Germany exits Euro 2025 after sheer doggedness nearly gets team to the final
German chancellor Friedrich Merz never got to see Germany play at the Women’s European Championship. “If it goes well we’ll see each other Sunday evening in Basel for the final,” Merz posted on social media before the German team faced World Cup champion Spain in the semifinal match on Wednesday. It didn’t go quite that well. Aitana Bonmatí scored late in extra time for Spain to win 1-0 and avoid a penalty shootout that the Germany team had been holding out for. Germany’s Euro 2025 campaign had been full of promise, but not matched in substance. Merz was filmed watching Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s amazing save in the quarterfinal win over France as if he’d never seen it before.