Germany 2-0 Spain (Buhl ‘3, Popp ’36)
BRENTFORD — Irene Paredes pounded the turf and screamed while behind her, there was a resigned silence from Sandra Panos. The Spain goalkeeper knew her clearance had been unforgivable, bouncing invitingly off Klara Buhl and the Germany forward had done the rest, burying it with time to spare in the far corner. For the second time in as many matches, Spain had conceded before some of the crowd had even taken their seats.
London’s Spanish and German contingents were not the only ones keeping a keen eye on another farcical start. The runners-up from Group B – as it stands, Spain – will play England in the quarter-finals, with Sarina Wiegman’s side having topped Group A.
The Lionesses have already subdued one towering centre-forward in Ada Hegerberg, but Spain boss Jorge Vilda will keep them guessing as to whether Esther Gonzalez – normally one of the pillars of this Roja attack – will be next. Gonzalez paid the price for the moments when their front line has looked disjointed and was dropped.
In her absence Mariona Caldentey, scorer of six goals in qualifying and opening her account at the finals with a penalty against Finland, was their best hope. Her first touch was a sign of things to come for Spain; a botched pass without enough weight that nearly sent Germany on the counter-attack.
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For their part, Germany – themselves eight-time champions – will have been grateful to avoid England in the last eight, but showed that they will hurt teams too. The ease with which Buhl eased past Ona Batlle would have raised serious questions for Wiegman as to how much freedom she could have given her full-backs.
Svenja Huth is Germany’s great creator, the flicks and tricks of Lina Magull nearly opening up Spain down the right. In the end, the second goal came from the more direct route, left-back Felicitas Rauch easing a corner onto the head of Alexandra Popp.
Popp was too much to handle for Paredes, who was fortunate to avoid any action for hauling down the striker. These were Spain’s struggles even without Germany’s star forward Lea Schuller, out with Covid. Caldentey came closest to a revival when her volley forced Merle Frohms to spring into action with a spectacular save.
Spain, of course, have a notable absentee of their own in Alexia Putellas, and it is not just her goals that they are missing; it’s a tempo-setter in midfield. This is a side that is still inclined to be a little too clever. It will be up to Aitana Bonmati to ensure England’s Keira Walsh-Georgia Stanway double-pivot is not allowed to dictate the pace – and to Lucia Garcia, the danger-woman, if Spain are to even dream of matching them for firepower.
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