Goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger returns to the German national soccer team after her cancer treatment.
The 31-year-old from Chelsea is in the 24-man squad of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg for the test international match of the runners-up European champions on October 7 (8:30 p.m. / ARD) in Dresden against France. According to the DFB, around 24,000 tickets have already been sold for the first home game since the European Championships in England.
“We are very happy that Ann-Katrin Berger can be back: That’s the best news about this international match,” said Voss-Tecklenburg. For the selection around DFB captain Alexandra Popp, it is a repeat of the European Championship semifinals, which Germany won 2-1 in July thanks to two goals from Wolfsburg.
Substitute keeper Berger announced after the EM tournament that she had to undergo cancer treatment again. “Unfortunately, after four years without cancer, a recurrence in my thyroid was discovered,” Berger said. She made her comeback at her club in England last weekend.
Grohs there for the first time
Goalkeeper Maria Luisa Grohs from FC Bayern Munich is in the squad for the first time, and Stina Johannes from Eintracht Frankfurt has also been nominated after a long time. First-choice goalkeeper Frohms from VfL Wolfsburg is considered set. Her competitor Almuth Schult will, as agreed, not travel from the USA because of the last day of play before the playoffs in the American league. The Wolfsburg native switched to Angel City FC.
Giulia Gwinn from FC Bayern and Lena Oberdorf from Wolfsburg, who were injured or ill in the last World Cup qualifiers, are also returning from the European Championship team. At the end of the year, the DFB women challenged the world champions from the USA twice more on November 11th in Fort Lauderdale/Florida and on November 13th in Harrison/New Jersey. The last three games this year are considered important preparations for next summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.