When Spanish goalkeeper Sandra Panos’ clearance went straight to Klara Buhl, who scored with a low shot, Germany was given an early advantage.
Although Lucia Garcia had a chance to tie the score, her shot only found the side netting.
The second was headed in by Alexandra Popp, who hadn’t played since March after missing 10 months due to a knee injury.
The Wolfsburg striker scored as a substitute in the 4-0 victory against Denmark on Friday to score her second goal at these Euros after missing both Euro 2013 and Euro 2017 due to ankle ailments.
Favorites entering the tournament The head-to-head rule, which is used if teams finish equal points, will determine who advances and who is eliminated when Spain and Denmark meet on Saturday. The winner will finish second and play England in the round of eight.
Spain will go second if the game is a draw because of a superior overall goal differential.
With an 8-0 the hammering of Norway on Monday, England, who was going for the event’s first-ever victory, made tournament history and took first place in Group A.
Spain lose for the first time since 2020
On the morning of Tuesday, Spain’s reigning Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas had surgery in Barcelona after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in training in England three days before their first match against Finland.
Barca said that the procedure was successful, although Putellas, who watched her team’s 4-1 victory in Milton Keynes from the sidelines on crutches on Friday, would be out for 10 to 12 months.
She will most certainly miss the 2022–2023 season as a result, and she may also be unable to compete in the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in July and August.
Putellas’ injury was Spain’s second setback before the event’s commencement; in June, record-setter Jennifer Hermoso also had a knee injury.
Both players were sorely missed in the match against Germany as Spain failed to score in any of their 12 tries.
Against Finland, they had already succumbed in 50 seconds, and this time it took only three minutes.
READ MORE: England Women produced a sensational Victory over Norway
When the ball was handed back to Panos, there didn’t seem to be any danger, but her clearing struck Buhl, who took a touch to steal possession from Spain’s captain Irene Paredes before firing a finish into the bottom corner.
Although Patricia Guijarro and Mariona Caldentey were also denied, Spain had opportunities to score. Still, striker Garcia missed from a close angle after stealing the ball from Germany goalkeeper Merle From.
Despite having just 30% of the ball, Germany, ranked fifth in the world and two spots ahead of Spain, scored from both of their shots on goal in front of 16,037 spectators at the Brentford Community Stadium.
After Spain’s first goal, Popp put the game beyond their reach by heading in Felicitas Rauch’s corner in the 36th minute while Lea Schuller was out due to a positive Covid-19 test.
The Spaniards’ 24-match winning streak ended with this setback; they had not lost since being defeated 1-0 by the world champion Americans in the SheBelieves Cup in March 2020.
