football
DFB captain Popp misses Nations League games
Will be missing from the DFB women against Wales and Iceland: Alexandra Popp. photo
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
The German footballers will have to do without captain Alexandra Popp in the important Nations League games against Wales and Iceland.
The German footballers have to rely on captain Alexandra in the important Nations League games against Wales and Iceland Avoid popping.
The 32-year-old is not available due to muscular problems, as interim coach Horst Hrubesch said in Sinsheim. The DFB team will play against Wales there on Friday (5:45 p.m./ARD) and in Iceland on Tuesday (8:00 p.m./ZDF). “She had a hardening in her thigh muscles,” said the 72-year-old. The striker will leave after the game against Wales in consultation with her club, VfL Wolfsburg.
“I think we can’t compensate for that 100 percent, but we can compensate for it,” said Hrubesch. The likely replacement is Lea Schüller from FC Bayern Munich, but there are also “a few others who can also play in this position,” said the coach.
Berger in goal against Wales
Ann-Katrin Berger from Chelsea FC will be in goal against Wales. The 33-year-old replaces regular goalkeeper Merle Frohms, who was recently absent from her club VfL Wolfsburg due to a concussion.
The national players want to put the tiresome debate surrounding the paused national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg behind them in the games. Hrubesch will be in charge of the team again for the first time since 2018. A win over Wales and in the following game on Tuesday in Iceland is almost mandatory for the DFB team in order to continue to have every opportunity in the fight for group victory. Only the first person has the chance to take part in the Nations League finals in 2024 and secure one of the two coveted tickets for the Olympics in Paris.