In the third-place match of the women’s soccer tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Spain, after its disastrous semifinals performance against Brazil, had a second chance to secure its first Olympic medal. However, for the third time in a row, Spain had a poor offensive showing. And, for the second time in a row, Cata Coll committed a costly goalkeeping error. And, thus, for the first time since 2008, Germany had an Olympic bronze medal, their fourth.
The two defining moments of the match both revolved around penalty kicks: In the 65th minute, Giulia Gwinn converted from the spot for Germany after Spain’s goalkeeper, Cata Coll, crashed into Gwinn at the top of the penalty area as both were going for a lofted long pass. And, in the final moments of the match, Gotham FC’s Ann-Katrin Berger, who save two kicks in Germany’s quarterfinal penalty shootout against Canada, was once again the heroine for Germany, as she saved Alexia Putellas’s penalty kick in the 9th minute of second-half stoppage time.
The match got off to a slow start, with neither team threatening to score during the opening fifteen minutes. Germany’s first attempt on goal did not come until the 19th minute when Klara Bühl’s hard shot from the top of the box was shot straight at Catalina Coll, who had a relatively routine save.
About halfway through the first half, each team had a long-range speculative effort: For Spain, a long free kick by Teresa Abelleira rattled the top of the crossbar in the 21st minute. Right after that, Alexandra Popp, who returned to the starting line-up after missing the semifinal against the USWNT, attempted to chip Coll from the center circle, but Coll was standing right where the shot would have bounced, and settled the ball without too much difficulty.
Just before the 30-minute mark, Spain almost had their second most dangerous attack of the first half when a long pass up the center of the field found Athenea del Castillo, who attempted to poke a shot past Ann-Katrin Berger, who blocked the shot. However del Castillo was offside.
Another almost-chance for Spain came five minutes later, when Salma Paralluelo, who was utilized as a central target forward, was fed a long pass up the center from Aitana Bonmati, but Paralluelo, who cleanly collected the ball, was closed down and dispossessed by Katrin Hendrich.
Spain’s best chances of the first half came in the 44th minute when they outflanked Germany’s backline and advanced into the German penalty area: A cross found Bonmati at the top of the 18-yard box, whose unpressured cross struck the crossbar. The rebound fortuitously bounced to Jenni Hermoso, whose left-footed shot was headed toward the back of the net, but deflected off of a German defender and ricocheted over the crossbar for a corner.
For the first fifteen minutes of the second half, Spain had more of both the possession and the scoring opportunities, though Germany, through Giulia Gwinn, did have the best scoring chance in that period when her header off of a cross went just over the crossbar.
In the 63rd minute, Germany attempted to go Route One, starting with a long punt from Berger, which was headed back by a Spanish player, only to be speculatively volleyed up toward Cata Coll’s penalty area. Gwinn and Coll both raced to the ball, but Coll made no attempt to clear the ball and collided with Gwinn, who fell onto her backside. After a bit of treatment, Gwinn claimed the ball and took the penalty kick, sending it low and to her right, while Coll dived the other direction.
Five minutes later, Lea Schüller, who came on as a substitute for Buhl at half-time, almost doubled the lead for Germany. After a long kick from Berger, Popp dribbled and threaded a diagonal cross ahead of Schüller, who was then one-on-one with Coll, but Schüller went straight at Coll, instead of shifting to the left side, allowing Coll to make a sliding kick save.
In the remaining moments of the match, Spain pressed for an equalizer, but none of their efforts overly challenged Germany’s defense.
Spain nearly had salvation when substitute Lucia Garcia was clipped on the foot inside the penalty area and instantly collapsed onto the ground. Mexican referee Katia Garcia instantly pointed to the spot while Lucia Garcia was doing her best impression of a flopping seal.
There was no VAR review and Alexia Putellas stepped up to the penalty spot.
Whether the penalty call was “soft” or fair would not matter: Putellas went right, but so did Ann-Katrin Berger, who dived and readily stopped the shot, which was in the Goldilocks zone for a save: Neither too low nor too high.
From Berger’s hands, the ball bounced out for a throw-in. After that restart, Katia Garcia blew her whistle, and the German players on the field immediately converged on Berger and grouped hugged her.
Germany, while disappointed to not have gold, will leave France on a positive note, which should give them some confidence as they prepare for the 2025 Women’s Euro under incoming head coach Christian Wück (dfb.de).
For Spain, questions will be asked about the Montse Tome’s future as head coach as well as the future of some of the players, notably goalkeeper Cata Coll, who is just 23-years-old.
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Additional Links: Match report (PDF), FIFA match page, NBC Sports highlights
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