You still have everything in your own hands. For the women of the German Football Association (DFB), the collaboration with Horst Hrubesch was as necessary as it was to strengthen their belief in a better future. The DFB ensemble wants to take part in the 2024 Olympics in order to make up for the bad impression on the international stage that it left in the summer with its elimination in the preliminary round at the World Championships. With the 2-0 win in Iceland, the desired final for group victory in the Nations League is now coming: On December 1st, the Germans await the Danes in Rostock for the second leg.
Hrubesch’s team is currently three points behind its toughest competitor after losing the first neighborhood duel at the end of September (0:2). After that, all that remains on December 5th in Swansea is another encounter with the Wales selection (who were defeated 5-1 in Sinsheim last Friday), who are last without any luck. Then it will be billed. The Germans have to come first to keep their chance of getting a starting ticket for the Summer Games in Paris. Eligibility to participate will be awarded in a play-off tournament with four countries in February, for which only those who succeed in the Nations League will qualify.
“Quite a cramp”
Hrubesch, who had stepped in as a substitute for the ill national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, whose return to the DFB is now considered out of the question, was only partially satisfied with the performance in Reykjavik. “In the end” he “liked” the result, but not much else. He missed calm and clarity in the actions in front of 2,000 fans, spoke of wrong decisions on the pitch of the national stadium, which was affected by the Icelandic autumn weather, and of “bad balls”. The “last passes” lacked sharpness and precision.
“We have made life difficult for ourselves again, we just have to convert these opportunities. You have to want it.” Giulia Gwinn also spoke plainly: “It was quite a cramp.” The FC Bayern defender took the lead with a penalty kick (65th minute). Her club colleague Klara Bühl, who had scored the final goal shortly before the final whistle, made no secret of her relief, but at the same time made a full-bodied announcement with which she raised the bar: “We are glad that we got the three Take points,” said the 22-year-old striker and promised a different performance against Denmark: “We can set off fireworks at home.”
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First of all, the core of the national team will face each other as competitors when champions FC Bayern welcome cup winners VfL Wolfsburg in the league on Sunday. Hrubesch is there as a spectator because he is still “missing a few impressions” as a returnee. There’s already one thing that can’t be avoided: the messed up World Cup and everything else that followed cost the players a lot of their security and self-confidence. Neither can be easily regained at the training ground.
