DFB Women's European Championship opener: Germany wins despite worries

A knee injury to captain Giulia Gwinn, of all people, overshadowed the German women's soccer team's opening victory at the European Championship. Coach Christian Wück's team couldn't celebrate their 2-0 (0-0) victory against tournament debutants Poland. Whether the FC Bayern Munich star will be able to play in the tournament in Switzerland remains doubtful. "It was a bitter victory for us," said the head coach.

"We went straight to the locker room after the halftime break and hugged her all. The MRI is tomorrow. Her knee is affected. She prevented us from conceding a goal. We're all keeping our fingers crossed that it's not too serious," Wück added on ARD.

In front of 15,972 spectators at the St. Gallen Arena – including 4,000 fans from Germany – the eight-time European champions struggled for a long time. A stunning goal from Jule Brand (52nd minute) and a header from Lea Schüller (66th minute) finally redeemed the beleaguered German national team.

Gwinn had led the German national team onto the pitch as captain for the first time at a major tournament. Then, in the 36th minute, a shock came: During a save against Ewa Pajor, her knee collided with that of Poland's top scorer.

Gwinn briefly returned to the pitch, but then hobbled off the pitch, supported by a support staff member. With a pained expression and tears in her eyes, she had to be substituted. Gwinn has already suffered two cruciate ligament tears. After the second injury, she also missed the 2023 World Cup in Australia due to the lengthy recovery period. A timely MRI scan should provide the exact diagnosis, a DFB spokeswoman said.

"I think she's a very important player for us. We've already noticed a slight dip in our game. The most important thing is that things hopefully aren't so bad for her," said Brand, whose goal helped ease some tensions for the German national team, about the captain.

Immediately before kickoff, Wück, full of anticipation and optimism, emphasized on ARD: "The conditions are absolutely top-notch. There will be no excuses." The 52-year-old chose the same lineup for his tournament debut with the DFB women as he did in the furious 4-0 win in Bremen against the Netherlands.

In the number 10 position, he again trusted FC Bayern's Linda Dallmann, who had recently been in such good form. For the left-back position, which had previously been uncertain, the experienced Sarai Linder of VfL Wolfsburg was preferred over the 20-year-old Munich native Franziska Kett.

Poland's Pajor from FC Barcelona appeared dangerously in the German penalty area after just ten seconds, but her cross was still being played in. The DFB women's team knows the long-time Wolfsburg player very well, and accordingly, there was great respect for the two-time Bundesliga top scorer, who mostly faced Rebecca Knaak.

The German women's nervousness persisted throughout the first half: Too many balls were lost unnecessarily against the deep-lying Poland. Only a shot from winger Brand after 24 minutes was deflected around the post by goalkeeper Kinga Szemik. The German women were fortunate that the Poles were twice just offside on two promising counterattacks.

Following Gwinn's absence, future Leverkusen player Carlotta Wamser came in at right-back. Defensive leader Janina Minge took over the rainbow armband. After the change, the German women shook off some of the pressure and played with more courage, freedom, and significantly more pressure.

A stunning shot from Brand from seventeen meters sank into the net to make it 1-0. Schüller then headed in a cross from Brand in typical style to make it 2-0 – her 53rd goal in 76 international matches. Sjoeke Nüsken could have added the second goal with a close-range header.

Most likely without Gwinn, Wück's team will continue their campaign against Denmark in Basel on Tuesday (6:00 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the European Championship ). Four days later, a possible group summit takes place in Zurich, when they face Sweden. The 2019 and 2023 World Cup bronze medalists won their opening match 1-0 against Denmark.