Germany’s soccer players have reached an important interim goal on the way to the Olympics. Now it continues with coach Horst Hrubesch and a final round in which there could be several chances for a ticket to Paris.
The German team wasn’t as dramatic as the long-distance duel between the Netherlands and England. But Horst Hrubesch’s players also only narrowly managed to reach the goal, which is a milestone.
Winning the group in the Nations League was the prerequisite for reaching the final round of the competition, which has now also been introduced in women’s football. The trophy will be awarded for the first time on February 28, 2024. But that becomes a minor matter, because even beforehand it’s about taking part in the Olympic Games in Paris.
Two places are still up for grabs and three teams are fighting for it: world champions Spain, the Netherlands and Germany. France, which also reached the final tournament of the four group winners from Division A of the Nations League, has qualified for the Olympics as hosts.
Hrubesch would “love France”
Germany’s interim coach Hrubesch has therefore identified the French as their favorite opponents for the semi-finals: “I would really like it if I got France, then we most likely have two chances to qualify.”
After the weak performance in Swansea and the shaky 0-0 draw against Wales, this “most likely” slipped out subconsciously, because if France were actually drawn with Germany on Monday (December 11, 2023, 1 p.m.), the DFB’s selection would be upheld In any case, a maximum of two chances. A defeat would result in the second game for third place, which would then effectively be a final for the last available European spot at the Olympics.
So again in short: The winners of the two semi-finals qualify for the Summer Games in Paris. If France makes it to the final, the third team will also be there.
The exact game dates for the final round have not yet been determined. The only thing that is certain is that the upcoming four games will be played between February 23rd and 28th. In the semi-final draw, the team drawn first will have home advantage; there are no seedings or restrictions.
UEFA continues: “A draw for the semi-final pairings will decide which teams will be considered as hosts for the final and the game for third place.”
Germany’s group victory with a bang
Thanks to the DFB selection, Iceland was able to hope for a lucky draw twice on Monday. Iceland won 1-0 at Denmark, who would have moved past Germany with a win. Germany won the group with a bang, the performance against Wales annoyed Hrubesch: “That wasn’t our aim, certainly not mine.”
Ultimately, the first goal has to be achieved, and that’s why he continues as national coach: “That’s the plan.”
The German footballers go into the final round as underdogs. They were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2023 World Cup amid great fanfare, which ended in their separation from national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg. Spain, on the other hand, won the tournament in Australia and New Zealand after eliminating the Netherlands after extra time in the quarter-finals. Also in the quarter-finals, France was eliminated after a penalty shootout against Australia.
Drama in the long-distance duel between England and the Netherlands
One of the heavyweights in women’s football dramatically missed out on winning the group on Tuesday. England, European champions and losing 1-0 to Spain in the World Cup final, did a lot to edge out the Netherlands on goal difference.
In the duel against arch-rivals Scotland in Glasgow, England led 5-0 in stoppage time, only to be lucky with a shot against the post in stoppage time and even make it 6-0 in return. “That should have been it,” said the television commentator, because she hadn’t noticed at the time that the Netherlands had increased the score to 3-0 against Belgium – also in stoppage time.
So “Oranje” were only one goal away and five minutes of injury time were indicated. Half a minute before the clock expired, Damaris Egurrola headed the score 4-0. “That feeling from one moment to the next. And when you’re on the winning side, you’ll never forget that in your life,” said coach Andries Jonker, who once worked in the men’s Bundesliga for FC Bayern and VfL Wolfsburg.
speculation around Distortion of competition
Before the dramatic finish, there was speculation about a possible distortion of competition. England had been chosen by Great Britain’s National Olympic Committee to secure participation in the Olympics.
Since in this case players from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland could theoretically have been nominated, the situation was explosive.
Scotland’s players had brusquely dismissed the speculation as an insult. The recording of the game shows that it was a fair sporting competition.