It wasn’t a particularly pretty victory, and some questionable refereeing decisions helped, but Germany won 2-1 in what Klara Bühl called a “psychological and emotional victory.”
The first half was ruled out twice by VAR, and the decisions were more favorable in the second half. Amalie Vangsgaard gave Andrée Jeglertz’s Denmark a surprise lead in the first half, but Germany were awarded another penalty after VAR ruled out, and Lea Schüller kicked the ball from the ground, but teammate Nuskin converted the winning goal with VAR.
“We need to clarify the rules,” Jeglertz said of Snerle’s plight.”If we have a player with a serious head injury, we have to blow the whistle and act as referee.I don’t understand why he didn’t stop the game.In the first half, the referee also questioned the decisions he made without stopping the game because of the head injury.”
“I don’t know if the decisions were right or wrong, but I know how the football system works to accelerate it,” said Germany head coach Christian Wück.
Germany were expecting around 16,000 fans at St Jakob-Park, but it felt like half that number was much higher, with a record 34,165 fans for a group stage match not including the 2018 World Cup.
Hosting Basel, close to the border between France and Germany, meant Wück’s home game was as close as possible, with fans chanting “We have a home game in Basel” and waving banners reading “Get soon GG #7” as they marched towards the ground some of which were spread out among the injured Giulia Gsun, the media’s tribute to the captain of the Liga, the team’s opening match against Poland.
Denmark, who lost 1-0 to Sweden in their opening match, showed they were more than capable of winning the European Player of the Year award, despite Pernille Harder being their star player.
Germany had broken down a well-organised Danish defence in the first 20 minutes, but after a long wait for a VAR review, Bühl’s effort was ruled out, with Nüsken deemed offside as the ball went through her legs and past the blinded Maja Bay Østergaard.
Germany went behind 10 minutes later. Janni Thomsen was held up by Lea Schüller, but Vangsgaard was on hand to tap the loose ball past Ann-Katrin Berger.When the crowd fell silent for the first time, the rhythmic applause paused, and the small red-shirted player went wild behind the Danish goal.
Referee Catarina Campos awarded a penalty after Frederikke Thøgersen’s handball outside the left-hand box was disallowed for a Wück goal.
After the break, there was a lengthy VAR intervention, this time in Germany’s favour, with Katrin Vejle deciding that Linda Dallmann had brought down the ball inside the box.It was a soft, but very soft, shot, but the referee pointed to the spot after the touchline had been checked. Nüsken stepped up and curled her penalty into the corner, sending the crowd on their toes and into a full-throated roar in the process.
Germany were also lucky to have taken the lead for the first time.Emma Færge’s clearance sent her teammate Snerle sprawling on the ground but the referee allowed play to continue despite the head injury, and Jule Brand cleared the ball to Schüller.Snerle’s hard hit was enough to knock her out, and she was left dazed and limping off the field after she scored.
Josefine Hasbo replaced Snerle and Denmark looked for an equaliser to keep their hopes of qualifying alive.
It didn’t come.Germany, despite a bit of a letdown, advanced to the quarter-finals, while Denmark were eliminated before their final group game against Poland.
