Status: 11/30/2021 9:04 p.m.
The German national women’s soccer team is celebrating the “cool year-end” that coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg wished for. Portugal is also too weak in qualifying for the World Cup.
Portugal – Germany
Image: Karsten Lauer / foto2press / dpa
The German soccer players have taken a giant step towards the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg prevailed in the World Cup qualification against Portugal in Faro with 3: 1 (3: 1) and is now five points ahead of the toughest pursuers as the table leader in Group H.
Meet Schüller, Huth and Leupolz
In front of just 500 spectators in the Estádio de São Luís, goalscorer Lea Schüller from Bayern Munich (15th minute), Wolfsburg-based Svenja Huth (23rd) and Chelsea professional Melanie Leupolz (28th) met for the guests.
The DFB selection landed the sixth victory in the sixth game on the way to the World Cup. The clearly inferior Portuguese came through a penalty caused by goalkeeper Merle Frohms to mean 1: 3 by Carole da Silva Costa (34th).
The second leg against Portugal is on April 9, and Serbia is on April 12. Only the first in the group qualify directly for the final tournament. The second play in the playoffs for two more places.
Determined DFB women
After this The last 8-0 win in Braunschweig against Turkey the world champions of 2003 and 2007 were challenged more this time, but played purposefully forward in the first half. For the first time after a long break from injury, Bayern Munich’s chief defender Marina Hegering (31) was in the starting line-up. The DFB selection quickly lost their respect in the early stages and after two missed chances by Klara Bühl, Schüller scored her 23rd goal in the 34th international match.
When conceding a penalty, the regular goalkeeper Frohms had bad luck: The ball first hit the post and then from the Frankfurt’s back into the net. After the break, the German selection struggled for a long time against an increasingly aggressive opponent. Substitute Dzsenifer Marozsan from US club OL Reign tried to give the game more structure, but it remained disheveled. The 19-year-old Jule Brand from Hoffenheim gave away the 4: 1 (76th) as a joker.
Against England in February
Where the Voss-Tecklenburg team really stands internationally will be shown in England in February. In an invitation tournament, the opponents are the host team, Spain with players from the premier class winners FC Barcelona and Olympic champions Canada. “This tournament is a good opportunity to put some real endurance tests at the start of the European Championship,” said the national coach.
In the European Championship preliminary round in July in England the record European champions will meet Spain, Denmark and Finland. The German team missed the summer games in Tokyo due to the quarter-finals against Sweden at the 2019 World Cup in France.
Source: sportschau.de