July 8 – With a new captain, Germany will take on Denmark in Group C, knowing victory could secure them a spot in the quarter-finals of EURO 2025.
Following their opening 2-0 victory against Poland, captain Giulia Gwinn was ruled out of the tournament after a scan revealed a serious knee injury, with the armband passing to central defender Janina Minge, while Sjoeke Nüsken setps up as vice-captain.
In sporting terms, Gwinn will likely be replaced by Carlotta Wamser. “She has shown that she can play in a European Championship,” said manager Christian Wück.
His side are yet to deliver a statement victory. Twice, against Portugal and Belgium, Spain confirmed their status as tournament favourites while France impressed in a 2-1 victory against England, but Germany laboured against Poland in St. Gallen before a second-half flourish sealed the three points. A win can ensure Germany’s qualification for the last eight as long as Poland doesn’t win against Sweden.
Wück believes that Denmark, who lost their opening match 1-0 to Sweden, will seek to copy Poland to an extent and keep spaces tight: “We will need to be patient again. We will play against a compact team that won’t afford us much room, so we will need to be patient in possession and wait for space to open up, which we then need to take advantage of. We will have to be more clinical in front of goal, in order to finish the chances that we create.”
Germany will be supported by around 16,000 supporters, with the St. Jakob-Park in Basel holding 34,250 seats. It should provide Wück and co with another incentive to truly ignite their tournament and set their sights on the knockout phase. “One of our goals is to inspire the nation with our style of football,” said Wück. “It was a great start with the eight million TV viewers.”
Contact the writer of this story, moc.l1751984360labto1751984360ofdlr1751984360owedi1751984360sni@i1751984360tnuk.1751984360ardni1751984360mas1751984360