Captain Giulia Gwinn suffers a knee injury, causing her to be sidelined from the European Championships.
In a disappointing turn of events for the German Football Association (DFB) team, their captain Giulia Gwinn was forced to leave the pitch during their opening match against Poland in the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 on July 4, 2025. Gwinn, a popular figure in the DFB squad, sustained a significant injury to her left knee in the 36th minute while attempting to block a shot [1].
The injury has raised concerns due to Gwinn's history of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. She had previously torn her right ACL in an EM qualifier against Ireland in September 2020 and her left ACL in a DFB training session in October 2022 [2].
The DFB team is currently adhering to UEFA regulations regarding injury replacements. These regulations allow teams to replace an injured player before their first match or during the group stage if the injury is severe, pending medical confirmation. However, once the tournament has started, replacements are generally only permitted in cases of serious injury, often with approval from UEFA's medical committee [2].
Gwinn's injury occurred during the tournament, and as such, Germany will likely rely on this procedure to bring in a replacement to maintain squad strength. However, no official replacement has been announced yet [2].
Jule Brand, the goal scorer from the game, expressed her shock upon learning about Gwinn's injury. The DFB team will now play their remaining group games against Denmark and Sweden without their captain [3].
Coach Christian Wueck praised Gwinn's action during the game against Poland, and the DFB team announced that they fear her injury may be career-threatening [4]. This unfortunate turn of events comes after Lena Oberdorf, Gwinn's Bayern teammate, did not make the Euros squad due to an ACL tear last year.
The source of this information is ntv.de, tno/fzo/sid/dpa. Further updates on Gwinn’s recovery status and Germany’s squad changes are expected as the tournament progresses.
[1] ntv.de, July 4, 2025. [2] ntv.de, July 5, 2025. [3] ntv.de, July 5, 2025. [4] ntv.de, July 6, 2025.
In light of Giulia Gwinn's career-threatening injury during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025, the DFB team may consider vocational training as an alternative for their star player, should her football career be put on hold. Concurrently, to fill the void left by Gwinn, the DFB community may implement a policy to provide vocational training for new players joining the squad.
