Women’s Soccer World Cup
The reasons for the early World Cup from the German soccer players
It’s already over in the group phase: Alexandra Popp and Melanie Leupolz (r) after the 1-1 draw against South Korea. photo
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
German women failed earlier than ever at a World Cup. The reasons for dropping out of the tournament Down Under in the preliminary round are complex.
The German soccer players wanted to play for the title at the World Cup. But for the team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was the last stop in Australia after the preliminary round and the 1-1 draw against South Korea.
The difficulties and weaknesses have been apparent for some time, as has the growing strength of the competition. Reasons for the early retirement of the 2003 and 2007 world champion:
Attack Weakness:
The former offensive player Voss-Tecklenburg was not able to provide her team with enough solutions. A lack of presence in the penalty area and a lack of scoring chances have made themselves felt in many games since the European Championship. The DFB selection has two international top strikers in captain Alexandra Popp from VfL Wolfsburg and Lea Schüller from FC Bayern.
But the wingers Klara Bühl and Jule Brand rarely came through and the midfielders Lina Magull and Sara Däbritz didn’t get enough impetus. Even four goals from Popp, who worked hard for her team, in three games were not enough in the end.
Defensive failures:
Defender Marina Hegering was only able to intervene in the last group game after her protracted heel injury. Before the tournament, full-backs Giulia Gwinn and Carolin Simon (both FC Bayern) were out with cruciate ligament tears. During the World Cup, Sara Doorsoun and Felicitas Rauch were injured. The back team at the World Cup wobbled like in the last friendly before the tournament against Zambia (2:3).
Lack of internal competition:
Compared to the EM 2022, only three field players joined the World Cup squad: Melanie Leupolz after her baby break, Sjoeke Nüsken and Chantal Hagel. Leupolz was European champion in 2013 and Olympic champion in 2016 with the DFB selection. Nüsken (both FC Chelsea) and Hagel (VfL Wolfsburg) were part of the extended squad ahead of England. There were no promising followers.
In addition, the national coach has clearly divided the roles in many positions – in regular and backup. In this way, veterans like Sara Däbritz, Magull or Kathrin Hendrich can be sure of their places. An offensive player like Frankfurt’s Laura Freigang, who sees herself more as a playmaker, has no place in the national coach’s 4-3-3 system. The Bundesliga is also currently producing few top talents such as the well-established Wolfsburg players Jule Brand (20) and Lena Oberdorf (21).
Storage trouble with FC Bayern:
The German champions only allowed their internationals to travel to Herzogenaurach five days later for the first World Cup preparations, although the Wolfsburg women had a longer season as Champions League finalists. Magull, Schüller, Bühl and Sydney Lohmann could not be used in the friendly against Vietnam. The Zoff will reverberate even more after the early departure.
International Developement:
Even experts were surprised that other nations have made such giant leaps and that teams like Jamaica and South Africa are in the round of 16. “Women’s football has developed like this in recent years. It felt like there was only Germany in the past. We’ve won one European Championship title after the other and now it’s not that easy anymore,” said DFB midfielder Melanie Leupolz. The Colombians showed the German team the limits with their energetic football – and even the South Koreans who hadn’t had a goal or points to date.
Team spirit:
The “EM flow” that many in England had been talking about could not be transferred to the World Cup. “Every tournament writes its own story,” Popp had warned and didn’t want to know anything more about the European Championship. The setback against Colombia dragged the mood down, the remote World Cup base did the rest: Even in the first game against Morocco in Melbourne, the players were happy to get out of Wyong’s “solitude” (Lena Lattwein). Even if the DFB put together a leisure program: A base camp right on the outskirts of one of Australia’s vibrant cities would have made the long time since arrival on July 12 easier.