An away win at the vice world champion is usually something special. But the German footballers were not blinded by the mere result and evaluated the 1-0 (0-0) in the Netherlands as what it was 108 days before the World Cup opening game against Morocco: another warning shot after the disappointing start to the year at 0 :0 against Sweden.
“Playing a 1-0 up a little dirty is positive,” said Sydney Lohmann, scorer of the winning goal (53′): “But the points that we still have to work on outweigh the bad ones. We wish we could more of us. The attitude is right against the ball. But it’s not enough with the ball. Unfortunately, that was really disappointing today. There has to be more to come before the World Cup.”
DFB goalkeepers with strong performances
The Bayern midfielder was also refreshingly open in admitting that her headed goal wasn’t the result of a rehearsed variation, but simply coincidence. “I didn’t think he’d get through and I didn’t even jump up,” said the 22-year-old: “In the end, he more or less fell on my head.”
But in addition to the result and the self-criticism, there was something else that was absolutely positive at the end of the evening in Sittard: the performances of the two German goalkeepers. “They saved our butts,” said captain Alexandra Popp of the two players in the game. Merle Frohms had to go out with back problems after an outstanding first half. Ann-Katrin Berger held on just as well after the break. “Those were two very good performances. But we know that we’re in good hands there,” said national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. Popp put it even more clearly: “We don’t have to worry about who’s between the posts.”
When asked how she would rate the evening, the national coach said with a slightly tortured smile: “Something like that, sometimes like that.” Voss-Tecklenburg, who had extended her contract until EM 2025 on Monday, did not sugarcoat anything. “I’m glad the Dutch gave us problems,” she said: “These are games we need because it’s going to be a World Cup that will challenge us. We still have a few things we’re working on must.” For example, your team needs “more passport security. Otherwise it hurts.” Her team had to learn from the entire evening: “But I have no worries about that.”
Voss-Tecklenburg satisfied with the attitude
And finally, Voss-Tecklenburg had also experimented. She left experienced players like Popp and Lina Magull on the bench for a long time, and there was a short-term change just before kick-off due to the absence of Nicole Anyomi and Frohms’ injury.
At least the attitude was right. “We threw everything in from the energy, intensity, readiness, the other things come along,” said Voss-Tecklenburg: “We have to find the balance again, that we play out under pressure and implement it in a disciplined manner. That’s why this game gives a lot of information in many areas.” In addition, the team had “a much longer training period before the World Cup than before the European Championship”. Which was a great success with the entry into the final and nationwide attention.
