Buhl hails Germany resilience after 'crazy' quarter-final win

Klara Buhl says Germany's penalty shootout win over France in the Euro 2025 quarter-final was a "crazy" game that ranks in the country's top three matches in their history.

Germany went down to 10 players after Kathrin Hendrick received the earliest ever red card in a match at the Women's Euros, just 13 minutes in, for pulling Griedge Mbock's hair in the box.

Grace Geyoro netted the resulting spot-kick, but Sjoeke Nusken equalised 10 minutes later. She then missed a penalty of her own in the first half, while Delphine Cascarino and Geyoro had goals disallowed for France, resulting in the shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time.

Ann-Katrin Berger then made two saves and scored a penalty of her own as Germany triumphed 6-5 to set up a meeting with world champions Spain in the semi-finals.

And Buhl hailed her side's mentality after noting what they had to overcome to earn the victory.

"I am really proud of the team, we showed a crazy good mentality," Buhl told UEFA. "We believed we could win the game until the end. I am just proud to be part of this team.

"I was a bit nervous [for her penalty] during the shootout, but I want to take responsibility in this phase of the game, and this is why I said I wanted to shoot and give my best.

"I was really happy after the goal, and now we reach the semi-final, and that feels so good.

"It's one of the top three [games in Germany's history]. We were 110 minutes with one player less and we go through. That's crazy. With all the VAR and the red card, the game was just crazy."

Germany have reached the semi-final stage of the Euros for the seventh time since the format changed to introduce the group stage at Euro 1997, two more times than any other nation (Sweden - five).

At this year's tournament, they have held a lead for just 82 minutes across their four matches, with hosts Switzerland (46 minutes) the only nation to spend less time in front in games amongst those that progressed to the knockout stage.

Berger was a standout performer for Germany, making nine saves throughout the 120 minutes, the second-most on record in a Euros knockout-stage match.

But she played down her influence, insisting the team deserved the credit for Saturday's result.

"I was not happy that we had to go to the penalty shootout because I would have loved to have won the game in 90 minutes and have it done and dusted," Berger told reporters.

"I think credit should go to the team, not me, because maybe it [my save] was the decisive moment in the penalty shootout, but we, everyone here, should talk about this with him [coach Christian Wueck] now about the performance of the team, because that was amazing and incredible."