Frankfurt / Main (AP) – Alexandra Popp is returning to the German women’s national soccer team after almost a year’s injury break.
The captain was nominated by national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg for the DFB World Cup qualifiers against Portugal on April 9 in Bielefeld and against Serbia on April 12 in Belgrade. The DFB selection leads the World Cup qualifying group H with 18 points ahead of Portugal (13) and Serbia (12).
The 31-year-old Popp played her last international match for the time being on April 13, 2021 against Norway before she was out for a long time due to a knee injury. “We are very happy that Poppi is back. She is a very important player for us – on and off the field. With her strong personality, presence, power and leadership, she is an important building block in our team. It’s good that we can plan with her again,” said Voss-Tecklenburg about the attacking player’s comeback from Bundesliga leaders VfL Wolfsburg.
In addition to Popp, there are eight other players in the squad who missed February’s four-country tournament in England through injury or illness. Svenja Huth, Tabea Waßmuth, Kathrin Hendrich, Almuth Schult, Lena Lattwein, Sjoeke Nüsken, Sydney Lohmann and Dzsenifer Marozsan are back. It is still unclear whether Linda Dallmann and Maximiliane Rall can participate after positive corona tests.