France and Germany have a long footballing history, but it has been the Germans who have always had the upper hand in recent years in the women's game.
Saturday's highly anticipated Euro 2025 quarterfinal in Basel is the latest chapter between two old enemies. France were winless against their neighbors in their past five games in major competitions until February 2024, when Les Bleues won 2-1 in the UEFA Nations League semifinals in Lyon. Beyond that, Germany have been dominant. At club level, their teams won nine of the first 14 UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) trophies from 2001 (with Turbine Potsdam, FFC Frankfurt and Vfl Wolfsburg among the winners); and the national side picked up six straight European Championships from 1995 to 2013, as well as two World Cups in 2003 and 2007.