Alexander Popp scored twice at the start of the World Cup, twice she cheered with the same gesture: the left hand as a phone on her ear, the right hand as a pointer to the sky. When asked about it after the final whistle, the DFB captain replied emotionally: “I think the one who lost weight is my father.” The two-time goal scorer in the 6-0 (2-0) win over Morocco on Monday in Melbourne said she “also calls home in that sense. Not just for the people who sit in front of the television, but especially for the people who can no longer be with us.”
The reasons for their sentimentality, said Popp late in the evening (local time) during the press conference, “I don’t have to say that”. But it was obvious that she was thinking of her dead father that evening. In front of 27,256 spectators in the Albert Park stadium, which was not sold out, the striker was the outstanding player with the first two German goals at the tournament in Australia and New Zealand (11th and 39th minutes). The 32-year-old from Wolfsburg already made the gesture of celebration at the EM 2022 in England – in an allusion to the classic film about the extraterrestrial “.E.T.”, who was stranded on earth and wanted to “phone home”.
When she was substituted late (83rd), the German fans in the stadium cheered – they would be happy to see Alexandra Popp’s “ET-Jubel” more often at the World Cup.
