analysis
In the quarter-finals of the European Championship, the two youngest players from the long-nervous German team stood out: Klara Bühl (21) was named player of the game, Lena Oberdorf (20) was in no way inferior to her – and both deserved great praise from the national coach .
Julia Hickelsberger-Füller chased after the ball and suddenly couldn’t see it anymore. Lena Oberdorf had lifted the game device, which lived up to its name “Flight”, elegantly over the head of her puzzled opponent and ran away in the direction of the Austrian goal. A scene that impressively showed that almost everything was right for the youngest player in the German starting line-up in the quarter-finals of the European Championship.
Lena Oberdorf proved with such a performance in a European Championship quarter final that she has a very great future ahead of her.
“Today it felt like I only fought duels. But I also had two or three good dribbles. I was surprised myself, I didn’t know that I could do it so well,” said the 20-year-old clearer in the German midfield with a laugh. The duels are actually the core competence of the Wolfsburg woman. Again and again there was a murmur in the ranks, which were very well filled with 16,025 spectators, when Oberdorf had bravely intervened. After two yellow cards and a ban for the final group game, she always acted fairly against Austria and still showed the usual uncompromising attitude.
More experienced players in the back four seem nervous
What was even more important in the quarter-finals: while the back four kept showing weaknesses and goalkeeper Merle Frohms didn’t look safe either, Oberdorf went ahead with her actions. The national coach praised the maturity that Oberdorf had shown on the pitch, as well as “the desire to conquer balls. And she passed on her defensive spirit to her team-mates.”
Frohms spoke of a “nervousness that goes with it when you have something to lose”. But it was noticeable that in addition to Oberdorf in Klara Bühl, the second youngest also stood out. The Munich native was named UEFA Player of the Match for her carefree performance. Oberdorf would have deserved the title just as much.
“Fantastic” preliminary work before Bühl made it 1-0
“Fantastic” was the word that Voss-Tecklenburg chose to describe the preparatory work to make it 1-0. In her very own, powerful way, Bühl passed Austria’s captain Carina Wenninger, who had previously snatched the ball from her. The left wing sprinted into the penalty area and passed from there to Lina Magull in the back area, who thoughtfully scored to make it 1-0 (25th). Bühl’s action had opened the door in a previously difficult game (Sara Däbritz: “It was easier after that.”) – and the 21-year-old remained a constant source of trouble in the second half as well.
“I’m happy that I was able to help the team. I’m totally satisfied with the game,” said Bühl at the press conference, adding calmly: “Now we can let our emotions run free.”
Bühl wants to do it (even) better next time
Perhaps the young woman, who learned how to play football at SC Freiburg, would have come out of her own heart a little more if she had scored one or two more points. But just three minutes after the restart, Giulia Gwinn only hit the post after strong Bühl preliminary work. A shot from her hit the crossbar (78th). Four minutes later she managed the feat of pushing the ball past the empty goal – and couldn’t believe it herself.
However, team psychologist Birgit Prinz, a German record player and record scorer, was quick to offer advice. “She told me that everyone has a miss like this,” reported Bühl. “I’m glad I had it now and we still got through. Next time I’ll put the ball in.”
She too had earned special praise from the national coach. “Klara has such a big heart and works on herself every free second,” said Voss-Tecklenburg. “And she always does it in a good mood, with a smile. She keeps at it and then rewards herself.”
Oberdorf: “Poppi also scores in the fifth and sixth game”
Driven by the two youngsters, the more experienced players found more and more about their game. Tactical changes, which MVT ordered their team during the break, also provided security in order to be able to better withstand the pressure from the Austrians with two eights in midfield.
And then there was Alexandra Popp at the end, who put the lid on a hard-fought duel with her fourth goal in the fourth game (90th). With the fact that she shone as a goal scorer in only her fourth European Championship game, she didn’t surprise anyone anymore. “Poppi is a machine – I didn’t expect anything else,” explained Oberdorf boldly. “And now one goes in in the fifth and sixth game.”
The fifth and sixth games are the semifinals and finals. And should the German captain really score those two goals, her still goalless team would have a good chance of completing their ninth title after participating in the tenth semi-final next Wednesday (July 27th, 2022, against France or the Netherlands).