Assistant coach Carlson: “Everyone is fit”
“It’s good for the head and legs,” said two-time tournament goal scorer Lina Magull, taking a deep breath at the weekend. Since Sunday, however, the players have been completely in France mode. “Everyone is fit. We’re lucky that all of our 23 players are there,” said assistant coach Britta Carlson before leaving for Milton Keynes, 80 kilometers away.
The “EM magic” (Popp) shouldn’t evaporate there. The eight-time European champion, world champion from 2003 and 2007 and Olympic champion from 2016 can land a coup after three years without tournaments and thrilling performances at the European Championships. With a smile, the Wolfsburg winger Huth recalled a saying from her former interim national coach: “As Horst Hrubesch always said: Now it doesn’t make any sense to lose.”
The DFB selection and their companions are sure that even a deficit would not throw Popp, Huth and Co. off the track so quickly. “This team is able to cope with very different types of resistance in a special way,” said DFB General Secretary Heike Ullrich. Also with a view to the Corona-related absence of Lea Schüller, which captain Alexandra Popp from VfL Wolfsburg has caught with four goals so far. Bayern’s top scorer Schüller will be on the bench again against France.
Frohms: “There’s still a long way to go”
Goalkeeper Merle Frohms is “very excited about Wembley. But we know that there is still a long way to go. That we shouldn’t dream too much too soon.” You have “a world-class team that is capable of a lot.” And the strength of the defense is also a sign to other teams “that it takes a lot to score a goal against us. But we also know that the opponents are getting stronger now.”
Huth is certain of the clash with the aces of Champions League winner Olympique Lyon led by captain Wendie Renard: “This team spirit and this knowledge that the base is our defense can take us far.” The DFB women strengthened the team spirit even more with a restaurant evening on London’s Tower Bridge. “The mood was great,” reported full-back Giulia Gwinn. “We’re just looking forward to the game and can’t wait for it to get going.”