The German soccer players are close to qualifying for the 2023 World Cup. The enthusiastic selection of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg defeated pursuers Portugal 3-0 (1-0) and could secure the ticket for the eighth win in the eighth game on Tuesday in Serbia solve the finals in Australia and New Zealand.
Lena Oberdorf (40th minute), Klara Bühl (55th) and Felicitas Rauch (80th) scored in front of 7364 spectators in Bielefeld. In the 59th minute, captain Alexandra Popp celebrated her comeback after a one-year injury break. Germany leads Group H of six with 21 points, ahead of Serbia (15) and Portugal (13). Only the group winners qualify directly, the runners-up play play-offs. “We are very happy with the game, we were able to implement a lot and create many chances,” said Bühl on ARD.
Three months before the start of the European Championship against Denmark (July 8th) in England, Voss-Tecklenburg initially relied on a lot of Wolfsburg power. A quintet of Bundesliga leaders and Champions League semi-finalists formed the core of the starting eleven. VfL striker Tabea Waßmuth missed the first opportunity for an early lead after just 93 seconds. It was the starting signal for a strong German initial phase in the East Westphalian April weather. Between hailstorms and sunshine, however, the chances left a lot to be desired. The strong right side of the German team with the conspicuous Svenja Huth caused problems for the Portuguese. Because precision was often lacking, a standard situation was needed to lead the Wolfsburg co-production.
Huth’s corner headed in the unguarded Oberdorf from close range and crowned their strong performance. Compared to the last place in the four-country tournament in England at the start of the European Championship year, which more than a dozen players missed, the DFB team was more stable. The 2016 Olympic champion continued to dominate the game – then two Bayern players made things clearer. After a cross from right-back Giulia Gwinn, Bühl, who had often been in a rush before Rauch, decided the game.