World Championship
Win, sing, sharpen your senses: the DFB team is already in World Cup mode
The German women’s national team during training after the 6-0 win against Morocco. photo
© Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa
After the convincing 6-0 win against Morocco at the start, the German footballers are already looking to Colombia for their next World Cup challenge. The national coach even sees room for improvement.
In the hotel, the German soccer players caught a few more glimpses of the next opponent’s successful start to the World Cup Colombia on TV before boarding the bus with a few shopping bags.
“We had regeneration and player replacement training this morning and then we still had a bit of time before lunch, so we went to a few shops next door and strolled around a bit,” reported goalkeeper Merle Frohms casually before heading to Melbourne Airport.
The liberating 6-0 in the first group game of the World Cup against Morocco took the DFB team back to the base camp in Wyong – but so did the warning of the next opponent, Colombia. “We expect a very physical, very competitive game. But they also had nice moves with offensive thoughts and fast players up front who are very goal-oriented,” said Frohms. Midfielder Lena Lattwein said: “We have to fight back. But I have no concerns that we’re not physically on the same level.”
“There will be another force coming at us”
The Colombians started the tournament with a 2-0 win against South Korea just as the DFB entourage was about to leave for Newcastle. “There will be a different force coming at us,” prophesied national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg about the next group opponent, who knows in Linda Caicedo a budding superstar in his ranks.
The 18-year-old attacking player, who has just moved to Real Madrid from her home country, combines speed and technique. Caicedo survived cancer a few years ago and scored the final score against South Korea before the break.
Before the second preliminary round game, the German players around double goal scorer and captain Alexandra Popp are spared a flight: From the base camp in Wyong they will go by bus for the game next Sunday (11.30 a.m. CEST/ARD) to Sydney, almost 100 kilometers away.
Alicia Keys hit on the team bus
But first of all, the co-favorite let the clear opening victory in the team hotel in Melbourne’s Docklands on the Yarra River sink. On the short way to the hotel, the players sang the Alicia Keys hit “Girl On Fire” on the bus. “It was good to sing with the whole team and just enjoy the win,” said experienced winger and assistant captain Svenja Huth.
“We also know that we didn’t have the strongest opponents in the group,” said Voss-Tecklenburg, but beamed after the successful start of the tournament, which was preceded by some doubts: “That gives us a good starting position, a good basis.” The team knows that there is still room for improvement, said Huth. “In the second game we can’t buy anything from the start and suddenly stop playing football.”
At least the DFB selection did something for their goal difference if things were to get tight in the last preliminary round game on August 3 against South Korea and they made it into the round of 16. And in contrast to the title rivals from England (1-0 against Haiti), France (0-0 against Jamaica) and Sweden (2-1 against South Africa), the DFB-Elf had been spared a stuttering start. She had “seen the missing charisma of the Germans,” explained the former world goalkeeper Almuth Schult in a column of the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”.
Oberdorf to Colombia probably fit
“We know that not everything was tip-toppi,” said Voss-Tecklenburg. “The others should judge whether that was a statement. But we can classify it, we’re not going crazy now.” A possible round of 16 opponent also turned up the heat: Brazil defeated Panama 4-0 and had already beaten the German team 2-1 in a friendly in Nuremberg in April.
Huth’s club colleague Lena Oberdorf could get involved again against Colombia: The midfield clearer was only on the bench in Melbourne after a muscle injury in her thigh. “I’m confident, but I’m always in every situation,” she said when asked. “Obi is a very important part of the team and I hope she’ll be fit and able to play in Colombia,” Lattwein said.
Bayern professional Sydney Lohmann was absent early on in training for the substitutes due to a slight torn adductor. The DFB team was welcomed by around 60 fans at Lakeside Stadium – and by friendly words on the scoreboard: “Good morning, Germany. Great win!”