Thanks to their strong goalkeepers Merle Frohms and Ann-Kathrin Berger, the German soccer team celebrated their first victory of the World Cup year. The endurance test in the Netherlands was 1-0.
After their tremendous rescue efforts, Merle Frohms and Ann-Kathrin Berger were hugged one after the other, the German footballers knew who they owed this prestigious success in the Netherlands to. At 1-0 (0-0), the two goalkeepers, who each played one half, were the focus and played a major role in the first win of the World Cup year.
Before Sydney Lohmann (53) from FC Bayern scored against the attacking runner-up, Frohms and Berger, who came on at the break, had to do hard work in the DFB goal. And on Tuesday (6:00 p.m./ARD) the next yardstick is set: In Nuremberg, the German selection meets Brazil, a possible opponent at the World Cup in the round of 16.
“It was intense, it was wild. If you lose the balls during the build-up, you have to work a lot and intensively,” said Martina Voss-Tecklenburg: “In the end we won, but we have to find the balance again so that we can play well under pressure.” The national coach described Frohms and Berger as “chance killers”.
In the middle of the World Cup casting, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg did without some regulars in her starting eleven, including captain Alexandra Popp. Instead, Sara Däbritz led the DFB team onto the field. Compared to the 0-0 draw against Sweden at the start of the year, the national coach actually changed her formation to six positions.
At short notice, however, Svenja Huth had to start on the right wing for Nicole Anyomi, who had an injured foot. In the new green World Cup jersey, the DFB team got off to a somewhat nervous start, the high Oranje pressing had an effect in front of 10,789 fans, who made for an atmospheric backdrop.
So it took a quarter of an hour until the first German goal approach. The hostesses seemed more experienced, Bonds coach Andries Jonker, former Bundesliga coach of the Wolfsburg men, relied on the VfL duo Dominique Janssen and Jill Roord, among others.
After almost half an hour, things went fast. First the ex-Munich player Lineth Beerensteyn failed at DFB keeper Frohms, in a direct counterattack Tabea Waßmuth (30th) headed just over the goal. Shortly before the break, the strong Frohms cleared again with a foot defense against Beerensteyn (44th).
After the break, Chelsea keeper Berger replaced Frohms from Wolfsburg – and she too had to save against Beerensteyn and Danielle van de Donk (46th) in dire need. But then a standard situation brought the German leadership.
Lohmann headed in at the second post after a corner kick by substitute and conspicuous Klara Bühl. It was the fourth goal in the 20th international match for the 22-year-old midfielder. In the final phase, Berger (86th) made another strong save.
Both teams laced up at Fortuna Stadium with “BNG” badges on their sleeves. The neighboring countries drew attention to their joint World Cup application, and the associations want to host the women’s finals in 2027 together with Belgium.