Dhe German women’s soccer team was unable to put their plans to build up self-confidence for the World Cup into practice and ended the preparatory phase with a painful failure. The team headed by national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg lost 3-2 to Zambia in Fürth and gave a picture that was similar to that in the first test run against Vietnam (2-1) at the end of June.
Like a title contender to which they have proclaimed themselves, last year’s European Championship runner-up never appeared on Friday. Alexandra Popp seemed to have averted defeat in added time (90’+9′), but Barbra Banda let the Africans celebrate with her second goal of the evening (90’+10′).
This Saturday, the German Football Association (DFB) will name its final squad for the championships in Australia and New Zealand, which begin on July 20. The DFB entourage starts on Tuesday from Frankfurt to Sydney. According to FIFA regulations, the squad size for the tournament cannot exceed 23 players. Most recently, 28 candidates were shortlisted during the training camp in Herzogenaurach.
Wolfsburg basic structure in the starting eleven
There were no fewer than eight players in the German starting line-up who wore the VfL Wolfsburg jersey in everyday league life – but the national coach’s associated idea that the familiarity of the Lower Saxony block would have a positive impact on the team’s performance was fulfilled himself not. Rather, it became clear once again that there is still a need for action both on the defensive, which lacked consistency, and on the too hesitant offensive.
The first match Down Under is scheduled for July 24 against Morocco. The selection was led by Bundesliga top scorer Popp. Sara Däbritz (Olympique Lyon) started as the only legionnaire. She was preferred in midfield to Melanie Leupolz (Chelsea FC), who replaced Lena Oberdorf, who had previously attacked hard in a duel, in the second half. Martina Voss-Tecklenburg initially only considered the offensive duo Liga Magull and Klara Bühl from the champions FC Bayern, who had snubbed the DFB with the late release of their players.
Although the Germans set the pace for most of the first half with possession, they made little use of the opportunities that arose. Bühl with a header (2nd minute), Felicitas Rauch from a distance (20th), Bühl again (25th and 27th) and Popp (42nd) did not find the target in their attempts and revealed a lack of callousness in the end, which has already attracted negative attention on previous occasions in spring. Zambia, on the other hand, switched from a massed defense to counterattacks and put Barbra Banda in the limelight on several occasions.
A flick of hers flew just wide of the right post, Marina Hegering also had to risk life and limb with a tackle to prevent worse things from happening and shortly before the break, the 23-year-old could only be slowed down by the combined forces of the German defense. After the change of sides, it didn’t take long for the opponents’ strategy to pay off in front of 11,400 spectators. A lost duel for the ball, in which Jule Brand allowed himself to be pushed aside, enabled Banda to pull away from an acute angle – and goalkeeper Merle Frohms stretched in vain (48′).
The unexpected deficit irritated the Germans noticeably. Only seven minutes later they had to accept the next setback. This time Svenja Huth could not claim the ball, which resulted in the 0:2 by Racheal Kundananji. The efforts to avert the flop could not be denied to the Germans in the final phase. Substitute Carolin Simon (75′) shot the crossbar from Munich’s substitute Carolin Simon (75′) and Lea Schüller headed the ball home from a corner to make it 2-1 (90′). That brought back confidence in a happy ending – and it was within reach. But after Popp had scored the 2:2, almost in return, Banda gave the decisive blow to the neck to make it 2:3. The dress rehearsal for Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and her ambitious team could hardly have been more sobering.
