AUDIO: Wück about DFB Women 2025: “You can see a development” (4 min)
As of: December 22, 2025 9:23 a.m
Germany’s footballers have had an eventful year – with reaching the European Championship semi-finals and the Nations League final as the highlights. The DFB women were quite successful, but national coach Christian Wück also complained about missed opportunities in the Sportschau interview.
The football teacher is torn at the end of his first full year as national coach. Between pride on the one hand and the great disappointment on the other hand of having been “close to it twice”.
“If you leave out the pure results, you see a development – and that was the top priority when we started in October 2024. I think you can be satisfied,” the 52-year-old looks back, but also says: “It was a good development, but it was not an optimal development.”
There is still a great longing to finally win a big tournament again after the Olympic victory in 2016. “And from my point of view, it’s an optimal development if you have something in your hands. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do that at the European Championships or afterwards in the Nations League,” said Wück.
Upheaval after the Olympics as a great opportunity
When the 52-year-old took over as national coach in 2024, the German national team had just won Olympic bronze. Horst Hrubesch reminded the team of the German virtues; this medal was the result of hard work. But his successor wanted to see more from the players – namely attractive and exciting (offensive) football.
However, the first step was to build a new team structure: goalkeeper Merle Frohms, defense chief Marina Hegering, Svenja Huth and leader Alexandra Popp had ended their national team careers after the Olympics. On the way to implementing a new style of play, it certainly didn’t hurt to be able to set new priorities in the game, in tactics and also in personnel, independent of hierarchies in the team.
2025: A constant ebb and flow of great emotions
Wück made courageous decisions that were not always (immediately) understood publicly: He wants to develop young players and accepts setbacks in the process. By winning the U17 World Cup with the DFB juniors in 2023, he had already shown that he can shape a team and lead it to success. “From a purely sporting perspective, it wasn’t all that different,” is how the coach describes his move to the women’s team. In terms of media and viewer interest, it was “of course something completely different”.
And so within a very short time he experienced “an incredibly high level of euphoria”, but also experienced during this year’s European Championships, how “the whole of Germany was devastated after the Sweden game”.
It was an incredibly high level of euphoria. But after the game against Sweden, it felt like the whole of Germany was on the ground. Assessing that, being aware of that, and taking responsibility for that was incredibly valuable for me.
National coach Christian Wück
The team had raised expectations in the last two games before the European Championship against the Netherlands (4:0) and in Austria (6:0) in the Nations League as well as through the victories in the European Championship preliminary round against Poland (2:0) and Denmark (2:1). The landing in reality was even harder when the final group game was lost 4-1.
Final whistle after the European Championship quarter-finals Wück’s moment of the year
Fortunately, a snapshot, the euphoria returned. The national coach describes the final whistle after the epic European Championship quarter-final thriller against France as his moment of the year. Despite being outnumbered for a long time and with almost superhuman effort (including a save from goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger for the history books) his team had fought its way into a penalty shootout against the favored French team – and there keep the upper hand with 6:5.
And the decision in the semi-final against Spain came close to being decided on penalties. But then shortly before the end, Aitana Bonmati’s shot came from a very tight angle into the short corner that keeper Berger had opened – and the dream of the final was gone. Looking back, Wück says he was annoyed that “Bonmati was invited to this goal.”
DFB women tie in with the European Championship in the Nations League
The tournament itself was “very instructive” for him – also with a view to the Final Four of the Nations League: “Above all, by analyzing the tournament, we proved that we drew the right conclusions, both positive and negative.”
While the success against France in Switzerland was still a victory as an underdog, the DFB women fully deserved to beat the “Equipe Tricolore” in the national tournament. The 1-0 home win was followed by another strong performance in the 2-2 draw in the second leg in France.
The two games against the French and also the two games against the Spanish showed us that we are on the right track with the team.
Christian Wück
In the final first leg in Kaiserslautern (0-0), however, the DFB women were unable to convert their sometimes oppressive superiority and numerous good chances into goals. In the second leg, things finally happened as they almost had to happen: world champions Spain won 3-0 and successfully defended their title.
Wück leaves the future at the DFB open, …
That meant the football year was over for the DFB women – and yet there was still a victory: Germany was awarded the contract to host the 2029 European Championship. He was “extremely happy,” said Wück. It is not yet foreseeable what could develop in Germany by then, “but the possibilities are immense.” The home European Championships should be “a huge event and experience”.
Is the national coach still in office? Wück leaves this open: “You don’t know.” His contract expires at the end of next year. After the second leg of the Nations League final, he said that it was “still a long way off” for him.
… but the team’s perspective is correct
But the team’s prospects appear rosy. Last but not least, sports director Nia Künzer recently raved about the new personnel opportunities that are opening up with, among others, the European Championship discovery Franziska Kett, but also with Sjoeke Nüsken and Elisa Senß, who have played their way to the fore. Wück says he “already has the fantasy” that the team can take the next development steps.
National coach Christian Wück (r.) with one of his new leaders: Sjoeke Nüsken.
There won’t be a big tournament or Nations League next year, but there will be World Cup qualification against Norway, Austria and Slovenia. “No matter who is in the group: We as the German national team have the goal of coming first. And it is still difficult,” emphasizes Wück. Even without a possible title in mind, it is “incredibly interesting to see how the next year will go.”
National coach names clear construction areas
The main issue is efficiency in front of goal. In Spain, however, his team was ultimately no longer able to keep up athletically. Wück also calls for improvements in the players’ technique. He also never tires of emphasizing that there is a need for a larger pool of players who have the quality to compete in the national team and therefore at the highest level.
The task of taking further steps is difficult. “At the beginning you always take pretty big steps. And they’re always visible to everyone on the pitch pretty quickly,” explains the 52-year-old. But: “In the status where we are now or where we will be in 2026, these development steps will be smaller. That means it’s now about the details.”
The dream of the title should come true
At the end of this process, Germany should “really become a top nation” again. His team has to maintain its identity and mentality, says Wück, who has a clear goal: “If we can combine technical and individual skills with our identity on the pitch, then we are on the right track to holding a trophy like this again at some point.”
