Women’s National Team
After a 27-hour journey: DFB women arrived in Australia
The team bus of the German team is in front of the team hotel Mercure Kooindah Waters. photo
© Michelle Ostwald/dpa
The German women’s national team can start preparing for the World Cup on site – in a small town far from Sydney.
Visibly exhausted from the 27-hour journey, but welcomed by the best weather, the German soccer players have arrived at their World Cup base in Wyong, Australia. The team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg reached the golf hotel in the 4,500-inhabitant town almost 100 kilometers north of Sydney on Thursday around 9:30 a.m. local time, after departing from Frankfurt on Tuesday evening and having a stopover in Dubai.
“We’re all up for it, we’re all in the mood. But right now you’re still a bit sluggish and tired. We’re just happy to be here now,” said midfielder Lena Oberdorf from VfL Wolfsburg in a DFB video. A part of the travel convoy with a total of 70 people had already been there half a day before and greeted the players with black, red and gold flags at the hotel. With a weary “Ahoy” Captain Alexandra Popp greeted her as she got off the bus.
The first easy training session at the Central Coast Regional Sporting & Recreation Sporting Complex was due a few hours after arrival. It’s 22 degrees during the day, and it’s winter in Australia right now. The DFB women set up their base camp in Wyong throughout the tournament. The vice European champions fly against outsiders Morocco for the first preliminary round game on July 24 (10:30 a.m. CEST/ZDF) in Melbourne. The other opponents in Group H are Colombia on July 30 (11:30 a.m. CEST/ARD) in Sydney and South Korea on August 3 (12:00 p.m. CEST/ZDF) in Brisbane.