After 1165 days, Almuth Schult celebrated a relaxed international comeback with the German soccer team. In the befitting 8:0 (3:0) victory of the runners-up European champions in Bulgaria, the national goalkeeper was little challenged in the last compulsory exercise after a successful World Cup qualification.
The three-goal scorers Lea Schüller (35’/45’+1/52′) and Laura Freigang (44’/64’/87′) as well as Sydney Lohmann (54′) and Svenja Huth (81′, penalty kick) scored in a relaxed exhibition run 65th international match for Schult, who guarded the German goal for the first time since the 2019 World Cup. The mother of twins lost her regular position to Merle Frohms after shoulder surgery and childbirth.
The DFB team had the ticket for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in their pocket since Saturday thanks to a 3-0 win in Turkey. National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was able to rotate to ten positions against the pointless bottom of qualifying group H with a clear conscience, including in goal.
“Almuth fought back, it’s a special moment to show that I can return as a mother,” Voss-Tecklenburg said before the ARD microphone kicked off.
DFB women after the EM gala in front of empty ranks
Only midfielder Linda Dallmann remained from Turkey’s starting XI. In an unusual 3-5-2 basic formation, the DFB selection experienced the gray everyday life again after the EM frenzy and attendance records in England: The expected one-way street football developed in front of almost empty ranks in the Lokomotiv Stadium.
In difficult space conditions, the German team often tried from a distance, Jule Brand (20th) hit the crossbar when trying to cross. Bayern top scorer Schüller then hit the lead from a short distance.
Shortly thereafter, Schult (43rd) made her first save when Dimitra Ivanova touched down from a distance. Even before the break, the storm duo Freigang and Schüller screwed the result up to the deserved height.
DFB women are looking forward to a duel with France
And Germany’s footballer of the year didn’t have enough against a hopelessly overwhelmed opponent: After the change of sides, Schüller improved her dream quota to 30 goals in 43 international matches.
On the way to the next title hunt (July 20 to August 20, 2023), the World Cup draw will now take place in Auckland on October 22. After that, the planning of the preparation begins, in which the top teams are to be tested. The new edition of the European Championship semi-final against France is scheduled for October 7th in Dresden.
A guest appearance with the world champions in the USA is planned for November. For the national players, however, the focus is initially on the start of the season with the clubs.