Out and out. The great rivals Spain are no match for the passionate national team. The European Championship home tournament ends in bitter disappointment after a great fight

What a drama, what an energetic performance, what a bitter disappointment. The European Championship party is over after 120 minutes of passion and soccer madness. Spain’s superiority brought the black, red and gold summer fun to a brutal end. After three exhilarating weeks of goal festivals and good mood games, the dream of a fourth European Championship title is over two steps too soon before the final

Berlin remains nothing but a place of longing for Julian Nagelsmann and the German national team after the painful goals from Leipzig’s Dani Olmo (51st minute) and ex-BVB professional Mikel Merino a few seconds before the end (119th) to make it 1:2 (1:1, 0:0) after extra time. The interim equalizer by the outstanding Florian Wirtz (89′) and a phase full of courage and the will to win did not help.

After the bitter defeat in Stuttgart against their once again indomitable rivals, the DFB team’s home European Championships are not only over after the quarter-finals. Toni Kroos, who ended up suffering from cramps, left the soccer stage after 114 international matches with a painful defeat. It remains to be seen what the future holds for the other Rio World Champions Manuel Neuer and Thomas Müller in the national team.

In an intense game with lots of tactical maneuvers and initially little fiesta soccer, the Spaniards were once again cooler and more mature. The great rally with fan favorite Niclas Füllkrug and the best performance of the tournament after conceding the goal were not rewarded – this time even the German super joker could not force the luck. In the 77th minute, the Dortmund player hit the post as he fell. Müller also got in on the act at the end, with Wirtz at least ensuring extra time

While the Furia Roja, for whom Daniel Carvajal saw yellow (120.+5), are playing for their fourth European Championship star, national coach Nagelsmann is going on vacation too early; the youngest German tournament coach actually wanted to celebrate his 37th birthday in just over two weeks with the European Championship trophy.

The DFB professionals around captain Ilkay Gündogan left the European Championship stage beaten, but not bowed down. On Friday, the atmosphere in the sold-out 54,000-strong Stuttgart stadium and the packed fan zones throughout the country was exuberant and euphoric – at least until the final blow just before the end. The German soccer depression from the late fall of 2023 actually gave way to a spirit of optimism. Completely detached – as in the recycled fan hit – things are moving on towards the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Lots of fouls and interruptions

“Don’t hide!” was Nagelsmann’s motto for the quarter-final – and he surprisingly nominated Emre Can instead of Robert Andrich for the starting eleven. However, the national team players’ tension was clearly visible in the opening phase. After Pedri’s shot after just 52 seconds, a flurry that Neuer had no problems with, the DFB team struggled to get into the game.

There was hardly any flow to the game due to the many fouls and niggles, and Kroos was very lucky that one of his two fouls in the first five minutes was not immediately punished with a yellow card. The world champion caught Pedri in such a way that he was substituted early on (8′). Olmo came on for the Spaniards’ 21-year-old leader and thinker.

Setting an example, intimidating the Spaniards – the idea behind the German start to the all-or-nothing game was clear to see. However, the DFB team’s tough counter-attacking approach did not help them to gain confidence. Symptomatic: After a mistake by Gündogan, Olmo stormed towards Neuer’s goal, Antonio Rüdiger intervened with a foul and saw his second yellow card of the tournament – one way or another, the semi-final would take place without him.

Hardly any space for Musiala

If anything was happening in attack, it was via the right flank. Joshua Kimmich fed Kai Havertz in the middle, but his header was too central for Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón (21′). The two attacking wingers, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sané, initially failed to find the space for their technique and speed. Like the Danes in the round of 16 (2:0), the Spaniards seemed to have identified Musiala as the German who needed to be taken out of the game. The left-back David Raum was too often only able to get behind Musiala with fouls.

Spain did not always play at a world-class level. Even the team with the most points in the preliminary round did not get all their passes to the man and had trouble with the national team’s early pressing. English referee Anthony Taylor could have shown more than three yellow cards in the first 45 minutes. A game “at a high tactical level”, said ex-national player Michael Ballack, who has a lot of experience of Spain, on MagentaTV about the first half. It was clear early on: if you fall behind, you will have big problems.

Neuer also had to intervene when Aymeric Laporte (23) and Olmo (39) scored. The substitute playmaker’s chance was preceded by the Spaniards winning the ball quickly against Havertz, who was too passive. With the score at 0-0 at the break, the German internationals could be more satisfied than the Spaniards.

Nagelsmann corrects – Olmo scores

This was one of the reasons why Nagelsmann corrected his personnel decisions for the second half: Robert Andrich came on for Can and Florian Wirtz played instead of Sané. However, the Spaniards had the next really good chance: Álvaro Morata beat Jonathan Tah in the penalty area and shot over Neuer’s goal (47′). But the Spaniards’ next shot was on target.

Raum was far too passive against Spain’s super talent Lamine Yamal and Kroos left Olmo too much space in the middle. The 26-year-old shot flat and well-placed – and the Spaniards celebrated. Now it became very difficult for the DFB team.

The fans in the stands cheered “Super Germany!”, but the deficit hampered the national team. Andrich was yellow-carded after a foul on Nico Williams (56′), as was Rüdiger’s second of the tournament. Nagelsmann then brought on crowd favorite Füllkrug for Gündogan, and the striker ran onto the pitch to loud cheers from the fans (57′).

Time was running out for the DFB team. Time and time again, Germany got stuck in the Spanish penalty area or were unlucky, such as when Füllkrug hit the post. Müller came on for Tah for the final phase (80′) and all that mattered was to somehow equalize. Then Wirtz came on and scored after an assist from Kimmich. The game had to be decided in extra time, in which Wirtz again shot just wide (105.+1). Then came the bitter blow just before the penalty shoot-out