DFB-Elf moves into the quarter-finals of the European Championship

Utrecht Thanks to two converted penalty kicks by Babett Peter (10th minute) and Dzsenifer Marozsan (56th), the team of national coach Steffi Jones won the preliminary round 2-0 (1-0) against Russia. First in Group B, the defending champions now meet Denmark in the round of eight in Rotterdam on Saturday. In the parallel game, Sweden lost first place due to a 2:3 (1:2) defeat against Italy. The second-placed Scandinavians now have to deal with hosts Netherlands in the quarter-finals.

“I’ll have a schnapps first,” Jones said, clearly relieved after the final whistle. “We saw a very good game with a lot of combinations.” She admitted on ZDF that her team had missed many chances again, but didn’t see it as a big problem. “We’re in the quarter-finals and I don’t care who scores the goals.”

The many chances created are proof that the team has a good playing system. This makes them optimistic for the rest of the European Championship. “The knot will burst and we will score goals again,” announced the national coach.

Jones had once again shown himself to be a friend of the rotation. Once again, she made four substitutions in the 2-1 win over Italy. For Josephine Henning, Leonie Maier, Isabel Kerschowski and Linda Dallmann, Lena Goeßling, Anna Blass, Carolin Simon and Sara Doorsoun were in the starting XI in Utrecht. Tabea Kemme came on in the final quarter of an hour, so that all 20 German field players were used at the European Championship.

Goessling emphasized: “We created a lot of chances to score, but the opposing goalkeepers always surpass themselves.” The 31-year-old made a good comeback after more than six months of injury due to bone edema in his foot. “She fought well and made an excellent impression in training,” Jones had already praised the Wolfsburg player, who last played on November 2, 2016. Goessling proved to be a stabilizer alongside Babett Peter in what was a rather unfamiliar position in central defence.

Goessling’s teammate from champions VfL Wolfsburg was the center of attention after ten minutes. After Daria Makarenko fouled Mandy Islacker, the Polish referee Monika Mularczyk immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Peter, who had already converted a penalty against Italy, did not miss this chance either and put Germany in front.

20 minutes later, the central defender almost made it 2-0. But Peter’s header from a corner by Dzsenifer Marozsan was just able to deflect Russia goalkeeper Tatyana Cherbak onto the crossbar. Sara Däbritz (40′) should have scored the second goal before the break, but the Munich native pushed the ball past the far post after a brilliant pass from Goeßling. There were few offensive actions before the Russians. Only Jelena Danilowa sometimes caused a bit of danger in front of the German goal.

After the change, the picture was the same. Germany had more possession of the ball, but initially continued to struggle to create great chances against defensive Sbornaja. After an attack by Anna Tscholowjaga against Däbritz, another penalty had to be used. This time captain Marozsan played herself and made the 17th victory in the 19th duel with Russia prematurely perfect. Only after the 2-0 did the German game seem more determined and purposeful. Doorsoun (58th) was unlucky with a shot on the crossbar.