After a tough game and thanks to the help of Iceland, the German footballers and interim national coach Horst Hrubesch have just kept their Olympic chances for Paris 2024. A disappointing 0-0 draw against Wales on Tuesday evening in Swansea was enough for the DFB women to win the group in the Nations League, as rivals Denmark surprisingly lost 1-0 to the Icelandic women. At the final tournament from February 21st to 28th, the team led by captain Alexandra Popp is fighting for the two remaining European Olympic tickets. Possible opponents are then world champions Spain and France.
The nervous German players were unable to build on last Friday’s strong 3-0 win against Denmark against the bottom of the table. Interim national coach Horst Hrubesch emphasized with the starting eleven that he was further igniting the competition: Leverkusen’s Elisa Senß, who made her DFB debut in Rostock, played from the start, as did Hoffenheim’s Paulina Krumbiegel for the otherwise seeded Giulia Gwinn Jule Brand, who has recently received little attention. Sara Doorsoun replaced the suspended Marina Hegering in central defense.
Although the Germans had easily won the first leg 5-1, they started very erratically and lost a lot of the ball. Goalkeeper Merle Frohms was lucky after a quarter of an hour when Rachel Rowe’s ball hit the post and then hit her back without landing in the net. The very weak first half was sometimes reminiscent of the performances at the botched World Cup in Australia in the summer. Sarai Linder missed with a shot just over the crossbar (41st minute) – there wasn’t much more in the offensive around Popp.
After the break, Hrubesch brought in two new players, Giulia Gwinn and Linda Dallmann from Munich. The DFB women increased the pressure a little, but continued to have enormous difficulties. Senß almost made it 1-0 in the 55th minute when goalkeeper Olivia Clark directed her deflected chip around the post. Popp as a striker was hardly staged. With a win, regardless of the amount, the German selection would have secured victory in the group even without outside help.
If the German women meet France in the semi-finals, which will be drawn on Monday, a second chance would be offered in the event of a defeat: As Olympic hosts, the French are seeded for Paris. If they reach the final of the final tournament, the third place would also be at the Summer Games. Apart from France, only two other European teams receive an Olympic ticket.