The DFB footballers will face Iceland in the fourth game of the Nations League on Tuesday in Reykjavik. A victory there is important to maintain the chances of qualifying for the Olympics.
When Lea Schüller shows up for the interview at the team hotel, interim national coach Horst Hrubesch is actually just about to leave. But first he strokes the striker’s head encouragingly – which to him seems more like a moderately powerful knock. Another little joke – the two get along.
Hrubesch, the former header monster, sometimes referred to as “the tall one” by teammates, and Schüller, one of the best strikers in the Bundesliga. In the 5-1 win against Wales last Friday, she scored two goals in Hrubesch style, i.e. with her head. “Going into the next game with a big win is great. We have more self-confidence than before and want to win the game against Iceland,” says the FC Bayern Munich attacker.
Hrubesch baptizes Schüller as “the tall one”
The coach occasionally calls Schüller “the tall one”, including in the team meeting before the final training session in Reykjavik. “I think he has problems with our names from time to time,” says the 1.73 meter tall Schüller with a laugh. Hrubesch adds: “It just slips out. That’s meant kindly and kindly.”
It becomes clear how much appreciation Hrubesch, who is taking over as interim national coach for the second time since 2019, and the players meet each other. “He gives us self-confidence back, for example by saying what great quality we have and that it makes no sense to lose games. He says that in almost every meeting and that’s extremely important for us after the period in which we couldn’t perform so well.”
Hrubesch demands victory against Iceland
The game against Iceland is the second under Hrubesch’s direction in the Nations League; the DFB team won the first leg 4-0 at the end of September. “We have to take things into our own hands this time too and clearly play to win,” demands Hrubesch.
The fact that the German offensive game in the 5-1 win against Wales with crosses to striker Schüller was criticized as being too predictable doesn’t bother him much: “Football is a simple game. I have to get the ball from A to B, prevent goals on one side and score them on the other. It was clear that not everything would go smoothly against Wales. But ultimately the result speaks for us.”
It’s about winning the group
Opponent Iceland, the team led by Bayern captain Viggósdóttir, is in third place in the Nations League group; Germany and Denmark will fight for group victory. Only the first-place finishers qualify for a playoff tournament next year, in which two starting places for the Olympic football tournament in Paris are awarded. “We want to go there. And along the way, all games are finals,” says Hrubesch, who won silver with the German men’s team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
Captain and striker Alexandra Popp will miss the game in Reykjavik (8 p.m.) again due to thigh problems. Lea Schüller and her powerful headers are all the more important. Some time ago she took a special object lesson: “I watched old videos by Horst Hrubesch on YouTube. Ninety percent of the game scenes were headed goals. He did quite well.”
Cross from Kaltz, header from Hrubesch: This was part of the game philosophy during Hamburger SV’s successful period at the end of the 1970s. The same applies to the DFB women today: It’s the simple things that bring success.