The VfL Wolfsburg soccer team will have to do without captain Alexandra Popp in the first leg of the semi-finals in the Champions League.
“Poppi is out. We can’t and don’t want to take the risk,” said VfL trainer Tommy Stroot before the game against Arsenal on Sunday (3:30 p.m. / DAZN).
National team colleague Marina Hegering, on the other hand, is fit in time after knee problems: “She has trained fully for the last two days and will be there,” said Stroot, who sees a “game on an equal footing” against the unpleasant Bayern conqueror from the quarter-finals.
Defender Dominique Janssen is also looking forward to the task: “We’re all very up for the really big games,” said the Dutchwoman with a view to a possible final on June 3 in Eindhoven: “That would be incredibly cool for me and them Dutch girls. There are friends and family who said, ‘Hey, if you can do this, we’re all in.’ So of course we all want to step on the gas a little more.”
And coach Stroot also has a lot in common with the final stadium: “I celebrated my first championship in Eindhoven on the pitch. Reaching this final has always been on my mind,” said the 34-year-old.