Women’s European Championship-Sweden: First tingling, then long faces

“It should be with all tingling,” said ZDF expert Kathrin Lehmann, together with Sven Voss in the European Championship studio, claimed, and that was probably the same. The quarter -finals were already in its pocket, the opponent was called Sweden in the last group game. The balance against the Scandinavians with 21 wins from 31 games is to be optimistic, according to Lehmann anyway: “You always have to turn balance sheets so that it fits.” Sound according to experience in the free economy, but hit the mark.

Afterwards you were less accurate in the predictions in terms of final result. With ex-international Cacau, on the road in an official role this year, there was a reunion. The 44-year-old had two tips carried away, as an expert he predicted a 1-1 draw when fan a 2-1 victory. Why just lie wrong if it is twice? Kathrin Lehmann also got off, she tapped a 3-2 win for the German team with five different goal scorers. That too: waste. After all, the total number of the gates was right.

Before the game, Katja Streso had gained access to the catacombs, the mood in the player tunnel had changed between tension and anticipation, an extremely interesting insight into the Blessed Sacrament. It was loud, said Streso, she had to keep her ears. On the other hand, if you listen exactly in the spectators in the Zurich Letzigrund Stadium, you could be brought into the mood for “Macarena” and “Sweet Dreams”. “A great stadium, a great football festival,” said Fritzy Kromp, who had certainly imagined the course of this festity differently.

In between there was an interview with national coach Christian Wück, which brought little about new knowledge, more interesting because the one -player from the visit of the Swiss comedian Hazel Brugger at the tournament. “Humor is good,” said her compatriot Lehmann afterwards, that was “bungee jumping for the brain”, whatever she meant by it.

This time Claudia Neumann was sitting on the commentator post in the second. At the beginning one almost said to hear this very specific Bela Rethy swing in her voice. As the ARD colleague Stephanie Baczyk played against Denmark, Neumann also did a solid job that evening, although: When victory against the Danishes, pepper was in the game, the Scandinavian neighbor was unequal bird winer. “Exactly the game we expected,” Neumann stated in the early minutes, no idea that from now on – and steep – would go downhill. Goals, red card, penalty, rarely you have seen a German team so blatantly and quickly broken down, freely according to the motto: heavily started, and then let it go.

“Disillusionment on the square and in the ranks,” was the knowledge after an “insanely exciting half”, a conclusion that the Swedes and their fans were probably not meant. Fritzy Kromp was still “fresh legs on the bench”, but the turning point could not bring: “There is no spark on”, said Lehmann, who did her best, to make the poor second half of hope and chances.

In the subsequent interviews, with a 1: 4 clap in the tank, the motto was with Voss and Lehmann: Analysis is necessary to continue to progress in the quarter-finals, you would rather not do it too firmly at all. “The beginning was good,” Wück was almost defiantly optimistic, you lie on the ground, but will get up again. Discounted, asked Janina Minge, goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, not uninvolved at the goals, did not want to start the interview with negative things and ultimately made it clear what counts on days like this: “The main thing on”. You can leave it that way.

There is sufficient time for the analysis and a little switching off: for the German team it will only continue on July 19.