Euro 2024: Spain defeats Germany at the very last minute

What a drama, what an energetic performance, what a bitter disappointment. The European Championship party is over after 120 minutes of passion and football madness. Spain’s superiority has brutally ended the black, red and gold summer fun. The dream of a fourth European Championship title is over two steps too soon before the final after three exhilarating weeks of goal fests and good-humored games.

Seconds before the end the fatal shot

After the painful goals by Leipzig’s Dani Olmo (51st minute) and Mikel Merino a few seconds before the end (119th minute) to make it 1:2 (1:1, 0:0) after extra time, Berlin remains nothing but a place of longing for Julian Nagelsmann and the German national team. The interim equaliser by the outstanding Florian Wirtz (89th minute) and a phase of pressure full of courage and the will to win did not help.

After the bitter defeat in Stuttgart against the once again unbeatable rival, not only is the home European Championship over for the DFB team after the quarter-finals. Toni Kroos, who was suffering from cramps at the end, is retiring from the football stage after 114 international matches with a painful defeat. It remains to be seen what will happen to the other Rio World Cup winners Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller in the national team.

Little fiesta football from the Spaniards

In an intense game with lots of tactical maneuvers and initially little fiesta football, the Spaniards were once again cooler and more mature. The great resistance of fan favorite Niclas Füllkrug and the best tournament performance after the goal was conceded were not rewarded – this time the German super-sub could not force his luck. In the 77th minute, the Dortmund player hit the post while falling. In the end, Müller also ran in, and Wirtz at least ensured extra time.

“Not hide!”Nagelsmann had set for the quarter-finals – and surprisingly nominated Emre Can instead of Robert Andrich for the starting eleven. The tension was clearly visible among the national players in the early stages. After Pedri’s shot after just 52 seconds, a thriller that Neuer had no problems with, the DFB selection had great difficulty finding its way into the game.

German offensive on the right

Due to the many fouls and petty mischief, the game hardly flowed, and Kroos was very lucky that one of his two fouls in the first five minutes was not punished with a yellow card. The world champion caught Pedri so badly that he was substituted early on (8th minute). Olmo came on for the 21-year-old Spaniard’s leader and thinker.

When Germany went on the offensive, it was on the right side. Joshua Kimmich served Kai Havertz in the middle, but his header was too central for the Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón (21′). The two attacking wingers, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané, initially did not find the space for their technique and speed. Like the Danes in the round of 16 (2-0), the Spaniards seemed to have identified Musiala as the German who had to be taken out of the game. The left wing player David Raum could only make do with fouls behind Musiala when moving backwards.

Spain did not always play at a world-class level. Even the team with the most points in the preliminary round did not manage to get all of their passes to the right man and had trouble with the national team’s early pressing. The English referee Anthony Taylor could have shown more than just three yellow cards in the first 45 minutes. A game “at a high tactical level”said former international player Michael Ballack, who has a lot of experience of playing in Spain, on MagentaTV about the first half. It was clear early on: whoever falls behind will have big problems.

So little time for the DFB team

The DFB team was running out of time. Germany kept running into the Spanish penalty area or were unlucky, as when Füllkrug hit the post. Müller came on for Tah in the final phase of the game (80th minute), and the only thing that mattered was somehow getting the equalizer. Then Wirtz came on and scored after a pass from Kimmich. The decision had to be made in extra time, in which Wirtz again shot just wide (105th+1). Then came the bitter blow just before the penalty shootout.