Germany exits Euro 2025 after sheer doggedness nearly gets team to the final

German chancellor Friedrich Merz never got to see Germany play at the Women’s European Championship.

“If it goes well we’ll see each other Sunday evening in Basel for the final,” Merz posted on social media before the German team faced World Cup champion Spain in the semifinal match on Wednesday.

It didn’t go quite that well. Aitana Bonmatí scored late in extra time for Spain to win 1-0 and avoid a penalty shootout that the Germany team had been holding out for.

Merz was filmed watching Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s amazing save in the quarterfinal win over France as if he’d never seen it before. He said he was never so excited during a soccer game than he’d been watching Germany win on penalties the previous weekend.

A commitment to meet France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, meant Merz couldn't attend the semifinal in Zurich.

Germany’s Euro 2025 campaign was also full of promise, but not matched in substance. Anyone watching the team during the tournament was left wondering what Christian Wück's team is really capable of.

A highlight reel would feature a string of fine saves from Berger, committed defending from Franziska Kett, Giovanna Hoffmann and Jule Brand – who are all forwards – and only occasional flashes of brilliance in attack, such as Brand’s opening strike in the team’s first game against Poland.

Germany, the eight-time European champion, only nearly reached the final through sheer dogged determination.

“We can be proud. That’s exactly what I told the team,” Wück said after Germany’s exit. “This is a good start, because we mustn’t forget that we initiated a development in October, bringing in a lot of young players, and that development brought us forward here, even if it’s really disappointing right now.”

Captain Giulia Gwinn was injured against Poland and ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. A 2-1 come-from-behind win over Denmark ensured early progress from the group, before a chastening 4-1 loss to Sweden in the last group game.

Germany had defender Gwinn’s replacement, Carlotta Wamser, sent off early against Sweden for swatting the ball away from goal with her hand, then had Kathrin Hendrich sent off early in the quarterfinal match against France for pulling French captain Griedge Mbock back by her hair.

It meant Germany reverted to defensive tactics in both games, protecting Berger’s goal while hoping the likes of Brand and star forward Klara Bühl might score on counterattacks.

Bühl’s corner allowed Sjoeke Nüsken to score the equalizer against France and the team held on despite French dominance to win 6-5 on penalties after Berger’s heroics.

The Germany goalkeeper was feted afterward for her amazing save to stop stand-in captain Janina Minge’s backward header from going into her own net when she leaped backwards and somehow clawed the ball away from the line. Berger also saved two penalties and scored her own spot kick in the shootout.

“We dominated them from start to finish. Now they’re through. I’m sorry, but they don’t deserve it,” France winger Selma Bacha said.

Germany was short on defenders against Spain with Sarai Linder joining Gwinn on the injury list and Hendrichs and Nüsken both suspended. But it didn’t stop the team defending, with forwards helping out at the back, producing timely blocks and committed challenges to frustrate Spain’s star forwards. Berger again made a host of saves until she left space at her near post and Bonmatí squeezed the ball through.

It ended Germany’s hopes of a rematch with defending champion England in the final, and left Merz with an opening in his schedule.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Germany's Klara Buehl, left, and Germany's Selina Cerci react after the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between Germany and Spain at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Spain's Aitana Bonmati (6) scores the winning goal during the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between Germany and Spain at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone via AP)

Germany's Jule Brand reacts after the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between Germany and Spain at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Germany's Klara Buehl reacts after the Women's Euro 2025 semifinal soccer match between Germany and Spain at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

Germany's Lea Schueller reacts after the Women's Euro 2025 semifinals soccer match between Germany and Spain at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 24-year-old man was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an elderly Thai man whose 2021 killing in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian American violence.

A jury did not find Antoine Watson guilty of murder when it returned a verdict Thursday for the January 2021 attack on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Jurors found Watson guilty on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault.

The office of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to comment, saying that the jury was still empaneled. Jurors will return Jan. 26 to hear arguments on aggravating factors and sentencing will be scheduled once that is completed, the office said in an email.

Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood he lived in with his wife, daughter and her family when Watson charged at him and knocked him to the ground. The encounter was captured on a neighbor's security camera. Ratanapakdee died two days later, never regaining consciousness.

His family says he was attacked because of his race, but hate crime charges were not filed and the argument was not raised in trial. Prosecutors have said hate crimes are difficult to prove absent statements by the suspect.

Watson testified on the stand that he was in a haze of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to KRON-TV. He said he lashed out and didn't know that Ratanapakdee was Asian or elderly.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office defended Watson, extended his sympathies to the victim's family and said the defendant is “fully remorseful for his mistake.”

“While this death was a terrible tragedy and has garnered a lot of press attention, the importance of our legal system is that it gives us a chance to look at the facts in a balanced way,” he said in a statement.

Hundreds of people in five other U.S. cities joined in commemorating the anniversary of Ratanapakdee's death in 2022, all of them seeking justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted, and even killed in alarming numbers since the start of the pandemic.

Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, but the attacks escalated sharply after the coronavirus first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 through September 2021.

The incidents involved shunning, racist taunting and physical assaults.

FILE - Flowers are left with pictures of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee during a rally attended by hundreds of people on Jan. 30, 2022, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Janie Har, File)

FILE - Monthanus Ratanapakdee holds a photo of her father, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, and stands in front of the San Francisco apartment building where he was attacked last year and later died of his injuries, on Jan. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)