Ann-Katrin Berger saved a last minute penalty to help clinch a hard-fought bronze as they defeated 1-0 in the women’s football in Lyon.
In a match that had few clear cut chances, Germany took the lead on 64 minutes when Spanish keeper Cata Coll raced out of her goal in an attempt to clear the ball, only succeeding in taking out Giulia Gwinn.
The midfielder made no mistake from the spot, as Spain crashed to a second successive loss in three days, when Alexia Putellas then failed to convert a 97th minute penalty for the .
“We gave everything we had – and we have a great goalkeeper. The tears are flowing,” winning goalscorer Gwinn said.
Victory handed Germany a fourth Olympic bronze medal in the event since the women’s edition began in 1996, along with the gold medal they won in Rio in 2016.
Berger steps up in key moments
Veteran shot-stopper Berger had proved throughout the intense tournament that she was worthy of being made Germany’s new No,1 between the posts by .
During the bronze medal match, Berger had few big saves to make, but was called into action in the seventh minute of added time at the end of the match when Lucia Garcia was adjudged to have had her toe clipped inside the area.
But, Berger guessed correctly, diving to her left to save ‘ penalty – as the German goalkeeper let out a roar of delight following the stop.
“I have no idea what I did at the penalty. I switched my head off,” she said. “The beaming and screaming faces that came toward me made me so happy.”
Days before Germany’s first match in Paris, Berger told Kicker Magazine: “All the hard times behind me have been worth it. It simply means everything for me to be at the Olympics and play.”
The 33-year-old made her Olympics debut in the team’s first match of the tournament against Australia and looked confident throughout most of the competition – a wobbly display in the group stage loss against the United States aside.
Berger played a pivotal role in Germany’s quarterfinal victory over gold medal holders Canada, saving two spot kicks during the penalty shootout before scoring the winner from spot.
She seemed unbeatable in the semifinal against the US, where she made four stops before eventually being beaten by Sophia Smith in the 107th minute but proved she was deserving of being named Germany’s first-choice keeper.
Perfect end for Hrubesch
“I’ll certainly miss something afterward, but it’s not nostalgia” Hrubesch mused as his brief tenure in charge of Germany came to an end. “The time was just too good for that.”
Hrubesch took over as head coach in October 2023 from Martina Voss-Tecklenburg on an interim basis following a disastrous showing at the 2023 World Cup, where Germany crashed out in the group stages.
Fully aware that his remit was to turn around the team’s fortunes for the Nations League and subsequent Olympics, the 73-year-old used his time to mix experienced players with a number of younger ones as well as making tough choices, such as dropping No.1 Merle Frohms ahead of Paris.
“We’re really happy for the coach,” Gwinn said. “That rounds things off. He gets a farewell present. But we gave ourselves the biggest present.”
And Berger, who made the match-winning stop, added: “I said to Horst: ‘That last one was for you’.”
Christian Wück, who led the men’s under-17 team to the 2023 World Cup title, was announced as the on International Women’s Day on March 8.
Edited by: Rana Taha
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