A stunning strike from Jule Brand helped Germany to a winning start at Euro 2025. The 2-0 win over Poland was not as straightforward as many imagined though, and another knee injury to captain Giulia Gwinn is a concern.

Jule Brand (left) and Lea Schüller both scored as Germany started Euro 2025 with a win© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance

At the end, it all looked easy enough for Germany, as goals from Jule Brand and Lea Schüller saw them past tournament debutants Poland. But while the win was deserved and the performance improved as the game went on, it was not quite the perfect start.

The eight-time champions were wasteful in front of goal and were not entirely convincing at the back. A more ruthless side than Poland may well have capitalized on some sloppy German errors. Sweden and Denmark, Germany's other group stage opponents, may not be so charitable.

But perhaps more significantly, captain Giulia Gwinn left the pitch in tears during the first half after appearing to injure her knee while making a crucial tackle on Poland's prolific striker, Ewa Pajor.

Giulia Gwinn knew straight away that she had hurt herself making a first half tackle© Wunderl/BEAUTIFUL SPORTS/picture alliance

Gwinn seemed to know straight away that she was in trouble. The Bayern Munich fullback, 26, has already suffered two anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, the last of which saw her miss the 2023 World Cup. It's an injury much more common in the women's game than the men's, for various reasons, and usually means a minimum of six months out. Though it's not yet clear what Gwinn's injury is this time, her participation in the rest of this tournament is now in significant doubt.

Coach Christian Wück called it a "bitter price" to pay for the win and said the players all give Gwinn a "big hug" at halftime.

"When you've torn a cruciate ligament twice and then injure your knee again, you're in shock at first," Wück continued. "We don't want to speculate." The coach confirmed Gwinn will have an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the damage.

Brand steps up as Gwinn sits out

Gwinn has been the face of this squad in the buildup and Germany now needed another player to step up: enter Brand. The Wolfsburg winger had never scored a tournament goal in 10 games at the World Cup and Euros but stepped inside to arrow an excellent strike in to the far corner to give her side the lead on 52 minutes.