LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí has told ESPN few teams could produce the type of performance Germany did against France, as she shifts the pressure on to the eight-time European Championship winners ahead of Wednesday’s semifinal showdown in Zurich.
Germany defied going down to 10 players in the 13th minute to hold France to a 1-1 draw in the quarterfinal, going on to book their place in the last four via a penalty shootout.
Their reward is a meeting with favourites Spain, with Italy or England waiting in the final, but Barcelona midfielder Bonmatí says the pressure is on Germany, a team La Roja have still never beaten.
“That performance revealed a lot about Germany’s mentality and resilience,” Bonmatí said in an interview with ESPN from Spain’s base in Lausanne.
“I think they are one of the few teams that can find themselves in this situation and get through it. I can’t tell you another team that goes down to 10 players and can hold out for the whole game from the 13th minute, plus stoppage time, plus extra time.
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“On top of that, they win on penalties. That’s keeping a cool head and shows that no matter what happens, all the adversity in the world can come at you, you will continue with your plan, with your commitment intact.
“I have a lot of respect for Germany and also, if you look at the history of the Euros, they have won it eight times, so the pressure is on them.”
It was the second red card Germany have received at these Euros. They also spent an hour with a player less in the group stage loss to Sweden, making it difficult for Spain to analyse them.
“We have obviously studied their games, the ones we could, because they have had two games one player down and that changes the tactical system a bit,” Bonmatí added.
“It’s not the same playing 11 against 11 as playing 11 against 10, because you have to change a lot of things.”
Spain are also fighting against history as the world champions look to not only beat Germany for the first time but to reach their first ever Euros final.
The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 1-0 win for Germany in the bronze-medal match at the Olympic Games in France last year.
“If you put it like that, it could possibly be revenge [for that loss],” Bonmatí said. “A year ago, we left Paris without a medal after I don’t know how many days there. For a team and players like us, it’s frustrating, plus we’ve never beaten Germany. So it’s a new opportunity to make history.”
