The German footballers saved their last chance for the big goal of Paris 2024 and their fate is in their hands after the 3-0 win over Denmark.
On the lap of honor, the German soccer players thanked the audience for their hard work, and Horst Hrubesch was already looking ahead on the sidelines of the field in Rostock. “Now let’s do our homework,” said the interim national coach after the valuable 3-0 (2-0) in the showdown against Denmark, the Olympic dream is alive. And the DFB team now has its fate in its hands.
“We played the way we wanted from the first minute. They implemented it perfectly,” said Hrubesch on “ZDF”. Only in terms of scoring goals was more possible in the icy cold: “They should have rewarded themselves further, it could have been 5-0 or 6-0.”
Alexandra Popp (14th), Marina Hegering (25th) and Klara Bühl (90th + 3) scored for the vice-European champions, who drew level with Denmark on points (12), won the direct duel and moved on as the new team Leaders can now determine their fate.
A win in the final game against Wales on Tuesday (7:30 p.m./sportschau.de) is enough in the long-distance duel with Denmark. Only the group winners can fight for one of two European tickets to the Olympics at the final tournament of the Nations League in February.
German national team “not yet behind the finish line”
“It looks good, but we are not over the finish line yet. We should still overcome the Wales hurdle,” said DFB managing director Andreas Rettig.
After the 2-0 defeat in the first leg, Hrubesch’s route for the duel with the Danes was clear despite the precarious starting position. “It makes no sense to wait for anything, we want to determine what happens on this pitch,” the 72-year-old emphasized.
And the DFB team took the coach at his word. Popp and Co. ran straight up to the Danes in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,180 spectators and were aggressive in the duels. While in possession of the ball, the team moved forward at pace, the captain rewarded her offensive efforts with the opening goal with her head. Hegering followed suit a little later and increased the score.
In goal, Hrubesch again relied on Merle Frohms, who returned after recovering from a concussion. The keeper wasn’t challenged much in the opening minutes, but the Danes got better and better into the game. Frohms had to intervene several times and, among other things, reacted quickly to Sanne Troelsgaard’s follow-up shot after a corner (30th). But Germany also continued to apply pressure, but at first they repeatedly got stuck in the Danish defense.
Even after the break, the hosts, now with debutant Elisa Senß on the field, didn’t let up. Sydney Lohmann (51′) and Hegering (59′) tried from a distance, but the shots just missed. The DFB team repeatedly pushed the Danes deep into their own half, but initially with no further success.
There was little offensive from Denmark and if an advance was successful, the German defense was there first. Frohms also made a strong save against Frederikke Thögersen (62′), Germany continued to look for a way forward, Bühl put the lid on it in stoppage time.