Spain suffered a brutal blow to their Women’s Euro 2022 chances on Tuesday night as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Germany.
La Roja have never beaten Germany in the women’s game and after just two minutes, it didn’t look like they would this time either. A poor clearance from goalkeeper Sandra Panos went straight to Klara Buehl, who finished swiftly and into the corner.
Spain then took the game to Germany and had a big chance to get back into it through Lucia Garcia, who couldn’t put the ball in the net after rounding the German ‘keeper.
Yet the pressure didn’t pay off, as Alexandra Popp headed in a corner 8 minutes before half-time, doubling the German lead and denting the Spanish morale.
The second half played out similarly, with Spain pressuring high and dominating the ball. The German resistance was iron-clad though and Spain struggled to get shots off throughout the match.
The defeat leaves Spain with a showdown against Denmark in the final group game, needing to avoid defeat to go through. Having been favourites for the tournament though, this was a damaging defeat as much for the manner as the result. Should they make it through in second, they will likely face England.