the current calendar year. Freigang’s ill-fated start in the third match doesn’t help settle the debate with any conclusive arguments either way. The author leans a bit more towards Dallmann based on the fact that she possesses more national team experience.

Laura Freigang, Eintracht Frankfurt

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 1/3

Minutes played = 85/270

Positions played = AM, SS, RW, LW

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B+

Two clearly pre-planned 20-minute relief shifts and one start once again leave one of Germany’s most popular and successful club players with scant minutes for the German national team. As usual, Freigang made the most of the playing time accorded her. This despite the fact that her assignment as a sub in the first two matches clearly came with the directive that she work deeper. She sent nine passes forward and stepped up to contest four midfield duels in her short shift. She again fought hard in the second match.

Against Denmark, she tried twice as many passes in the same amount of pitch time. Two assisted shots and a late blocked effort came in the second 20-minute shift. Given her general body language, it came as no surprise to see her handed the start against Sweden. The third fixture remains especially difficult to score. Freigang popped up just about everywhere on the pitch in the wild and totally disorganized first-half. Unfortunately, most of what she tried yielded little. A couple of poor passes halted promising attacking sequences.

Somehow, Freigang continues to have trouble getting into a solid rhythm for country in the big matches. The 27-year-old literally can’t stop getting her name on the scoresheet for Eintracht Frankfurt and has netted three German national team tallies in the Nations League. It nonetheless proves a perpetual head-scratcher that nothing seems to work for her in certain games. The author is certainly glad he’s not in the position of deciding whether Freigang or Dallmann should start in the knockout phases.

Kathrin Hendrich, Chicago Stars

Matches played = 2/3, Matches started = 0/3

Minutes played = 54/270

Positions played = CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B

It’s been something of an adjustment for longtime enthusiasts of German women’s football not to see Hendrich in the starting XI during a major tournament. The now former VfL Wolfsburg center back featured started all fixtures of relevance in the 2022 Euros in addition to all three 2023 WWC group stage games. This time around, she slotted in on the half-right for a few minutes against Denmark and served as the far right center back during the second half against Sweden.

The German press marked Hendrich rather harshly due to the fact that she backed off a tackle in the lead up to Lina Hurtig’s 80th-minute 4-1 in the Sweden match and (quite memorably) lost her lone aerial duel against Stina Blackstenius. She actually remained very strong on ground challenges, stopping Madelen Janogy just a couple of minutes prior to the Blackstenius duel and executing a couple of fine clearances during her first ten minutes.

Some of the energy definitely came out of Hendrich’s game as the second half wore on. Part of this had to do with the fact that she had plenty of work to do remaining alert at the back. She also have been slightly hurt after taking an inadvertent kick to the ribs from teammate Sarai Linder. Overall, there appeared plenty of moments in which she still looked to be a top level defender.

In the author’s opinion, the press grade is a mite too low.

Starting Hendrich in the quarterfinals merits some consideration.

Giovanna Hoffmann, RB Leipzig

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 0/3

Minutes played = 67/270

Positions played = LW, CF ATTM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = B

One of everyone’s favorite new faces has actually appeared off the bench in all three matches. Wück has remained true to the 26-year-old, who received her first call-up during Wück’s first international break back in October 2024. She got into some got positions during her first 20-minute relief shift against Poland, getting one effort on target and setting up another. In the exact same space of time against Denmark, she dropped back onto the left wing and also worked deep central to make a few things happen.

Hoffmann’s second appearance featured plenty of note, including a slick back heel trick and a monster sliding tackle at the death. She remained committed in her slightly longer shift against Sweden, winning two more crucial midfield duels and at least trying to get forward when she could. The running lanes nevertheless weren’t quite there for her on a shorthanded team and there were times when one wished she might have been a bit less impetuous. She might have done better to help keep the team settled.

Carlotta Wamser, Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 2/3

Minutes played = 127/270

Positions played = RB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 3,67

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C+

So much has already been written about Wamser at this point that the 21-year-old really requires no introduction. Her amazing work in unexpected relief of Gwinn in the first match absolutely merited top marks. All German press sources were pleased to accord them to her. The initial 40 minutes of the Denmark match saw her look a tad more confused when it came to selecting running routes. A genuinely baffling lane shift on a 45th minute counter saw her deprive the team of a goal-scoring opportunity.

Wamser still got off two decent efforts herself against the Danes and truly should have gotten her name on the scoresheet when setting up Lea Schüller’s big 70th-minute chance. On balance, one could say that the second fixture only constituted a minor dip. She very much appeared to be on the way to rectifying matters against Sweden, breaking up play very nicely and grabbing an assist on Brand’s early 1-0 with a sumptuously delicate through-ball. Sigh. Then came the red card.

One simply can’t avoid docking the grade hard.

Sarai Linder, VfL Wolfsburg

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 270/270

Positions played = LB, RB, CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,0

Author’s Cumulative Grade = C

Germany’s new starting left-back unexpectedly found herself thrust back into the position she started her career in during the third group stage match. Linder played almost exclusively as a right back before switching over to the other side for both club and country during the 2023/24 season. At this point, she’s featured so regularly on the left that her name never really came into the conversation after Giulia Gwinn’s injury. With Wamser suspended for the quarterfinals, that may be set to change.

