In eight meetings between Spain and Germany in all competitions, La Roja have never won against a nation that has historically dominated the sport. The German team has a record of five wins and three draws against the Spaniards, who are currently world champions.
The most recent of these came at the 2024 Olympic Games, after Spain's world title, when Germany denied Spain Olympic bronze in a 1-0 victory in the third-place play-off.
"There's a first time for everything," says Alexia Putellas in an interview with Mundo Deportivo. "Our aim is to reach the final, so that means we have to beat Germany."
Despite their unfavourable record, Spain arrive at the Letzigrund Stadion as favourites going into this semi-final. It's a status they owe to their perfect start to EURO 2025, with four wins from four games and 16 goals scored and only three conceded.
Spain coach Montse Tome is optimistic: "Since I've been here, I've played Germany five times and we've never managed to beat them. I have the impression that we're getting closer and closer to victory each time."
One of the reasons for this is the very positive mood around the Spanish national team, "where the atmosphere is the most professional" that Jorge Vilda's former assistant at La Roja has ever experienced.
"The team is becoming more and more mature and there's progress in every sense of the word," she says. "I see a lot of maturity in the team and a lot of understanding between the players."
'Extra motivation'
This Spanish team is already following in the footsteps of a historic EURO performance: for the first time since 1997, they have qualified for the semi-finals of the continental competition. And back then, the tournament was only contested by eight nations.
But the leader of the world champions wants more: "In recent years, we've won a World Cup, a Nations League and all we need now is the EURO, so it's very important for us," Aitana Bonmati told Marca on Tuesday, asserting that Spain's ambition is to "continue devouring the world".
The curse of facing Germany even adds "extra motivation", says the two-time Ballon d'Or winner, for whom the last defeat to Germany "left a bitter taste".
"The pressure is on them because they've won eight European championships and we haven't won any. But we're 100% confident in our talent and hard work. Since we've come this far, we're going to try and reach the final."
An opportunity rather than revenge
Putellas, Spain's best player at the start of the tournament, adds: "We're convinced that if we get closer to our best version and minimise our mistakes, we can reach the final."
To finally beat Germany, Spain will be able to count on a united dressing room, a rarity in a national team shaken by controversy in recent years, with players withdrawing from La Roja to denounce the conditions in which they play and others keeping quiet or taking advantage of their absences to have their first call-ups.
"We've always had incredible talent, we've picked up talent that could have helped us, but we've created a team capable of assuming its responsibilities," says Tome, herself criticised internally for being one of the last cogs in the wheel of the previous RFEF management.
Spain seem to have never been so close to finally beating Germany, "one of the best teams in the world", according to Putellas. But there's no question of talking about 'revenge' against a nation that La Roja have never beaten: "They're an opponent we've lost to, and tomorrow we have the opportunity to beat them for the first time!"
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