The DFB women won the first leg of the Nations League semi-final against France. Above all, a defender stands out. The individual criticism.
Wrapped up in a thick jacket, match winner Klara Bühl celebrated an “amazing evening of football”, while national coach Christian Wück was only bothered by the warming performance about exploiting the chances. Thanks to Bühl, the German footballers can hope for the final in the Nations League. The Bayern striker scored the goal of the day in the 79th minute in the 1-0 (0-0) win against France in the first semi-final.
The newly formed team of national coach Christian Wück has put itself in a good starting position in front of 37,191 spectators in Düsseldorf before the second leg on Tuesday (9:10 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online) in Caen.
“We are very, very happy about the victory. It feels incredibly good – also the way. Today you saw what we can do, what kind of football we want to play. I’m incredibly proud of the team. We played a very, very strong game,” said match winner Bühl and, looking at the second leg, said: “In the end we want to get to the final of the Final Four. We have a one-goal lead. But we know what it’s all about abroad in France for hard work.”
A good three months after the dramatic European Championship quarter-final victory on penalties against the French in Basel, the DFB women impressed for long periods, but did not take advantage of their chances for a long time. The game for third place or the final will be against the world champions from Spain or Sweden at the end of November or beginning of December.
National coach Wück was also satisfied: “We showed a lot that thrilled the spectators. The only drawback was our efficiency in front of the goal. (…) I was extremely annoyed that we didn’t reward ourselves. The 1-0 was deserved, but far too small.” According to Wück, things will remain tight in France.
Wück experimented diligently with his starting eleven – and at times he had to. He was missing several top-class players in Lena Oberdorf, Giovanna Hoffmann (both torn cruciate ligaments), Janina Minge (yellow suspension) and the injured goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. The DFB selection held up the jerseys of the battered Oberdorf and Hoffmann for the cameras during the team photo.
Captain Giulia Gwinn made her comeback for this. The Bayern star suffered an inner ligament injury at the start of the European Championship. In the first international match since the tournament exit against Spain in July, Wück surprisingly put Frankfurt returnee Nicole Anyomi up front – Munich’s Lea Schüller had to go to the bench.
European Championship discovery Carlotta Wamser was allowed to play on the wing in front of Gwinn, newcomer Camilla Küver from VfL Wolfsburg made her debut as a central defender right from the start – and winger Jule Brand tried out Wück for the first time in the recently problematic number 10 position. As announced, Küver’s teammate Stina Johannes stood between the posts as Berger’s representative. You can read about who accepted the new role well and who still had room for improvement in the individual reviews above or here.