Women’s National Team
DFB women fear snakes more than cabin fever
The team bus of the German team is in front of the team hotel Mercure Kooindah Waters. photo
© Michelle Ostwald/dpa
World Cup quarters are enormously important for the mood in the team – the DFB men know very well how to report that. The women are now getting started in Australia, far away from Sydney.
“Please watch out for snakes. If you see them, please stay away.” A sign in English on the sprawling Mercure Kooindah Waters Hotel warns German soccer players. Visibly exhausted after the 27-hour journey, but welcomed by the best weather, the co-favorite of the World Cup has arrived in his Australian quarter Wyong.
Like the base camps of the German men at the last two World Cups in Russia and Qatar, this is pretty much in no man’s land – but shouldn’t be a bad omen: national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg isn’t afraid of anyone cabin fever.
The 4,500-inhabitant town about 100 kilometers north of Sydney doesn’t have a real inner city to offer – but it does have a lot of beautiful nature. Around the golf hotel there are green areas, small farms and houses with large gardens.
The captain and trained animal keeper Alexandra Popp had fun with a small presentation about one or the other animal species Down Under before departure. “Koalas, different types of kangaroos and, of course, what can come our way – the most poisonous animals in the world,” said the 32-year-old from Wolfsburg – meaning snakes and spiders in particular. “It didn’t go over well with the players,” she admitted with a grin.
“We’re all in the mood”
A part of the DFB travel convoy with a total of 70 people was there half a day before and greeted the players with black, red and gold flags. With a weary “Ahoy” Popp greeted her as she got off the bus. “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.
The first easy training session at the Central Coast Regional Sporting & Recreation Sporting Complex was due a few hours after arrival. The injured Oberdorf (muscle injury in the thigh) and Marina Hegering (bruised heel) were absent. Oberdorf cycled on an ergometer.
During the day the temperature had even reached 22 degrees, and it is winter in Australia right now. The DFB women set up their base camp in Wyong throughout the tournament. The vice European champions will fly to Melbourne for the first preliminary round game on July 24 (10:30 a.m. CEST/ZDF) against outsiders Morocco. The other opponents in Group H are Colombia on July 30 in Sydney and South Korea on August 3 in Brisbane.
Feel-good environment Down Under
“I don’t know if the men have had bad experiences. We have a good environment in which we feel comfortable,” said Voss-Tecklenburg in an interview with the “Frankfurter Rundschau”. There had been some criticism of the remote accommodations of the DFB men at the failed World Cups in 2018 and 2022. The national coach pointed out that the women are in a transfer hotel the day before each game – and thus directly in big cities like Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane.
“And we asked the players beforehand. The first answer, what is important to them, is always: a short walk to the training ground,” said the 55-year-old. “I think we have a quarter with many advantages, but also some disadvantages. This team has exactly the strength not to feel cabin fever.” As a distraction, there might be “chasing spiders”.