The blissful attack of France meets the stingiest defence of Germany in the second semi-final of UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 in a bid to get into the tournament final at Wembley.
Germany had to do a lot of hard work than the score line showed in the 2-1 quarterfinal win over Austria while France had to dig deep into extra time to get their goal against the Netherlands to progress to their first semis
GER vs FRA Match Details
Date: Tuesday, 26th July 2022/ Wednesday, 27th July 2022
Time: 20:00 (BST), 00:30 (IST)
Venue: MK Stadium, Milton Keynes
GER vs FRA Match Preview
It wasn’t a comfortable game to see off for Germany in the quarterfinals facing a dogged Austria side who could have pulled off an upset if they hadn't hit the post three times. However, Die Nationalelf’s immense experience in the competition helped them again as Austria fumbled under their press for the first goal by the reliable Lina Magull. Fair to the Germans, they also struck the frame twice. Golden boot chaser Alexander Popp then finished off the game before added time getting her body on the way of an unconvincing clearance from keeper Manuela Zinsberger. Austria proved to be a tough material but Germany’s determination was on another level which gifted them with another clean sheet making them the only nation yet to concede a goal in the tournament. The win was a relief to the camp who suffered the heartbreak of the quarterfinal exit in the last Euros ending their streak of winning seven championships in a row. This is the record champions’ tenth appearance in the semi-finals of the Euros more than any other nation and from the stage, they have progressed to the final in the previous six attempts. Manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will be happy with the result but wants her side to have a better hold of the game to prevent losing their precious clean sheet record against the lethal trio in attack for France. Having said that, Germany have scoring feet of their own being the second best side in terms of goals scored (11) in Euro 2022 with two or more strikes in three of the four matches so far. With a watertight defence, they are arguably the most balanced team in the tournament and Voss-Tecklenburg feels this will propel them to the showpiece at Wembley on Sunday to increase their count of this silverware to nine.
The limbo of quarterfinal exits finally ended with France managing to reach the semi-finals for the first time in Euro history. An extra-time penalty from Eve Perisset finally brought the breakthrough in the tie for Les Bleus as they knocked the holders, the Netherlands out of the tournament despite their valiant defence and importantly keeper Van Domselaar having a mammoth display of durability. France were in bit themselves to blame to drag the game for so long making glaring misses with the Dutch on their ropes. Corrine Diarce won’t be too concerned about it as on another day those opportunities created could have gone in. Keeping the intensity up in attack for the majority of the game was crucial to curve out any possible retaliation from the Netherlands and the same is needed against a more composed opponent in Germany. Les Bleus doesn’t want their lack of experience at this stage to play a factor. Instead, they wish to cherish the new stage in order to continue the progress they had with this talented squad so far. Another key part is the team is made of serial winners with a host of players also part of the recent Champions League winners Lyon so the push for a trophy double this summer is very much on. France have scored nine goals so far, two less than Germany and conceded only twice. This shouldn’t be a problem looking at the unmovable pair of Bathy and Renard at the back although silencing clinical striker Alexandra Popp or Lina Magull is a challenge they haven’t experienced before in the tournament. Despite all the attacking brilliance shown in the tournament, Diarce knows France will be the second favourite in the clash which can also play an advantage because all the pressure will be on the force named Germany to remise their royalty in the contest.
GER vs FRA Euro 2022 Form
GER: WWWW
FRA: WWDW
GER vs FRA Team News
Germany have 23 players ready and raring to go for the semi-final clash with the unalterable opening eleven from the quarterfinal win against Austria. Lina Magull scored her second goal of the tournament on her return to the side and she will retain her spot in the advanced midfielder role alongside Sara Dabritz and Lena Oberdorf. Only Beth Mead have scored more in Euro 2022 than Alexandra Popp who has now scored four out of four games locking herself in an intense battle for the Golden Boot.
The Same goes for France as they have no other issues in the squad other than star striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto’s absence from the tournament with her serious knee injury. The undroppable back four with the dependable duo of Mbock Bathy and Wendie Renard will continue with the latter played every minute of the tournament so far. The Lyon’s megastar was a mountain at the back for Les Bleus with a threat from set pieces as well. Coach Corrine Diarce will hope the front three of Diani, Malard and Cascarino improve their finishing in finding the back sooner than later to avoid any chances for Germany to have a foothold in the game.
GER vs FRA Predicted Lineups
GER: Merle Frohms; Giulia Gwinn, Kathrin Hendrich, Marina Hegering, Felicitas Rauch; Sara Däbritz, Lena Oberdorf, Lina Magull; Svenja Huth, Alexandra Popp, Clara Buhl
FRA: Peyraud-Magnin; Eve Périsset, Mbock Bathy, Wendie Renard, Sakina Karchaoui; Grace Geyoro, Bilbault, Toletti; Kadidatou Diani, Melvine Malard, Delphine Cascarino
GER vs FRA Head to Head
France have a hopeful record over Germany in recent meetings winning two of the last three meetings with them. They only managed one in the previous nine meetings prior with a 3-0 thrashing in 2018 the highest margin of win recorded in the past few years. All is not doom and gloom for Germany with huge success in the 2011 World Cup where they beat the French 4-2 in the group stages and also progressed in the same fixture in the quarterfinals of the 2015 World Cup. This is the first competitive game in Euro 2022 between the nations since.
GER vs FRA Dream11 Team Prediction
GK: Frohms (8.5)
DEF: Gwinn (9), Hegering (8.5), Renard (9), Perisset (9)
MID: Geyoro (9.5), Oberdorf (9), Magull (9)
FW: Diani (9), Popp (10), Cascarino (9)
Merle Frohms maintained the clean sheet record with Germany the only team left to concede a goal in this tournament.
Giulia Gwinn won the most tackles in the game against Austria. Her success rate for tackles in the tournament is 89%
Mariana Hegering completed the most passes in the win over Austria including seven interceptions and 13 recoveries. The defender has made the most number of interceptions in Euro 2022 with 12, more than half in the quarterfinal itself.
Wendie Renard put up a class show against the Netherlands winning all of her ground deals and maintaining a passing accuracy of 88% along with nine clearances.
Lina Magull netted on her return to the starting eleven for Germany while Alexandra Popp scored for the fourth time in a row in the tournament
