In a performance that will go down as one of the greatest in European Championship history, Germany’s goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger inspired her side to a dramatic penalty shootout victory over France in the Euro 2025 quarterfinals on Saturday night.
After a gripping 1-1 draw that extended into extra time, Berger’s brilliance proved decisive in the shootout, as Germany triumphed 6-5 on penalties to book a place in the semifinals against reigning world champion Spain.
Yet for Berger, a two-time cancer survivor, the high-stakes match was just another chapter in an extraordinary personal journey. The 34-year-old has overcome thyroid cancer twice — first diagnosed in 2017, and again during the previous Euro tournament in 2022. Her resilience off the pitch has translated into mental steel on it.
“Football saved my brain and saved my mental health because I had something to hold on to,” she once said in a 2022 interview with Sky Sports.
On Saturday, she proved just how powerful that determination can be.
Berger made nine saves during the match — the most by any goalkeeper in a knockout match at the European Women’s Championship since 2013, according to the BBC.
During the penalties, Berger saved the first spot kick from France’s Amel Majri, stepped up herself to score Germany’s fourth, and delivered the winning moment by diving to stop Alice Sombath’s effort — France’s seventh penalty — sealing the victory for Germany.
The keeper dropped to her knees in disbelief as her teammates rushed to embrace her, their semifinal dream alive.
Berger’s story is as much about survival as it is about sport. She returned to football just months after cancer treatment—twice—and now bears a tattoo on her neck reading "All we have is now," covering the scars from surgery.
Her journey, both on and off the pitch, has made her a symbol of resilience — and on Saturday night, she was Germany’s hero.
Germany will now face Spain in the semifinals on Wednesday in what promises to be a high-stakes showdown between two powerhouses of the women’s game.
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