DFB women clearly lose Olympic test against Iceland

Less than two weeks before the Olympic Games kick off, the ambitious German women’s footballers and Horst Hrubesch are beginning to feel a sense of disappointment. The 73-year-old national coach’s team failed in the penultimate tough test before the Summer Games, losing 0-3 (0-1) to Iceland in the European Championship qualifier in Reykjavik.

“You could see that we were on holiday beforehand. Getting back into the swing of things was difficult,” said Hrubesch. “But one thing is also clear: we have to accept these challenges from the start and what we played was simply bad.” The defeat was deserved, even at this level. “You could also see that we had a hand in all three goals ourselves,” criticized the 1980 European champion after the lesson. “We often made many, many wrong decisions going forward.” It was the biggest defeat of his two previous terms with the DFB women.

Playing at twelve degrees and lots of wind

In twelve degrees and with a lot of wind, Ingibjörg Sigurdardottir (14th minute), Alexandra Johannsdottir (52nd) and Sveindis Jonsdottir (83rd) scored for the hosts. While the Icelandic women exuberantly celebrated their participation in the European Championship in front of 5,243 spectators, the German players listened to Hrubesch’s words with frustrated expressions after the final whistle. His team had already qualified for the 2025 final tournament in Switzerland.

The German team had a hard time without captain Alexandra Popp (foot irritation), Lena Oberdorf (suspended) and Sydney Lohmann (muscle problems). Next Tuesday (7 p.m./ARD) they will play against Austria in Hanover. Around 40,000 fans are expected there before the team says goodbye to the Olympics.

Hrubesch often stood on the sidelines shaking his head. He had called up future Frankfurt player Elisa Senß to replace midfield ace Oberdorf. Up front, alongside Lea Schüller, was Eintracht striker Nicole Anyomi, who is only nominated for the Olympics on call.

Marina Hegering was spared

In defence, the 73-year-old head coach rested Wolfsburg’s Marina Hegering, who had a calf injury, and let Sara Doorsoun defend alongside Kathrin Hendrich. As has often been the case in this European Championship qualification, the German players got off to a miserable start. Sveindis Jonsdottir from VfL Wolfsburg missed the first chance against the disorganised defence after just 65 seconds. Duisburg’s Sigurdardottir then headed the ball in from close range – goalkeeper Merle Frohms didn’t look good either.

The 29-year-old Wolfsburg player cannot be sure of her regular place for the Summer Games, as Hrubesch has not yet decided on a number 1 and is also keeping an eye on Ann-Katrin Berger from the US club NJ/NY Gotham.

The European runners-up simply couldn’t get going. Iceland’s defensive leader Glodis Viggoosdottir therefore had little trouble organizing her backup. A goal by her Bayern colleague Schüller shortly before half-time was wrongly disallowed for offside – there was no video technology in this match.

DFB women want to compete for a medal

Neither Senß nor Chelsea professional Sjoeke Nüsken were able to give their team any decisive impetus from midfield. Viggoosdottir then saved on the goal line from a header by substitute Laura Freigang. The attacker applied more pressure, but was unable to score.

The German team wants to compete for medals at the Summer Games in France, one year after the World Cup debacle in Australia. The DFB women, gold medal winners in Rio in 2016, will face Australia (July 25), the USA (July 28) and Zambia (July 31) in the preliminary round. Hrubesch does not have much time left to get the European runners-up into top form.