One could be forgiven for forgetting that Linder was on the pitch during the opening group stage match as she rarely factored in. She did tear forward on one occasion and assisted on a shot. Linder followed this up with a superb performance against Denmark. She covered for her teammates on many of the early Danish counters, doing especially well to stop Pernille Harder in the 25th. The former Hoffenheim professional swung in a couple of nice crosses and even reecorded two shots on target of her own.

Linder nearly scored her second international goal against the Danes with a dangerous dipper of a drop kick in the 41st. Against the Swedes, however, she never really got a chance to move forward at all. Culpability on the second and fourth Swedish goals, in addition to some horribly shaky back passes, left her a touch above failing in many German press critiques. Essentially an above average tournament from the 25-year-old that was regrettably pulled down by the last match.

One positive concerns the fact that she did look comfortable switching over to the right in the 13 minutes she played in Wamser’s place at the end of the first half. She moved back to the left-hand-side of the back-three in the second 45. As is often the case when a player has to execute three positional shifts in a single evening, focus suffers. The author is a touch more forgiving of Linder on what was a very demanding evening for her.

Sydney Lohmann, Manchester City

Matches played = 2/3, Matches started = 0/3

Minutes played = 65/270

Positions played = CM, AM

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,5

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D+

The new Manchester City signing furnished some fairly intrepid play during her initial 20-minute relief shift in the first match, accruing 16 touches and connecting with all but one of her 14 passes. Lohmann actually grabbed a brace in the final pre-tournament fixture. The quality combination of Nüsken and Senß in midfield (and the fact that Dallmann and Freigang are ahead of her at the ten position on the depth chart) are the only reason Lohmann isn’t starting. For whatever it’s worth, the author always considered the 25-year-old to be among the most under-appreciated national team players.

Lohmann didn’t appear in the second match. She was brought on at the half as part of Wück’s tactical re-format against the Swedes. It would be fair to say that she wasn’t very comfortable in transition and noticeably weak in duels. Perhaps trying to do too much, her passing was often overly complicated. A failed back-heel trick further reinforced the impression that she might have been trying to do too much. With all of her undeniable potential, we’ll probably see her again only after some extra words from the coaching staff and a few targeted drills on the training pitch.

Rebecca Knaak, Manchester City

Matches played = 3/3, Matches started = 3/3

Minutes played = 144/270

Positions played = CB

Cumulative German Press Grade = 4,2

Author’s Cumulative Grade = D+

Germany’s new starting center back only earned her first cap after the turn of the calendar year and has been playing abroad for the last four seasons. Wück’s decision to hand her a regular role caught many fans of the German women’s game by surprise. Embarrassingly enough, some of us even falsely assumed she was former German international Turid Knaak’s little sister. Many of us who physically traveled to many German national team games this year simply missed her.

Initial impressions of the 29-year-old – who earned her spot based on the fact that Wück wanted both a left-footer and right-footer in central defense – were mixed. Knaak clearly isn’t a very pacy player, but does know her position well enough to defend her patch-of-pitch intelligently. Knaak really worked her socks off in the first match, accruing touches on virtually every attack charge. She demonstrated plenty of courage on some long dribbles, launched loads of balls forward, and even recorded an assisted shot.

She began to dip in the second match, looking weaker on duels and showing hesitancy going forward. Admittedly, many of her longer verticals and diagonal balls in the first match didn’t really appear useful to the attack and it looked like she was aiming to correct this. She got badly beaten by Pernille Harder a couple of counters and lost her mark on Amalie Vansgaard’s opening goal. Three minutes after the restart, she could only stop Janni Thomsen with a poor challenge and was rightly booked.

Knack appeared confident enough after the Denmark match to correct her wobble against Sweden; the country in which she excelled professionally before moving to the WSL in England. Along with the rest of the team, she started strongly enough. Poor positioning and a slip nevertheless left her culpable on two of Sweden’s three first-half goals. Wück took her off at the half after watching her get repeatedly torched by Blackstenius. Yikes! In this case, the press might have been too generous.

Other Players

Selina Cerci, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

The Kiel-native – whom all of us fans have been waiting for an eternity to watch at a major tournament – sadly can’t hope for too many minutes given her position in the team hierarchy. The 25-year-old, forced to miss the 2022 Euros, 2023 World Cup, and 2024 Olympics due to injury, logged just five minutes as a sub against Poland and 13 minutes off the bench against Sweden.

She actually got efforts off on both occasions, shooting wide of the mark in both games. A really great chance to shoot late-on in the Sweden match went begging as she bungled away the ball. Cerci may not have made much of a case for herself as a sub in this tournament, but the author wishes to emphasize that she’s a very talented player who has scored a total 20 goals for club and country this year.

Cora Zicai, VfL Wolfsburg

Another one of the attacking talents who must simply wait her turn only worked injury time in the second match against Denmark. The Freiburg-native got a couple of touches in a contested one duel. One can only look forward to the years ahead when it comes to the 20-year-old who scored nine goals for club and country this year.

Sara Däbritz, Real Madrid

Yes, Sara Däbritz is still around. No, it doesn’t appear as if we’ll be seeing too much more of the 109-times-capped-international who wowed us all with her four-goal-haul in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. It was simply nice to see her score her 18th goal for country at Wembley last October and nice to see her log five minutes as a sub against Sweden.

That’s about all one can say.

GGFN | Peter Weis