The DFB women’s 4:1 win against Poland in the European Championship qualifiers is a must. But with a view to the Olympics, the game is not very meaningful. Double goalscorer Giulia Gwinn has at least gained one insight.
The Olympic parade turned out to be a bumpy affair. The insights gained from the casting during the German women’s football team’s 4:1 win against Poland in the European Championship qualification match were correspondingly low, 55 days before the first game of the Olympic tournament.
The person who was least bothered by this was Horst Hrubesch. “I don’t make anything dependent on a game,” said the interim national coach after the match in Rostock.
The 73-year-old will not be making many changes to the team in view of the Olympics in France. However, he will have to cut four players from the 22-woman squad. Only 16 field players and two goalkeepers will be allowed to travel to the Olympics. “There will definitely be one or two cases that are tough,” said Hrubesch. “But the girls will understand that.”
Hrubesch hopes for 22 players at the Olympics
He would prefer not to have to cancel any of his players. He would much rather travel to the Olympics with all of them instead of just 18. “I would like to take the 22 with me so that we are more flexible,” said Hrubesch. The German Football Association (DFB), along with other European nations, has already complained to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they are only allowed to name 18 players. A response is still pending, but the chances of a positive decision from the IOC are slim anyway.
Hrubesch can test his team three more times. All three matches are qualifying matches for the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland. After the flawless record of three wins in three games so far, the DFB selection can secure its place in the European Championship with another win against Poland on Tuesday (6 p.m./ARD) in Gdynia. “That means a lot to us,” said Giulia Gwinn of German champions Bayern Munich. “Of course we want to play the last few games successfully and get a good feeling.”
Above all, the last two qualifying matches against Iceland (July 12) in Reykjavík and against Austria (July 16) in Hanover are intended to serve as a warm-up. Just nine days after the match against the Austrians, the DFB team will start the Olympic tournament with the match against Australia in Marseille. The other group opponents are the USA and Zambia.
These are all teams against which the German women’s soccer team can hardly afford to make mistakes like they did against the Poles and in the previous games. Because as clear as the result was against the still pointless underdog in the end, the performance in the first half was just as worrying.
Gwinn: “You can always count on us”
Without defensive leader Marina Hegering, the defense was shaky – and not just when the visitors scored the opening goal after 28 seconds through Cologne’s Natalia Padilla-Bidas. When Hegering came on for the second half, the 34-year-old immediately provided security. It was a bitter pill for her and the team: she had to leave the field after just 29 minutes due to calf problems.
The German team also started poorly in the 3-2 match at the start of the qualification in Austria at the beginning of April, trailing 0-2 before winning 3-2. “We definitely have to be there from the start, accept the challenges, be present. Make a statement,” said deputy captain Gwinn self-critically in Rostock. “We lacked that in the early stages.” But the 24-year-old double goalscorer also sees positives: “But you can also be proud. We’re coming back. You can always count on us, even if we get off to a really bad start.” At least that’s one thing.
Source: Stern
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