The German women’s football team has qualified for the European Championships. After the 3-1 win in Poland, there is a longer break ahead, which should do the team good. There are still a few questions to be answered before the Olympics.
After their early participation in the European Championships, the German women’s football team are not exactly heading off on holiday without any worries. A few weeks before the Olympics, the important midfielder Lena Oberdorf had to leave the field injured during the victory in Poland.
“I’ll have to wait and see,” said national coach Horst Hrubesch on ARD about the 22-year-old’s state of health. “Now we’ll see. I hope there’s nothing serious.” In addition, the 3-1 win in the qualifying match in Gdynia once again revealed the national team’s starting difficulties and finishing weaknesses.
“Due to a painful blow to the left calf,” as the DFB announced, Oberdorf initially remained lying on the pitch in the 37th minute of her 50th international match and her first game as captain. Supported by two coaches and in tears, she limped off the pitch, and the 22-year-old had to be carried to the dressing room shortly afterwards. An investigation in Germany will determine how high the price of the now secured European Championship ticket actually is. Oberdorf traveled to the World Cup in Australia last year with a thigh injury and missed the first group game there.
At least Oberdorf, who has said goodbye to VfL Wolfsburg and is moving to FC Bayern Munich, was sitting next to the coach’s bench again at the end of the game. It is clear that she will be missing from the upcoming qualifying match against Iceland on July 12th due to her second yellow card. Oberdorf had received the warning for the very tackle that caused the calf problem. “Incomprehensible,” said Hrubesch about the yellow card, “you could see even from the bench that the Pole had really stepped on her foot.”
Künzer criticizes and praises
Hrubesch was also annoyed by his team’s poor utilization of opportunities and the collective sleepiness when Dominika Grabowska scored the 0-1 goal after twelve minutes: “We again contributed to the goal we conceded at the beginning,” he complained. Goals from Lea Schüller (51st and 69th minutes) and Klara Bühl (77th) brought about the turnaround after the break.
DFB sports director Nia Künzer combined her criticism with praise: “What we had planned, perhaps not to fall behind early, didn’t work. But it is really a quality that distinguishes the team, to keep coming back and not to give up.”
Especially since after four wins from four qualifying matches – including three wins after coming from behind – the ticket for the 2025 tournament in Switzerland has been booked. That is “really a success,” said Künzer: “Now it’s really about everyone being able to recover a bit.” With “a certain freshness of mind,” they want to go into the last European Championship qualifying phase, which can now be fully used as preparation for the Olympics.
European Championship qualification as Olympic test run
This includes the games on July 12th in Iceland and on July 16th in Hanover against Austria. For Hrubesch, the hot phase begins before the Olympics start on July 25th against World Cup fourth-place Australia. The other opponents in the preliminary round are record world champions USA (July 28th) and Zambia (July 31st). Since only two goalkeepers and 16 field players are allowed in the squad, there is a risk of hardship. “I’m only allowed to take 18 with me, that’s the big problem,” explained Hrubesch after the Poland game.
The goalkeeper position, among others, seems to be hotly contested. In addition to Merle Frohms – the regular number one – Ann-Katrin Berger and Stina Johannes are also hoping for an Olympic place. The latter celebrated her international debut against Poland, the Frankfurt player was powerless when the goal was conceded and was otherwise under-employed.
Hrubesch’s comment on Johannes: “I know that I have good goalkeepers.” And in general: “We go from game to game, the Olympics are still a bit further away.” Hrubesch recommends rest first: “The girls need to go on holiday now so they can put their feet up, go cycling or swimming or something else and also relax,” said the 73-year-old.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
