Spain Won An Ugly Game Thanks To Moments Of Splendor

It's exceedingly rare to see a side enter an international tournament and manage to play its best, most aesthetically pleasing soccer for the entire month-long affair. It does happen—the Spanish men absolutely steamrolled Euro 2012, and the USWNT did the same at the 2019 World Cup—but more often than not, exhaustion, nerves, and tough matchups will force a team to win ugly on the way to the trophy. In Wednesday's Euro 2025 semifinal against Germany, Spain won ugly, as ugly as I've seen during the team's ongoing run of dominance, though La Roja did manage to sneak some real transcendence into a long and draining night in Zurich.

In comparison to the previous day's chaotic and heart-breaking/warming (depending on your rooting interests) Italy-England banger, Germany-Spain was a stylistic clash that didn't lend itself to much oxygen. The Germans, underdogs though they rarely are, played the spoiler role to perfection, ceding possession to the already possession-hungry Spaniards; the first-half 78-22 split in favor of the world's reining reinas only got slightly more respectable by the end of regular time, roughly 70-30. This is a tried-and-true method to befuddle a ball-heavy favorite: defend, defend, defend, and then strike back quick. The Germans' strategy was only notable due to the team's defensive shortcomings, playing a patchwork backline against some of the scariest attackers in Europe. Notable or not, though, it was working: Spain took a lot of shots at the German goal, but goalie Ann-Katrin Berger was up to the task, notching five first half saves, including a stunning leap against Gotham FC teammate Esther González in the 21st minute:

The other way, Germany seemed to build some feasible counter attacks but kept falling apart at the execution stage, blasting shots off target. The second half was more even, with Germany doing a bit more pressing and a bit more shooting, but neither team was able to do much damage in the second 45. At around 75 minutes, I was settling in for yet another extra time slog, the fourth in this tournament's knockout stage. I am all for free soccer, but there's a difference between, say, England-Italy's extra time, which came after England drew level in stoppage time and which was nerve-wracking throughout, and something like Wednesday's, where both teams were clearly beat and just hoping for a bit of magic.

The game was largely devoid of that type of magic, though a different, sturdier magic stood in the way, twice. In the 94th minute of regular time, with the full-time whistle seconds from blowing, Klara Bühl tried to rip a shot from some 25 yards out, only for a Spanish defender to deflect it into a knuckleball. Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll backpedaled well enough to keep the ball from ricocheting into the net, but her momentum carried her own body into that same net. Coll was somehow able to hustle back out of the goal mouth in time to save the rebound shot from right back Carlotta Wamser, keeping Spain alive right at its would-be death:

Before heading into the drama of extra time, I must pause here to compliment both goalies, who kept this sluggish game going by sheer force of will. Both Berger and Coll stepped up to cover for mistakes and unlucky bounces, and both would be called on again in extra time. Only one would pass her test. It was not Berger.

After the first half of extra time went by without much to discuss, the second half saw the game-winner come from perhaps the likeliest source. Germany had somewhat shakily snuffed out a dangerous Spain attack when substitute Sydney Lohmann attempted to clear the ball from the left sideline. Instead, though, the ball was intercepted by Athenea del Castillo, who controlled it and drove towards the box. Aitana Bonmatí, Spain's talismanic midfielder, spotted an empty space between two German defenders and called for the pass, receiving it with a nifty move through her own legs towards the touchline. While the more obvious decision would have been to cross the ball into the center, Bonmatí instead shot near post, the one place a goalie should never be beat, especially from this angle. Berger, however, was leaning in expectation of a cross and could not recover to save the absolute laser from Bonmatí, giving Spain a very late lead.

The angle from the field shows how tight the window was for the shot, so tight that it makes Bonmatí's decision to shoot all the more audacious:

(After the match, Bonmatí revealed that the coaches had studied Berger's tendencies and informed the players beforehand that the keeper will sometimes leave her first post vulnerable in situations like that. "I didn't think twice. I shot with everything I had because I didn't want to go to penalties," Bonmatí added.)

On the other side, Coll might have had an easier task, but that doesn't make her full-stretch save on a rocket from Lea Schüller in the 118th minute any less impressive. It was the only time Coll was called on in the extra periods, but, as Berger unfortunately demonstrated on the other end, one shot is all it takes, and Coll was up for her challenge.

Spain was the deserving winner here; despite some Berger heroics in regular time and some dangerous German strikes, the Spaniards were in control of the game, even if they lacked a bit of their usual crispness. It was clear late in the second half and in extra time that players on both sides were just too tired to do more than hope for that one moment of glory to arrive. It did, eventually, thanks to Bonmatí, but that was less an obvious conclusion to an epic match and more a blessing for anyone who didn't want to watch penalty kicks (like me, and Bonmatí herself). Despite all the talent on the field, the stage of the tournament and the state of the conditioning made this semifinal feel as brutal to watch as it must have been to play. Did the stunning saves and the wonderful goal make it all worth it? Spain will surely think so, while Germany will be left to rue Coll's reflexes and one mistake from their own goalie, who was so good for so long on Wednesday until she wasn't.