Sharper than the Spaniards, the Germans perfectly exploited their few opportunities to win this Tuesday evening in the clash of group B of the Women’s Euro. A recovery error from Sandra Panos gave Klara Bühl the opener on a plateau in the 3rd minute of play. The Mannschaft doubled the bet from a corner in the 37th minute thanks to a header from Alexandra Popp.
Opposite, like Aitana Bonmati, La Roja reported both all her talent with the ball at her feet and her inability to project herself towards the goal of a Merle Frohms who was never really worried, except for her exit at the feet of Lucia Garcia on the hour mark. The Spaniards could also have equalized earlier, in the first period, following this luminous vertical pass from their number 6 deflected by Patricia Guijarro in the race of Garcia, who has too much pushed his outside dribble in front of the goalkeeper and only found the small net (10th).
Result, despite its 67% possession and its 577 successful passes, Spain only managed to hang the frame twice, out of 13 attempted strikes. That’s as many shots on goal as their opponents, who nevertheless shot half as many (6 shots)… and therefore scored on their two chances on target. Less flashy than the demonstration against Denmark (4-0) on the first day, this German victory highlighted the defensive qualities of the Mannschaft and made them very serious candidates for the title.
Qualified for quarters
With this prestigious success, Germany is also the second nation qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition. By securing first place in Group B, the Mannschaft also made sure to avoid the formidable England before the final. The organizing country, which crushed Norway (8-0) on Monday and will be first in Group A, will be opposed in the quarter to Spain or Denmark, who face each other on the last day, a draw sufficient for the Iberians to to qualify.
Germany will play a match without stake against Finland, already eliminated, for the 3rd day of group, Saturday. In the next round, she will play Austria or Norway if the Scandinavians win the last match between them.