World Cup qualification
As of: June 8, 2026 10:18 p.m
No half measures! Despite already having a ticket for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, the German footballers want to do more in Slovenia on Tuesday. Janina Minge returns to the starting eleven.
At 27 degrees in the Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana, the DFB women were beaming with the sun during their final training session on Monday evening. The mood before the last group game against the bottom of the table was great.
No wonder, because thanks to the 2-0 win against Norway last Friday, the German team has already booked its World Cup ticket for Brazil early.
“It’s nice to have a game like that,” admitted Janina Minge openly. The 26-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg will return to the starting line-up on Tuesday after serving her suspension and will lead her team onto the pitch as captain, replacing the injured Giulia Gwinn.
“We want to go into the summer break with a positive feeling.”
Janina Minge
But Minge doesn’t want to take the outsiders from Slovenia lightly. “Of course we want to confirm what we have already shown in this World Cup qualification. We want to go into the summer break with a positive feeling,” she said.
That doesn’t sound like a casual outing or show. Even though Christian Wück will rotate a lot, the national coach expects a serious performance from his team: “It’s an important game for us as a team because we just want to continue on the path.”
Video:
National player Janina Minge – “Confirm our good performance” (3 min)
Austria as a warning
In the “Sportschau” interview, it was clear to the 52-year-old that he was not willing to deviate from his route despite the early World Cup qualification. Understandable.
“We noticed during the 0-0 draw in Austria that we had one or two problems on the pitch against ‘smaller’ nations that we couldn’t solve,” explained Wück. With Slovenia he expects a similarly deep opponent.
Marie Müller rotates out
The stadium in Ljubljana, which has a capacity of 16,000 spectators, will probably only be a third full on Tuesday. So there is no comparison to the atmospheric backdrop in the 2-0 win against Norway in Cologne. Marie Müller had a fantastic debut there as a replacement for Gwinn on the right side – including a goal to give the team a redemptive lead.
The high-flyer from the Portland Thorns first had to process the hustle and bustle surrounding her. “I left them alone for now,” said Wück, who initially wants to leave Müller out against Slovenia – despite the impressive performance.
Instead, some players from the second row get their chance. “It will be a big rotation,” revealed the national coach, who in the same breath emphasized that all players have the quality and the confidence “that they can decide games for Germany.”
Who starts in goal?
Same in the goal. Ann-Katrin Berger, who was convincing again against Norway, will get a well-deserved break. In return, Stina Johannes and Ena Mahmutovic can hope to be in the starting eleven against Slovenia.
It is perhaps one of the national coach’s greatest achievements so far that he has greatly expanded the width and depth of the squad with new players since he took office.
Gold medal in Brazil
With the World Cup ticket already secured in his pocket, Wück is already starting to prepare for the 2027 tournament in Brazil. Despite all the progress, the German team is still a step away from becoming the absolute best in the world.
The national coach wants to significantly reduce this gap by the time of the World Cup. A convincing win in the final group game in Slovenia could perhaps be the start of something big.
As a reminder: the DFB women won their last major title in Brazil – gold at the 2016 Olympic Games…
Video:
DFB women qualify for the World Cup against Norway (3 min)
