The UEFA Women’s European Championships starts in Switzerland in 100 days. The German national football team have changing years – and the achievements under Christian Wück were also fluctuating. The new national coach admits in the interview that he had hoped to continue and sees “a lot of work” before the DFB selection.
Three victories, one draw, two defeats – Wück’s previous balance sheet on the sidelines of the DFB women is as mixed as the services shown on the lawn. The furious 4: 3 in Wembley against England in his first game as a coach of the national team followed, among other things, sobering home bankruptcies against Australia and Italy.
The up and down under Wück, who took over from Horst Hrubesch last autumn, has so far been a continuation of the recent changeable years of the DFB selection: the acclaimed second place in the Euro 2022 and the winning of the bronze medal at the Olympic Games last year is the historical preliminary round out of the 2023 World Cup. Around three months before the beginning of the European Championship in Switzerland, the question arises: Where is the German national soccer team of women in the spring of 2025?
Mr national coach, Lea Schüller and Klara Bühl recently answered the question of when the euro would be a success: “If we get the title!” Does she look forward to self -confidence or would you want to brake something?
Christian Wück: For me it is important: you only talk about it or are you convinced of it? We are working on this all the time that we don’t just want to talk about it, but that we really plant this conviction in us, make this dream thrive in us, that we can really stretch this trophy in the end.
Have you already formulated goals internally?
Wück: I don’t even know if you have to talk great about goals. Every nation that takes part in this euro has real opportunities to take the title home. The fact that we also calculate opportunities is definitely part of such a big football nation as Germany is. But of course we are aware that we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
100 days up to the euro – what does this brand tell you?
Wück: I honestly didn’t have it in mind. For me it is rather important how many games we still have before the European Championship: there are only four. Time is getting shorter and more, more and more will focus on this highlight. I definitely have anticipation for this, we all have them. Because we think there will be a very big event that there is a chance to put women’s football even more visible in Germany.
Of course, this also depends significantly on the success of your team in Switzerland. In which areas are the players already in tournament form – and what do you have to work on?
Wück: I would have liked that we were a little further. After the friendly games last year, in which we deliberately tried a lot, we noticed in the first two Nation’s League games in February that we may not be as far as we imagined the team’s potential. Then I mainly talk about the fact that we have to become more stable on the defensive – and by that I mean not only the defensive players, but the backward movement as a whole.
The team seemed surprised against the Netherlands and Austria …
Wück: Our biggest challenge on the way to the European Championship is that we get stability in the four remaining Nation League games beforehand. It must mature awareness that it is just as valuable to play too zero at the back as to score a goal at the front. There is still a lot of work ahead of us.
On the other hand, not only the balance is aggressively correct, the game has also become more worth seeing. How much of your manuscript is in it?
Wück: I hope a lot. I hope that the team wants to implement a lot of what we propose. I think we have become more variable and more difficult to calculate on the offensive. This includes the flexible game over the outside and also that with Lea Schüller and Giovanna Hoffmann we have two center forward who hold the balls, prevail and can also distribute balls under opposite pressure. And we also know that we have a lot of speed on the offensive.
“In some positions we have players who count on world class. But in other positions we are not yet one hundred percent satisfied. We have to see what solutions we find.”
– national coach Christian Wück
Is your squad already largely or is there still a lot of movement?
Wück: This is one aspect I mean: we are not as far as we would like to be. In some positions we have players that I count on world class. But we are not yet a hundred percent in other positions. We have to see which solutions we find. And of course injuries such as before and during the last international period also thrown us back.
Last year Cora Zicai and Alara made their debut among them, most recently the two young players were not nominated. Can you still have hope for a euro ticket?
Wück: The two are just as much in the lottery pot as players. I will keep the door open until the end. Cora Zicai, for example, shows week after week at SC Freiburg that she can also score goals against top teams such as Eintracht Frankfurt. This also qualifies them to play in the A national team.
In the preliminary round of the euro, your team will meet Poland, Sweden and Denmark. How intensively do you currently watch the opponents?
Wück: Unfortunately, it is hardly possible for me to be on site when playing the others on site, because in the Nations League all teams virtually play their games at the same time. That means: Our scouts are now on the road, they observe our group opponents and deliver reports. We then sit together in the trainer team with the scouts and try to get an overview of our group opponents.
What should accommodate all teams in Switzerland are the short ways, the low distances between the venues …
Wück: As a national coach, I quickly noticed in the past few months: the girls have to feel comfortable. I think we found a very good location in Switzerland (The team hotel is located in Zurich, i.e. Red.). The short distances from the venues to our base camp will be felled to the players. We also benefit in the after -game preparation and in the analysis that no big trips will take place. Therefore, the prerequisites for a successful European Championship are definitely met in this regard.
The women’s euro takes place in Switzerland for the first time. Women’s football has also become more popular there, but the level is already in Germany. What do you expect from the mood?
Wück: There is the big goal of the UEFA that every game should be sold out. I hope that works too. Switzerland will benefit from this tournament, as will women’s football as a whole. And if a neighboring country of Germany issues the euro, we hope that many Germans will get there and support us. In any case, many of my relatives will be there. So I hope for many home games for us – no matter where we play.
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Sports show | 04/08/2025 | 8:35 p.m.
