Germany took a step towards a first ever UEFA Women’s Nations League final after beating France 1-0 in the semi-final first leg in Düsseldorf on Friday night.
Bayern Munich’s Klara Bühl scored the only goal of the game with just over ten minutes remaining, cutting in from the left wing and firing a low shot past French goalkeeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin.
“We had a lot of chances today, and one of them could have gone in earlier,” said Bühl at full-time. “I knew I probably only had one more chance before I got substituted, so I just went for it.”
Head coach Christian Wück praised his team but also criticized a string of missed chances.
“We did a lot of things which really excited the fans, but the biggest problem was efficiency in front of goal,” he said.
“The girls implemented the match-plan brilliantly, so it was frustrating that we couldn’t reward ourselves earlier. The victory was deserved, but it was far too close.”
Nations League: semi-final second leg in Caen
Germany now travel to the second leg in Caen in Normandy on Tuesday night with a valuable lead.
“We have a goal advantage now but we know that it will be hard work in France,” said Bühl. “Now it’s all about regeneration so we can produce another good display there.”
Friday’s first leg was Germany’s first meeting with Les Bleues since the dramatic European Championship quarter-final in Basel, Switzerland, in July.
Then, German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was the heroin, saving two penalties in the shootout and converting one herself. But she missed Friday’s game due to a knee injury and was replaced by Stina Johannes.
Throughout this Nations League campaign, Germany and France have looked on course for another inevitable meeting, topping their respective groups to leave them first and second in League A.
The other semi-final sees reigning champions Spain take on Sweden.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
