European Championship 2025: DFB women beat Poland in the opening match – a victory in three acts

After the final whistle, things need to move quickly: The German women's soccer team is just celebrating their victory, about to celebrate with the 4,000 fans who have traveled with them in the stadium, when national coach Christian Wück calls them over. Then the team disappears into the catacombs. "Everyone can explain that. We went to Giulia. I said we'll go straight to the locker room, all together, give her a hug, encourage her, and then we can go out and thank the fans," said Wück.

Read more after the ad

Giulia Gwinn had previously watched large parts of the German women's team's 2-0 victory against Poland in their opening European Championship campaign as a bystander. Shortly before halftime, the captain was substituted with tears in her eyes. A few minutes earlier, the 26-year-old double winner from FC Bayern Munich had injured her left knee while attempting a save against Ewa Pajor.

Sad certainty: DFB captain Giulia Gwinn has to be supported and leave the pitch injured.

Source: Getty Images

Worst fears arose; Gwinn had previously suffered cruciate ligament tears on both her left and right knees. Wück: "The MRI will be in Zurich tomorrow at 9 or 10 a.m., and we'll know more after that." With the one-on-one with the Polish superstar in attack, the 52-year-old emphasized, his captain had prevented "an almost certain goal." This was of enormous importance at that point and made the victory possible in the first place.

Read more after the ad

As in the two European Championship qualifiers, the Eastern Europeans started with great conviction. Poland had taken the lead in both matches, but this time Germany survived the period without conceding a goal. However, the tension at the start of the tournament was evident in Wück's team.

The DFB coach defended the team's performance in the first half hour. "I wasn't satisfied, but I see it in a more nuanced way; I want to put it into perspective a bit," he said. "We only delivered poor crosses and didn't have a good box," meaning we lacked presence in the penalty area, Wück criticized. Jule Brand (24') had the only truly dangerous shot.

Women's national coach Christian Wück

Poland's counterattacks twice ended in late offside calls, so the defense around Janina Minge and Rebecca Knaak had some luck in several situations. This was the case when Gwinn slid in to tackle Pajor after a corner, but got stuck and lay on the ground with a pained expression. After a brief break for treatment, she returned to the pitch, but just moments later she sat down – aware that her knee had suffered more damage.

After medical personnel arrived on the field and briefly treated Gwinn on the sidelines, she seemed to be feeling better. But that wasn't the case. "We're thinking of her and hoping until the last moment that it might have looked worse than it actually was," said a worried Laura Freigang, who came on as a substitute.

Read more after the ad

Gwinn walked straight into the dressing room with her head bowed, and Carlotta Wanser came in at right-back. Brand: "It was a shock for all of us; we noticed a slight setback, but the attitude was: Now more than ever for Giuli." However, the injury was "not an issue" during the break; instead, there was an analysis of "how we wanted to score goals in the second half against the Poles," said Wück.

This plan worked after the restart. Instead of a sluggish, at times inaccurate performance, Jule Brand initially fueled the attack from the right wing. With her weaker left foot, the former Wolfsburg player, who is moving to Olympique Lyon, scored the 1-0 goal in the 52nd minute with a stunning shot into the top corner.

Right on target: Jule Brand (l.) shoots and scores 1-0.

Source: IMAGO/HMB-Media

Then, on the other side, long-time favorite Klara Bühl continued to turn things around. Sjoeke Nüsken missed a huge chance with a header from two meters following Bühl's cross (62'), before Lea Schüller headed in more accurately after Brand's cross to make it 2-0 (66').

Read more after the ad

Goalkeeper Ann-Kathrin Berger made one strong save against Pajor (81'), but otherwise Germany held on to the win.

"The difference in the second half was simply the quality of the final pass, the cross, and the finish," Wück summarized the improvement in performance. With the goal and the assist, Brand "won the game for us."