At lunch with the new DFB president, the German team captain Alexandra Popp would have thought of a lot about how women’s football could be promoted even faster in this country.
But the 31-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg spoke to Bernd Neuendorf in the first European Championship training camp of the German selection in Frankfurt/Main, above all, about a current concern. “Of course you could have added an incredible amount – but you don’t have to go beyond the scope right away,” said Popp, smiling at a subsequent video switch.
“It was about taking women’s football in the right direction, namely upwards. That, especially in our last game before the European Championships in Erfurt, you can still do something to fill the stadium, ideally, to some extent,” explained the 2016 Olympic champion and 113-time international. Neuendorf visited the team of the record European champions, who are training on the new campus of the German Football Association, at the hotel in Gravenbruch on Wednesday.
EM test in Erfurt should bring tailwind
The selection of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg will play the only test international match before the European Championship on June 24 (5 p.m. / ZDF) in Erfurt against Switzerland and hopes for as much tailwind as possible. Most recently, in April, there was an unexpected defeat in Serbia in the World Cup qualifier.
Wearing mint green jerseys, the German soccer players are sweating this week in the so-called pre-camp. Except for Popp, however, the other players from champion and cup winner Wolfsburg are still missing. Paris professional Sara Däbritz will only join the first of two other training camps in Herzogenaurach next week.