The footballers from Eintracht Frankfurt are aiming for the premier class. The last hurdle in qualification: Sparta Prague. Coach Niko Arnautis’ team feels ready. The hr broadcasts the game live.
With the lucrative group stage of the Champions League in mind, the Eintracht Frankfurt footballers definitely want to survive against AC Sparta Prague. Coach Niko Arnautis’ team will challenge the Czech runner-up in the first leg of the playoffs this Tuesday (7 p.m., live on hessenschau.de and as a full audio report on hr-iNFO).
“We know what it’s about, we want to get to the group stage and play internationally. Against Prague we have to give everything we have,” said national striker Laura Freigang.
National players in focus
As of Monday, Eintracht had only sold 4,000 tickets, but coach Arnautis emphasized: “That doesn’t change the atmosphere and the magic of the arena.” The spectators will also include interim national coach Horst Hrubesch, who replaces the ill Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and is fighting with the DFB women for Olympic qualification for Paris 2024.
Therefore, the World Cup participants Freigang, Sophia Kleinherne, Sara Doorsoun, Stina Johannes and Nicole Anyomi are under special observation. Winger Anyomi is definitely ready to play again after a cold.
Exploit Prague’s weaknesses
Eintracht secured their place in the playoffs with a 5-4 win on penalties against Juventus Turin. The second leg in Prague takes place in a week. The Frankfurt team can be among the top 16 teams for the first time since 2016, when they were still 1. FFC Frankfurt. The 1. FFC had won the title four times in the premier class or in the previous competition, the UEFA Cup.
“Every player has the dream of playing in the Champions League,” said attacker Lara Prašnikar, underlining the importance of the competition. “We want to put everything into it tomorrow and get ourselves in a good starting position so that we can clear things up next week.”
Arnautis is also convinced that his team is ready for the big hit. “We know Prague’s weaknesses and will exploit them,” said the coach and, looking back on Friday’s late 3-1 win in the Bundesliga against RB Leipzig, demanded of his players: “We have to keep up our performance for the whole 90 minutes recall.”
