Fully concentrated for 90 minutes: Horst Hrubesch can be more than satisfied with his DFB women’s performance at the Olympic opening match. But now they’re up against the USA.
Horst Hrubesch clapped his players casually and accepted the congratulations with a smile. The outgoing national coach’s football players started the Olympic tournament confidently and self-assuredly and underlined their medal ambitions. Even without Lena Oberdorf, the DFB women managed a 3-0 (1-0) victory against Australia in Marseille.
In front of just a few thousand spectators at the Stade Vélodrome, defensive leader Marina Hegering (24th minute) and Lea Schüller (64th) each scored with headers, as did Jule Brand (68th). “You could see what quality we have,” said Hrubesch on Eurosport. “We should have scored one or two goals earlier, then it would have been easier. In the end, we deserved to win.”
Ann-Katrin Berger, the new number 1 in the German goal, was particularly pleased with the success one day before the opening ceremony in Paris. Eight years after the gold triumph in Rio de Janeiro, the German selection made a strong return to the Olympic stage.
“We were there from the first minute,” said Brand on ZDF. After the first scoring opportunities were missed, the team became a little nervous. “Luckily, we then scored a goal from a set piece, which really helped us to calm down the game,” she said.
On Sunday, they will face record world champions USA in the southern French port city. Three days later, they will face Zambia in Saint-Étienne. Since not only the group winners and runners-up will advance to the quarter-finals, but also the two best third-placed teams from three groups, success against Australia could be half the battle for progressing.
Oberdorf’s jersey with the number 6 on the team photo
Immediately before kick-off, striker Schüller held up the number 6 jersey of Oberdorf, who had a serious knee injury, during the team photo. The 22-year-old future Munich player was replaced in midfield by Alexandra Popp – the captain did this with great foresight and also joined in the attacks again and again. Goal scorer Popp is the only one left who was on the pitch in the 2:1 victory against Sweden in the 2016 Olympic final. “I’m absolutely satisfied with the start,” said Popp, adding: “To perform like this, to be so dominant, especially against the Australians, who did extremely well at the World Cup last year, is a good sign.”
Gwinn with two corner assists
In front of DFB President Bernd Neuendorf, Managing Director Andreas Rettig and Christian Wück, who will succeed Hrubesch after the Summer Games, the German women got off to a concentrated start. This was exactly what Hrubesch had demanded after so many early goals conceded since the World Cup debacle in Australia in 2023.
Without their captain Sam Kerr (torn cruciate ligament), the Australians lacked the element of surprise in attack. Especially since Hegering and Kathrin Hendrich were secure in central defense.
Berger has fought for Frohms’ place
With a broad smile, Ann-Katrin Berger listened to the national anthem before kick-off. Hrubesch had actually put the 33-year-old goalkeeper from the US club NJ/NY Gotham FC between the posts, thus ensuring the impending changing of the guard. A bitter decision for long-time regular goalkeeper Merle Frohms: The 29-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg was number 1 at the 2022 European Championships in England and the 2023 World Cup in Australia. But Berger put in an impeccable performance.
In her eleventh international match, Berger immediately posed a threat to the goal – on the other side: After her lightning clearance far over the halfway line, Jule Brand ran off, but shot over the bar from ten meters (10th). In the 4-0 win against Austria in Hanover, Berger had set up two goals in this way. A quarter of an hour later, the deserved 1-0 came when Hegering nodded the ball in after a corner from Giulia Gwinn.
As with the first goal, Gwinn also provided the precise assist for the 2-0 goal from her Bayern colleague Schüller with a corner kick. Without letting up, the DFB women played their game and increased the lead to 3-0 thanks to the agile Brand.
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.
