Tears were falling at Nike Lorenz, and disappointment was also written all over their faces: For the German hockey women, the dream of the long-awaited World Cup medal has burst.
The team of national coach Valentin Altenburg lost just one day after the bitter semi-final defeat in the game for third place in Terrassa, Spain on Sunday (July 17th, 2022) against Australia 1: 2 (1: 0) and thus missed the first World Cup medal since 24 years.
Great tournament – but “very disappointed”
“We are very disappointed”said Cecile Pieper after the game, even the 27-year-old couldn’t hold back her tears: “We played a great tournament, developed well. It’s very sad that we lost our last game.”
Lena Micheel (13th) scored the goal for the selection of the German Hockey Association. Stephanie Kershaw (48th, 55th) was twice successful for Australia and secured the bronze medal for the two-time world champion. Germany last climbed the podium in 1998 in third place at a World Cup.
Huge bad luck even in the semifinals
Less than 24 hours earlier, the DHB team had suffered a bitter 4-2 defeat in the penalty shootout against Argentina despite a strong performance in the semi-finals and thus narrowly missed the final.
The setback from the day before was initially not noticeable to the German players. Both teams started with speed. Shortly before the first quarter break, Micheel rewarded the DHB team after a pass from Hanna Granitzki. However, Germany did not take advantage of the following chances and numerous penalty corners.
Australia half an hour without a degree
Australia rarely came close to the opponent’s goal, not having a shot on the German goal for the entire first 30 minutes. If the two-time world champion was looking for a way forward, the “Danas” defended consistently.
The second half started turbulently, both goalkeepers had to intervene several times. But after Germany missed the preliminary decision several times, Kershaw finally succeeded, equalized and scored again shortly afterwards. The German women never recovered from this double blow.