World champion Spain held Germany to a scoreless draw in the first leg of its UEFA Women’s Nations League final in Kaiserslautern on Friday, as goalkeeper Cata Coll made several crucial saves ahead of Tuesday’s second leg in Madrid.
The Germans dominated much of the game as Spain sat deep to protect their goal, seemingly banking on being able to win the title at home.
Klara Buhl, who had four clear chances in the opening half, told Germany’s ZDF, “We played incredibly bravely, and we feel bitter that we didn’t score.”
The Bayern Munich forward said that her side was buoyed by the performance ahead of next week’s decisive match.
“Now we have a classic (single match) final, and we’re extremely excited about it,” Buhl added.
Germany coach Christian Wuck said that his side showed “we can not only compete but even play our own game against a team like Spain”.
However, he was left frustrated that his team “failed to reward ourselves again” despite creating several chances.
Germany came into the match speaking of taking revenge against the World Cup winner, which eliminated it from the Euro 2025 semifinals in Switzerland in July.
Before the match, Spain coach Sonia Bermudez promised that her side would “not play for a draw”, but it seemed to do exactly that, sitting deep, slowing down play and provoking boos from the home crowd.
In the first half, Franziska Kett forced Coll into a desperation save with her feet.
Jule Brand had a better chance just moments later, but Irene Paredes cleared the ball off the line.
Spain’s best chance came when Esther Gonzalez hit the post on 52 minutes.
Buhl also hit the post in the 71st minute with Coll left flat-footed.
The host had a late chance to win it in stoppage time when Jule Brand threaded the ball through to Sjoeke Nusken, but Coll was alert to dash from her box and clear the danger.
Published on Nov 29, 2025