Germany dominated the first leg of their Nations League final against Spain on Friday but could not find the back of the net as they were held to a scoreless draw before Tuesday’s second leg in Madrid.
The Germans racked up 19 attempts on goal, but Spanish goalkeeper Cata Coll was outstanding in the first half, much to the frustration of the home fans.
“The result is positive and we will see them again in the Metropolitano [Stadium],” Coll said. “This is Germany. We knew they would be dangerous and have their chances. Fortunately, they didn’t put them in.”
The Germany forward Klara Bühl played a starring role, but her threatening dribbles and powerful shooting could not get the better of the Spanish defence, and the Germans were almost caught out when Esther González hit the woodwork for Spain just after the break.
Despite difficult conditions with rain falling steadily through the second half, Bühl never relented and she finally got a shot past Coll, only to see it bounce back off the foot of the lefthand post and away to safety.
Winger Jule Brand followed up that effort with a shot that skimmed off the top of the crossbar in the 76th minute, but despite 19 attempts on goal for Germany and nine for the visitors, neither side managed to score, leaving the tie delicately balanced ahead of the second leg.
“Everyone who saw today’s match knows that we didn’t just keep up but played really well,” the Germany defender Janina Minge said. “If we can convert our chances and keep defending as we did we can get the win on Tuesday.”
Spain’s first victory over Germany came at the 2025 European Championship semi-finals where Aitana Bonmatí scored in extra time.
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Spain have reached the finals of the last four major tournaments. They beat England in the 2023 World Cup and France in the 2024 Women’s Nations League, but lost to England in last summer’s European Championship final.
In the first leg of the third-place match in Reims, Mbock Bathy headed a 96th-minute winner to give France a 2-1 lead over Sweden, who had equalised through Arsenal’s Stina Blackstenius in the second half.