World champions Spain escaped Kaiserslautern with a goalless draw in the first leg of the Women’s Nations League final on Friday, thanks largely to a superb display from goalkeeper Cata Coll, who produced several vital saves to keep Germany at bay. The tie now heads to Madrid for Tuesday’s decisive second leg.
Germany dominated for long spells as Spain dropped deep and looked content to absorb pressure, seemingly backing themselves to finish the job on home soil. Klara Bühl, who carved out four clear chances in a lively first half, told ZDF: “We played incredibly bravely, and we feel bitter that we didn’t score.” The Bayern Munich forward added that the performance gives her side confidence heading into next week’s showdown: “Now we have a classic final and we’re extremely excited about it.”
Germany coach Christian Wück praised his side’s authority in possession, saying they showed “we can not only compete but even play our own game against a team like Spain”, though he admitted frustration that they “failed to reward ourselves again” despite their dominance. Germany had spoken beforehand about seeking revenge on Spain, who knocked them out of the Euro 2025 semi finals in July.
Spain boss Sonia Bermúdez had insisted pre match that her team “would not play for a draw”, but the visitors spent much of the contest slowing the tempo and sitting deep, much to the irritation of the home crowd.
Coll was forced into action early, reacting sharply with her feet to stop Franziska Kett before Irene Paredes cleared off the line moments later after a Jule Brand effort. Spain came closest when Esther González struck the post seven minutes after the restart.
Germany hit the woodwork themselves when Bühl clipped the post on 71 minutes with Coll rooted. The hosts nearly stole it in stoppage time when Brand slipped Sjoeke Nüsken through, but Coll raced off her line to sweep the danger.
