AUDIO: Wück nominates squad (1 min)
World Cup qualification
As of: March 31, 2026 1:22 p.m
Women’s national coach Christian Wück is relying on proven talent in his footballers’ two World Cup qualifying games against Austria. There are no newcomers in the squad for the duels with the Alpine Republic on April 14th in Nuremberg and on April 18th in Ried. There are two returnees in Wolfsburg’s Cora Zicai and Hoffenheim’s Selina Cerci.
Both had last played for the record European champions in the final of the Nations League last December in Madrid against Spain (0:3). Now they are returning to the squad.
Larissa Mühlhaus from Werder Bremen, however, did not receive an invitation. The 23-year-old is listed on call and would probably join the team in the event of an injury to a nominated striker.
“We have a strong squad and are relying on the players with whom we started successfully in the World Cup qualification,” explained Wück. “With Larissa Mühlhaus – as with other players – we decided to let her gain more match practice in the U23 national team,” added the national coach.
Veit was nominated directly for the first time
Vanessa Fudalla (Bayer Leverkusen), who leads the Bundesliga top scorers list together with Munich’s Pernille Harder, was once again not considered by Wück. The experienced Sydney Lohmann (Manchester City), Kathrin Hendrich (Chicago Red Stars) and Felicitas Rauch (North Carolina Courage) are also missing from the squad as recently.
Munich’s Klara Bühl is not available due to injury. And for Sophia Kleinherne (VfL Wolfsburg) and Bibiane Schulze Solano (Athletic Bilbao), a nomination for the two games came too early after they had just recovered from injuries.
In contrast, defender Jella Veit (Eintracht Frankfurt) made it straight into the 23-man squad this time. The 20-year-old was nominated for the first two World Cup qualifying games.
DFB women want to keep a clean slate
The German women go into the duels with the Alpine republic as leaders of Group A4. After the record European champions had, as expected, clearly defeated outsiders Slovenia 5-0 at the start, the Norwegians, who were actually rated as strong, then had a surprisingly clear 4-0 win.
Austria, on the other hand, started qualifying with two 0-1 defeats against Norway and Slovenia and is already with its back against the wall, as only the first team in the group will win their World Cup ticket directly.
Wück: “We want to show an exciting game”
The DFB team is clearly favored in the comparisons with the neighboring country – and is already looking forward to them. “We are really looking forward to Nuremberg and the fantastic atmosphere that awaits us there,” said Wück, who comes from Lower Franconia, with a view to his team’s home game on April 14th (6:15 p.m., in the live ticker at sportschau.de).
“Our goal is to show an exciting game. We are firmly convinced that, with the support of our fans, we can take the next important step on our way to the 2027 World Cup.” Almost 20,000 tickets have already been sold for the encounter. The second leg in Austria will take place a few days later on Saturday, April 18th (from 6 p.m., live on sportschau.de), in Ried im Innkreis.
The DFB squad at a glance
Goal: Ann-Katrin Berger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Stina Johannes (VfL Wolfsburg), Ena Mahmutovic (FC Bayern Munich)
Defense: Giulia Gwinn, Franziska Kett (both FC Bayern), Rebecca Knaak, Camilla Küver, Sarai Linder, Janina Minge (all VfL Wolfsburg), Jella Veit (Eintracht Frankfurt), Carlotta Wamser (Bayer Leverkusen)
Midfield/attack: Nicole Anyomi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Jule Brand (Olympique Lyonnais), Selina Cerci (TSG Hoffenheim), Linda Dallmann (FC Bayern), Vivien Endemann (VfL Wolfsburg), Laura Freigang, Lisanne Gräwe (both Eintracht Frankfurt), Shekiera Martinez (West Ham United), Sjoeke Nüsken (Chelsea FC), Lea Schüller (Manchester United), Elisa Senß (Eintracht Frankfurt), Cora Zicai (VfL Wolfsburg).
