When Martina Voss-Tecklenburg had gathered the beaming faces in a circle after the final whistle, the national coach probably said what her players were thinking: “First someone has to beat us.”
The German soccer players started the European Championship with a statement. With the 4-0 (1-0) win against Denmark, the DFB women dispelled any doubts that had accumulated over the past three years.
It’s no wonder that Voss-Tecklenburg hugged practically everyone who passed her on the pitch, in the dressing room aisles and in front of the team bus that evening. In front of 15,746 spectators at the Brentford Community Stadium in London, their team exuded a good mentality, enthusiasm and tactical maturity in the first group game – and scored wonderful goals.
Best Player
Lina Magull (21st minute), who was later named the best player of the game, and Lea Schüller (57th) from FC Bayern Munich as well as the two Wolfsburg players Lena Lattwein (78th) and Alexandra Popp (86th) scored against the EM -Second place in 2017. This put the DFB selection straight at the top of Group B. On Tuesday, there will also be a duel in West London with the title candidate from Spain, who had previously defeated outsiders Finland 4-1.
“We played ourselves into a frenzy. Our attacking pressing worked very well. A 4-0 win in the first game is outstanding,” Schüller told ZDF. For once, Voss had “nothing to complain about”: “We played an outstanding game. We were incredibly dominant, aggressive. The relief is of course great. It’s a good basis, a great starting position, but nothing has been won yet,” emphasized the 54 year old.