The women’s national football team will host Austria this evening at 7 p.m. in the final European Championship qualifier. More than 40,000 fans will be in the arena in Hanover. After the recent defeat against Iceland, the question is what they will see.
Sometimes a question of location is easy to answer: the players do their warm-up routine at the final training session in the Hannover Arena in the only shady corner of the stadium between the north curve and the back straight. Everywhere else the sun is scorching, 27 degrees are measured, but it feels much hotter and this heat is understandably avoided. The more difficult question is where the team currently stands in its preparation for the Olympic Games and what performances can be expected in France.
On Friday, the women’s soccer team unexpectedly lost 3-0 to Iceland – the first defeat after four previous wins in the European Championship qualifiers, and also the heaviest since 2018. “We want to show ourselves to be completely different to the way we did in Iceland, we have a lot to make up for. We will see a completely different face against Austria,” announced national coach Horst Hrubesch. In Reykjavik, serious errors in defense led to the goals conceded, and the coordination was not right time and time again.
“We must finally stop inviting our opponents to score goals,” said Hrubesch. Serious defensive errors had already become more frequent in previous games, including the match against Austria in Linz in April, when the hosts were leading 2-0 at one point.
Lena Oberdorf back again
During the game against Iceland, Lena Oberdorf was suspended for yellow cards and could only watch, and this was difficult for the defensive specialist. “I really have to make sure that I don’t get any yellow cards. When you have to sit in the stands, your feet tingle, you want to help the team,” said Oberdorf, who will play in midfield again in Hanover.
“We have big plans for the game, we want to bring our quality onto the pitch and take the euphoria with us to the Olympics.” According to Hrubesch, her teammates were “a little disappointed” the day after the defeat. But afterwards you could see that they were alive again and that things were moving forward again.
No decision yet on number 1
The national coach hinted that Ann-Katrin Berger would be in goal in the last tough test before the Olympic football tournament. In May, Hrubesch had once avoided committing to Merle Frohms – the German number one since 2019.
Berger plays in the US professional league for Gotham FC and has already played in the European Championship qualifiers. “We will decide after the game what we will do in the goalkeeper position when we are in Marseille,” explained Hrubesch.
Great enthusiasm in Hanover
Before heading to the South of France, the women’s national team will play in Hanover for the first time – the arena in the Lower Saxony state capital is significantly larger than the stadiums in Rostock or Aachen, where games were recently played. But the women also largely fill up the arena at Maschsee: more than 40,000 tickets have already been sold; the last time so many fans came to a national team game in Germany was in 2013.
Oberdorf also thinks it’s impressive: “We’re extremely happy about that. We know where we come from. And the fact that the stadium is now almost sold out makes us extremely happy and proud. We’re really looking forward to the game.” The national coach added: “The girls deserve to play in full stadiums.”
Possible “Joker” deployment by Captain Popp
The fans will not see Alexandra Popp on the pitch from the start. The captain recently had to take a break after an irritation to her foot, but her prospects for the Olympics are still good: “We are on schedule,” said Hrubesch. “We will do everything we can to get her 100 percent fit for the tournament.”
The attacker could be substituted. But Popp is extremely important for the team even without playing time. She is someone who inspires, shakes things up and certainly wants to help the Germans show their best side in Hanover.
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NDR 2 Sport | 15.07.2024 | 23:03
