European Football Championship
France game as a “indicator” for footballers and DFB
The team of the women’s European Championships will have a strong influence on the two years until the next World Cup. In addition to the national coach, sports director Nia Künzer is responsible for the national coach.
Nia Künzer moderated the long countdown to the first co-game of the German footballers against France with a lot of routine, but also caution. “We know that European football is very close together. This is already an award to move into the quarter-finals,” said the DFB sports director at the European Championship. Does the clever woman build?
An EM out on Saturday (9:00 p.m./ZDF and DAZN) in Basel would put the association even more under pressure two years before the World Cup in Brazil if international competition is growing. Of course, Künzer does not want to publicly pronounce the horror scenario; The current crisis coping after the 1: 4 against Sweden is difficult enough.
“Quite competitive”
“I still see ourselves competitive,” said Künzer when asked about the importance of German women’s football. “We got bronze at Olympics and are now in the quarter -finals.” The success in the summer games in France-one year after the preliminary round debacle at the World Cup in Australia-was above all due to an eerie feat of the DFB selection of Horst Hrubesch and at the end of the penalty heroine Ann-Katrin Berger.
Furious French women, playful Spaniards, compact teams such as Sweden and Norway, outsiders such as Switzerland and newcomers to tournament Poland, recessed English women – at the European Championship, the eight -time title winner Germany has so far flies more under the radar.
On the other hand, the players showed the 4: 3 in Wembley against England or 4-0 in the Nations League against the Netherlands, on the other hand. If you bring it to the square for over 90 minutes without a thick defense person.
Ex-national goalkeeper Almuth Schult also refers to the unfortunate Finland in the of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and says about the chances of the German team: “Theoretically, things can go very far, but the quarter-finals are simply a indicator.” It will be “a very, very difficult way towards the title”.
“Not the mass of top talents”
While young stars such as Sydney Schertenleib (Switzerland) or her Barça colleague Vicky López (Spain/both 18) draw attention to other teams, the 22-year-old Jule Brand is still considered the great talent in their fourth tournament in the Wück team.
“We have top talents, but we don’t have the mass of top talents. And we really have to be careful that we are drawing the right conclusions,” the national coach had warned before the tournament in Switzerland.
Football is getting faster and faster
Not without worry he described international development as follows: “Speed is the be -all and end -all. If you are fast, you already have many factors that are brutally important. Athletics are increasing. I think the game intelligence will be extremely important because the game is getting faster and faster.”
His players – Brand and Klara Bühl are not exactly blessed as big exceptions. World class? One like striker Lea Schüller is part of good days, of course also the currently injured Lena Oberdorf (both FC Bayern Munich).
The DFB has long been aware that times when the women collected one title after another are over. The future program “Fast Forward 27” was launched before the final in the European Championship 2022 in England, the Bundesliga increased from 12 to 14 clubs for the new season, and youth performance centers set up. So far there are in Munich, Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim, Essen, Frankfurt and Freiburg.
2031 already 48 teams at the World Cup
“This happened in 2002 for the boys, and it took twelve years until we became world champions,” said Wück. The 52-year-old doesn’t get a lot quickly enough. Incidentally, his contract expires at the end of 2026, i.e. before the next World Cup. There are waiting for the DFB women, provided the qualification, then also co-favorites such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, Japan, Australia or Colombia.
At the world tournament four years later (only applicants are the USA so far) there will be 48 participants in a sport that is considered a growth industry and is becoming more and more common.
Künzer the next few years
At the DFB the responsibility for the next few years is primarily Künzer. The contract of the 45-year-old ex-world champion, now also responsible for the U-teams, was only extended four weeks ago until 2029. Then the association would like to host the next European Championship.
During the preliminary round, DFB President Bernd Neuendorf got an idea of the conditions of the national team in Zurich at the European Championship in Switzerland. His conclusion: the whole thing around it is “in no way for any excuses on the sporting level”.
dpa
Source: Stern
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