Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor made to wait as Germany clinch victory | OneFootball

Germany claimed a 2-0 victory in St Gallen despite a spirited performance from Women’s Euro debutants Poland.

The late fixture of matchday three had everything we all love about football. Germany, the eight-time winners of the competition, were eager to stake their claim on the competition as they came head-to-head with Women’s Euro debutants Poland.

Despite what many predicted to be a clear landslide in favour of the in-form Germans, it was Poland who looked up for the count in St Gallen. However, the Polish grit only lasted so long as 22-year-old Jule Brand opened the scoring with a wonder strike from range that cleaned the cobwebs out of the top corner.

The European giants doubled their advantage in the 66th minute as Lea Schuller headed home a curling cross inside of the area.

Here are four things we learnt from the match…

Ewa Pajor looked lively but couldn’t find the back of the net

The Barcelona striker is on everyone’s list of stars to keep an eye on as all of the Euro 2025 action kicks off in Switzerland. After scoring 25 goals for Barcelona in the Liga F this season, Pajor has been widely coined as the best striker in the world.

However, tonight was not her night and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. The Polish captain came close to opening the scoring for her nation in the opening few minutes, forcing an impressive save from German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger.

Pajor continued to find herself in the right places, streaming through the German last line before blundering her strikes off target, or directly at the awaiting gloves of Berger. The striker had one final chance in the closing 10 minutes before a world class intervention by Chelsea’s Sjoeke Nusken halted her in her tracks.

Major tournament jitters can affect even the best players in the world, but Pajor is exhibiting positive signs that she is here to make a difference for Poland.

Germany claimed victory but are in strife after captain Giulia Gwinn goes down injured

Germany may have commenced their Women’s Euro 2025 campaign in winning fashion, but a dark cloud still remains over the side after captain Giulia Gwinn was substituted out of the game in the 40th minute following what looked like a knock to her knee.

The Bayern Munich wing-back, who more often than not plies her trade higher up the pitch for Germany, recently inherited the captain’s armband following the retirement of German legend Alexandra Popp. Gwinn is a workhouse who plays a pivotal role in connecting all areas of the pitch for Christian Wück’s side.

Yet to play Sweden, who also picked up a victory on matchday one, Germany will be crossing their fingers that Gwinn’s withdrawal was purely precautionary. However, the signs are truly worrying.

Germany fast in attack but leaky at the back

Despite their obvious threat in the final third, Germany are yet to prove themselves as a defensively sound unit.

It was clear that heading into this fixture, Poland would be eager to send the ball long to Pajor to allow her to run in and behind the last line. Germany failed to catch on on more than one account, as centre-back partnership Rebecca Knaak and Janina Minge continued to be exploited through the middle of the park.

Group C is closer than we may have thought

After Sweden narrowly slid past Denmark in a 1-0 victory elsewhere in Group C, Poland put up a dignified performance against the dynamic German outfit. Despite the scoreline, Poland may well be considered the brighter side in the opening half, but their lack of major tournament experience came back to bite them.

All in all, each side in Group C is looking like they can claim a result. If Poland are to decode how they must measure their press so that they can persevere across an entire 90 minutes, there is nothing stopping them from shaking up the group standings.