France's shock comes too late: DFB women tremble into the Nations League final for the first time

Despite the late shock, the German women's national team advanced to the Nations League final against France. A 2-2 (1-1) draw in the second leg was enough for national coach Christian Wück's team, even though it started off in the worst possible way.

After falling behind early and enduring some fierce exchanges, the German women's soccer team fought their way to the Nations League final for the first time. Coach Christian Wück's team, after a 1-0 lead in the first leg of the semifinal, drew 2-2 (1-1) in France and will now face the world champions from Spain in a rematch of the European Championship semifinal.

Nicole Anyomi (12') and Klara Bühl (50') struck back, while Stina Johannes made strong saves in goal after Melvine Malard (3') had caught the German team cold right from the start at the Stade Michel-d'Ornano. Clara Mateo (89') equalized shortly before the final whistle. Germany will play in the final on November 28 in Kaiserslautern, with the return leg in Spain on December 2. The European runners-up, who had shattered Germany's dream of a European title, also won 1-0 (0-0) in Sweden after a 4-0 thrashing in the first leg.

Four days after the flurry of chances in the first leg in Düsseldorf, Wück opted for continuity and made only one change to his starting eleven. After serving her yellow card suspension, vice-captain Janina Minge replaced Kathrin Hendrich at center back. The goal: "To match the performance from the first leg without any further changes," Wück said on ZDF, and: "To get through the 90 minutes."

First the blow to the neck, then the dream goal

But instead of stability, an early blow followed: Minge couldn't stop Selma Bacha, and in front of goal, a nervous-looking Camilla Küver, tugged on by her jersey, lost her balance—and Malard headed in from close range. Although the lead was quickly lost, the German team soon recovered.

And she promptly rewarded herself with her first shot. After a pass from Jule Brand, Anyomi shook off defender Maelle Lakrar with a turn and fired a precise left-footed shot into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area. The Eintracht Frankfurt striker, who missed the European Championship last summer due to knee problems, scored her third goal in 29 international matches.

But then France increased the pressure again. Johannes, standing in for the injured European Championship heroine Ann-Katrin Berger in the German goal, prevented another goal from being conceded by Sakina Karchaoui (22'), Malard (32'), and Delphine Cascarino (43'). At one point, the ball even found the back of the net, but Cascarino's goal (38') was ruled out due to an offside position.

After the break, the visitors appeared more stable – and quickly scored the first goal. Bühl fired a shot with his left from a tight angle, and the ball flew off the underside of the crossbar, leaving Pauline Peyraud-Maignan unable to save. In the 69th minute, Anyomi celebrated the decisive goal – but after a VAR check, her goal was disallowed because the assist provider, Bühl, was offside.