Spain vs. Germany Semi-Final Preview | OneFootball

I’ll admit it, I’m still in shock after yesterday’s England-Italy game. Wow. But today is another day, and there’s one last semi-final to go.

If this tournament were a boxing movie, Germany would be that gnarled old fighter standing grumpily in the corner. Beaten up, a little punch drunk perhaps, feet a trifle slow but the eyes bright beneath a swollen brow. She’s tired, but the memories of past glory keep her up round after round. Spain would be the pugilist always dancing around the ring, throwing in jabs then retreating back. Exciting, exhibiting a flashy style that nevertheless carries a hammer-weight of a blow.

Of course, this is soccer, not boxing, but the analogy still rings true. Let’s revisit how each side got to this moment.

Spain 2 – 0 Switzerland

Facing the host nation in a sold-out Stadion Wankdorf in Bern didn’t APPEAR to phase Spain in the slightest. But the Swiss proved stout competition to the defending World Champions. It didn’t help that Mariona Caldentey took a hesitant run-up to her 9th minute penalty kick, then pulled it wide to the left. Spain would continue to knock on the gates but would head into the locker room on a 0 – 0 draw. That was the first time Spain had been held scoreless in the first half of the tournament.

It would take until the 66th minute for Spain to score. Athenea del Castillo, subbed in only minutes prior, would take a brilliantly backheeled pass from Aitana Bonmatí and calmly side-foot it into the netting. The second would arrive five minutes later, when Clàudia Pina struck an absolute banger into the upper right corner. Pina was due. She’d taken three shots previously, two of which were saved by Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng.

If there was a stain on this win, it came in the 87th minute when Peng picked the correct side and blocked a tepid penalty kick from Alexia Putellas. Spain managed to advance despite not being at their best, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that Switzerland had zero shots on frame and zero corner kicks.

France 1 (6) – 1 (5) Germany a.e.t.

I’m not entirely sure how to do this match justice in a summary. Let’s start with this fact: Germany had ten players for 107 minutes after their captain Kathrin Hendrich was caught yanking the hair of French defender Griedge M’bock Bathy during a free kick. She was shown red; the resulting penalty was converted by Grace Geyoro. It looked as bad as it could for the Germans.

But France, in this writer’s opinion, forgot one of the cardinal rules of soccer: you have to WANT to win. Germany didn’t win this match so much as France just lost it. They failed to manifest any urgency, making too many passes in attack and being a half-step slower than the desperately defending Germans. Fifty fouls were committed in the game’s 120 minutes, a tournament record, but Germany only had two more than France.

Germany’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger put on a master class in shot stopping, including a leaping single-handed scoop of a potential own-goal off her line, in addition to eight other saves. She then finished the business in the penalty shootout, making the two stops to move her team forward.

You hear words like “grit”, “determination”, and “will power” thrown about frequently, but this match proved that they are very real and win games.

Spain vs. Germany

July 23 @ 3pm ET Stadion Letzigrund, Zürich, SwitzerlandBroadcast nationally on FOX

Zürich is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, but allowing the German team to easily order dinner is the only advantage they’ll have here. They are underdogs in nearly every category.

The biggest problem facing Germany is roster depth, particularly at right back. That position is like being the drummer for Spïnal Tap… you never last long. Guilia Gwinn went down with a tournament-ending knee injury, her replacements Carlotta Wamser and Kathrin Hendrich both saw red cards in the last two matches and are suspended, and Sarai Linder is also out with an ankle injury. Then there’s the fatigue, emotional and physical, of playing 107 minutes down a player. Adding insult to injury, they got one less day of recovery.

On the other hand, Spain should have spent their rest days performing some deep soul searching – and penalty kick practice. Their performance against Switzerland was their worst of the tournament. A similar showing against Germany will be punished (just ask France).

The good news for Spain is that the roster is well-rested. Manager Montserrat Vasquez will be without center-back Laia Aleixandri (yellow card accumulation), and forward Athenea del Castillo is questionable to play, but otherwise the Spanish engine is purring.

Expect big performances from NY Gotham’s Esther González and Alexia Putellas; they rise to these sorts of occasions. And it’s been a quiet tournament for Aitana Bonmatí, who played limited minutes whilst recovering from meningitis. If she goes big, Germany’s going home.

Prediction: Spain 3 – 1 Germany