The German soccer players have achieved an important breakthrough in the fight for the Olympics.
In the absence of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, who is still ill, the much braver vice-European champions clearly won their second Nations League game against Iceland in Bochum 4-0 (2-0).
The strong Klara Bühl with two goals (19th and 78th) and her Bayern colleagues Giulia Gwinn (35th, penalty kick) and Lea Schüller (68th) scored in the first home game after the World Cup fiasco in front of 14,998 fans in the sold-out Ruhrstadion.
“The relief is great. You felt life in the team. That feels very good. We wanted to make amends, we succeeded. You can build on that,” said a beaming Giulia Gwinn on ZDF. Match winner Bühl was also “incredibly happy that the knot was broken. It was awesome and fun. I’m incredibly happy and proud of the team.”
Four days after the defeat in Denmark (0-2), the DFB team, coached by assistant Britta Carlson, scored their first points – only as group winners still have a chance of a ticket to Paris 2024.
The new DFB managing director Andreas Rettig watched the groundbreaking game from the stands. Now the top management of the association is concerned with creating clarity in the “MVT” case as quickly as possible. It is unclear whether and when the criticized national coach will return, and the official World Cup analysis has not yet been completed.
Three changes for the DFB women
The next Nations League games are scheduled for October 27th against Wales in Sinsheim and October 31st in Iceland. Carlson had made it clear that she was not permanently available for the position of head coach.
The interim coach changed her starting line-up around captain Alexandra Popp, who had left her future in the national team open beyond this 133rd international match, to three positions. Gwinn started for Felicitas Rauch, Lena Lattwein replaced Lina Magull and Jule Brand replaced Nicole Anyomi.
Spurred on by the atmospheric backdrop, the DFB selection took the reins of action after a nervous start; the guests around defense chief Glodis Viggosdottir from FC Bayern stood deep. However, an Icelander almost gave the German lead, Gudrun Arnardottir (16th) headed dangerously towards her own goal during a clearance.
Clever diagonal ball makes it 1-0
A clever diagonal ball from Lena Oberdorf led to the deserved 1-0. On the left side, Bühl took courage, dribbled into the middle, and Telma Ivarsdottir was powerless with her powerful right-footed shot from around 18 meters. In the 32nd minute, Iceland’s goalkeeper did better in a direct duel with Bühl (32nd).
After Berglind Ros Agustsdottir fouled Lattwein in the penalty area, referee Alina Pesu (Romania) immediately pointed to the penalty spot. Gwinn grabbed the ball and converted safely.
After the break, Lea Schüller came on for the strong Sydney Lohmann. The German selection continued to keep the pressure high, with a lot of running down the left side with Bühl, who also prepared the 3-0 with a header from Schüller – and then added the fourth goal from the edge of the penalty area.