Berger saves Putellas penalty to clinch women's soccer bronze for Germany in 1-0 win over Spain

LYON, France -- Ann-Katrin Berger saved a last-minute penalty and Germany won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics with a 1-0 victory on Friday over Women’s World Cup winner Spain.

Berger dove to stop Alexia Putellas’ penalty attempt in the ninth minute of stoppage time, then raised her hands in victory. Putellas — a two-time Ballon d’Or winner — was in tears as the match ended.

Giulia Gwinn had converted a second-half penalty that proved to be the game winner.

It was Germany's fourth bronze medal in women's soccer at the Olympics. The Germans won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games but didn't qualify for Tokyo three years ago.

“It was a little tough and slow in the beginning against the Spaniards, but we tried to do everything,” said Germany captain Alexandra Popp, who was also on the gold-medal team. “Maybe it wasn't the most beautiful soccer that we've ever played, but I think we were efficient with our accuracy and our mentality, and luckily this led to the bronze medal.”

Spain, ranked No. 1 in the world after the World Cup win, was making its Olympics debut.

The Spaniards thought they were headed to extra time after a penalty was awarded when Germany's Janina Minge fouled Lucia Garcia. But Berger made the difference, as she did in the quarterfinals when she stopped two penalties in a shootout victory over Canada.

Gwinn, who was fouled by Spain goalkeeper Cata Coll, confidently struck her penalty in the 64th minute after a scoreless first half.

Spain’s Aitana Bonmati, the reigning women’s world player of the year, had the best chance in the opening half but her shot hit the crossbar. Jennie Hermoso’s attempted rebound was blocked by a German defender.

Popp started for Germany after missing the semifinal with an illness. Lea Schuller, who returned from injury as a second-half substitute, nearly scored in the 71st minute but Coll made a kick save for Spain.

Putellas was the FIFA Best women’s player of the year and the Ballon d’Or winner in both 2021 and 2022. She tore her ACL and required surgery ahead of the 2022 European championships, but returned in time for Spain’s World Cup run.

Spain struggled in the knockout round in France, needing penalties to get past Colombia before losing to Brazil 4-2 in the semifinals. Spain was vying to become the first team to win an Olympic title after lifting a World Cup.

Spain had a wild ride at the World Cup last summer. Before the tournament started, more than a dozen players quit the team because of what they said was an unprofessional atmosphere that impacted their mental health.

Coach Jorge Vilda was peppered with questions about the mutiny during the World Cup. But the players were unbothered, losing just one match during the tournament before lifting the trophy.

Chaos erupted afterward when then-Spanish Federation president Luis Rubiales forcibly kissed Hermoso during the winner’s ceremony. Rubiales resigned in the wake of the scandal, and Vilda was dismissed.

In France, Spain was led by coach Montse Tome, a former national team player.

Germany was playing the Olympics under interim coach Horst Hrubesch, who took over after Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was dismissed after the team’s poor showing at the World Cup.

“I think you could see very clearly that we were calm. The players managed to close the spaces and obviously we had dream passing in the end,” Hrubesch said. “I wasn't sure if we could keep up, but the players really did everything they could and I think despite the very exciting finish it was a good game.”

Christian Wuck will take over as the coach of Germany ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games