At first the scene seemed like the beginning of another missed scoring opportunity, of which the German national team had provided many on Friday evening. Sjoeke Nüsken sent the ball into the left side of the penalty area in the third minute of injury time, Alexandra Popp and Klara Bühl both ran there – and irritated each other, based on the classic “Take it, I’ve got it!”
Bühl hesitated before she was finally the one who processed the ball. And perhaps it was precisely this brief pause that gave her the surprise effect against Denmark’s goalkeeper Lene Christensen. In any case, what was supposed to be a misunderstanding turned into a decisive shot.
The ball flew over Christensen into the goal to make it 3-0 – and preserved the Germans’ chance of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games. The team of interim national coach Horst Hrubesch was second to last after losing 2-0 in the first leg with a difference of at least two goals Have to win the Nations League group game to even stay in the race. Now Wales still have to be defeated on Tuesday, but the task has become much easier as first in the group. Only those who lead the table qualify for the final tournament of the Nations League at the end of February, where the two European Olympic places are awarded. “I think it was a convincing performance from the first to the last minute,” said Svenja Huth on ZDF. “We could have added a goal or two earlier, but we’re happy for now.”
Hrubesch’s players are implementing what they missed in September
Before the game, she and her teammates tried to do a balancing act to convert the relaxedness that Hrubesch found with Hrubesch into a joy of playing, despite this serious sporting situation, which in turn should help to maintain focus. And if the intended result constellations weren’t already constantly floating around in their heads, they were reminded of it in the question and answer sessions. Pressure was the ubiquitous word, which in turn prompted Hrubesch to ask a philosophical question: “I mean, what is pressure?” The 72-year-old said there were enough players in the squad “who know these pressure situations very well.”
His players confirmed this impressively in the first half, even though Hrubesch had changed his starting eleven to six positions compared to the last international match in Iceland – among other things, Merle Frohms, who was injured in Reykjavik, returned, while Bayern Munich’s Lina Magull slipped out of the squad. In September, the Germans were still clearly carrying the baggage of the botched World Cup with them. Now they were able to do what they had set out to do in front of 19,180 spectators in Rostock’s Ostseestadion: switch quickly, fight consistently and take the lead as early as possible.
It helped to use a proven move. Sarai Linder crossed the ball from the left side into the penalty area in the 14th minute, where – who else? – Alexandra Popp came to the header so freely, as if the Danes weren’t aware of what kind of monster was lurking there. It was a first liberation. The second soon followed a similar pattern: Klara Bühl hit a corner, Marina Hegering – also left alone – caught the optimal timing in the six-yard box, next header, next goal.
“I suffer too. I also know what the girls are investing in,” says Hrubesch
In the 26th minute, the Germans had already reached the point that calmed things down, at least for the moment. 2-0, that meant a tie on points; this result would depend on the final group games and the goal difference. If Sanne Troelsgaard had been more precise in the 18th and 29th minutes or had not stood in the way of DFB goalkeeper Merle Frohms, the mood could have changed. Overall, the Danes appeared harmless. Hrubesch was also sometimes captured by the TV cameras in a quarrelsome manner. The cushion of goals at the break could have been even more comfortable given all the successful combinations. Efficiency had already been an issue in the Nations League games in October. “I suffer too. I also know what the girls are investing in,” Hrubesch said later. “They should have rewarded themselves further, it could have been 5-0 or 6-0.”
There was another surprise in the second half: Elisa Senß from Bayer Leverkusen made her international debut and felt so comfortable that she tried twice to make it 3-0. Hrubesch had previously praised her speed and grip, and after the game he said: “If you saw little Senß, what she played, it was brilliant what she pulled off.”
It wasn’t her fault that the ball losses increased in the second half until one attack after another was initiated and the Danes were mostly pushed to their side. That damned next goal, that had to be possible!? Sjoeke Nüsken, who acted with a lot of overview from the central midfield, almost initiated it around the middle of the second half. Popp was ready, but the post and keeper Lene Christensen were in the way. Sydney Lohmann then made her captain quite angry because she repeatedly did not reward herself for her own strong preparatory work at the end. A few minutes later everyone was in each other’s arms.