AUDIO: DFB women prepare for the start of World Cup qualification (1 min)
World Cup qualification
As of: February 24, 2026 5:01 p.m
The German soccer players started preparing for the games against Slovenia and Norway in Frankfurt on Tuesday. The DFB women’s goals are clear: the World Cup in Brazil – and finally the title again.
Christian Wück doesn’t seem to want to waste any time on the mission. After their arrival on Tuesday afternoon, the national coach asked his players directly to the lawn of the DFB campus in the afternoon.
The DFB women will also travel from the Main metropolis to the first two qualifying games at the beginning of March. Then it’s on March 3rd in Dresden against Slovenia (5.45 p.m., live on Erste and in Stream on sportschau.de) and on March 7th in Stavanger against Norway (6 p.m.).
Veit and Mühlhaus were renominated
Jella Veit (Eintracht Frankfurt) and Larissa Mühlhaus (Werder Bremen) will be there for the first time. The duo was called up at short notice to replace Sophia Kleinherne (VfL Wolfsburg) and Selina Cerci (TSG Hoffenheim), who were missing due to injury.
After reaching the European Championship semi-finals and taking part in the final of the Nations League, Germany’s footballers want to celebrate titles again soon. DFB sports director Nia Künzer recently emphasized this. Germany was European champion eight times, world champion twice and Olympic champion in 2016. Since then, no further trophies have been added.
Wück is the DFB women’s hope
It is clear “that we have other, higher goals and would also like to win a title again,” said Künzer, who made Germany world champions in 2003 with her golden goal.
The bearer of hope is Wück, who extended his contract early until 2029 at the beginning of the year. The 46-year-old said that the year and a half together so far had been “very intense, entertaining and very successful.” In their eyes, “together with the team we got the maximum out of it”.
Wück sees his long contract as a great leap of faith. The prospect of three possible tournaments (World Cup, European Championships and Olympics) was a strong decision criterion. “And we see the potential in the team to be able to play these tournaments successfully,” emphasized Wück.
World Cup qualification against Slovenia, Norway and Austria
For the World Cup qualification, in which Germany, alongside Slovenia and Norway, also face Austria, the 52-year-old initially deliberately refrained from experimenting. His first squad of the new year initially had no newcomers and therefore no surprises.
The ex-professional emphasized that it was important to him to give the players confidence: “We want to consolidate what we started. We found a very good foundation last year. We will now move forward based on this squad situation.”
The fact that there are now two new guys, Veit and Mühlhaus, doesn’t change this route. For both of them, the main thing will be to get a taste of the DFB air.
Wück believes in the potential of the players
In the upcoming matches, Wück expects his players to build on their performances – but also take a step forward.
“We want to be convinced that we can survive with our style of play – no matter against who, no matter where and no matter when.”
National coach Christian Wück
This will be important against what will most likely be a very defensive Slovenian team when it comes to finding playful solutions. But also in Norway, in what is probably the trickiest task of qualifying: “We can’t let their game be forced on us. That’s the next step I want to take with the team.”
Only the first team in the group will get a direct ticket to next year’s World Cup in Brazil. As second and third, there is still a chance of jumping on the bandwagon via the play-offs.
Unusually long international match phase
FIFA has given the national teams almost three weeks in this phase of the regional games. Much to the astonishment and sometimes displeasure of the clubs.
“Such a long period is something new,” explained Wück, who is, however, happy to have more time with the players on the pitch and for meetings. “This is a good measure for us in the national team.” The DFB therefore deliberately decided against a possible third (friendly) game.
First reduce the gap to Spain, then triumph
Wück, who was with women before his time led the DFB U17 juniors to the world championship title knows that success also depends on the head. “Even against supposedly weaker opponents, we always have to be 100 percent on the pitch and show our identity. That’s not easy from a mentality, from a head perspective,” the football teacher emphasized.
But only with this 100 percent will it be possible to “close the gap to Spain and the other top nations.” And that’s also why Wück had no time to waste on the first day of preparation on Tuesday.
