In the middle of an important phase in the Bundesliga and Champions League, the best German soccer players are traveling to the USA for two friendlies.
As expected, national coach Martian Voss-Tecklenburg called up 26 players in order to be able to rotate extensively: The first game against the USA will be played on November 11 (1:00 a.m. CET) in Fort Lauderdale/Florida. The venue for the second game on November 13 (11:00 p.m. CET/live sportschau.de) is the Red Bull Arena in Harrison/New Jersey.
Janina Minge is the next debutante
The 23-year-old Janina Minge from SC Freiburg is new. Carolin Simon from FC Bayern Munich and Joelle Wedemeyer from VfL Wolfsburg are back after a long time. Midfielder Paulina Krumbiegel from TSG Hoffenheim also returns to the squad, as does goalkeeper Almuth Schult. The 31-year-old was absent from the 2-1 win against France in Dresden at the beginning of October because she was in the USA with her new club, Angel City FC.
“We deliberately nominated a larger squad in order to be able to use many players and to do justice to the high demands of this phase”said Voss-Tecklenburg. “Our goal is to make these two games successful at the end of a special international year.”
Was called up to the DFB team for the first time: Janina Minge (l).
Contractual obligations with the US Federation
However, after the atmospheric international match against France (2-1), the 54-year-old made no secret of the fact that the trip to the US did not suit her at this time. She travels across the Atlantic with some uneasiness. be it “Not the best time to have to travel that far again. That’s why we will be very careful with it.”said the 54-year-old almost a month ago in Dresden.
But why all the effort? “The decisive factor was that we have a contractual obligation that dates back a long time. We still owe it to the USA. I wouldn’t be angry if we had a different agreement. We tried everything, had many discussions, including at the highest level .”
Now it’s trying to make the best of these encounters, whose sporting appeal must be beyond question. A duel between Vice European Champion and World Champion is more meaningful than most club games. The USA had recently lost a test at European champions England in front of another sold-out house in Wembley with 1: 2.
Findings for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
The US team is a “Extraordinary opponent at an absolutely top level, who challenges us in all respects” will, announced Voss-Tecklenburg. “In addition, these games will certainly provide us with valuable insights in preparation for the World Cup next year.”, she said. Germany meets Morocco, Colombia and South Korea in an easy group at the 2023 World Cup. Getting ahead should be a matter of form. Incidentally, the USA can only become an opponent in the final.
The national coach also has to do without Marina Hegering (VfL Wolfsburg/reconstruction after a foot injury), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Olympique Lyon/convalescence after a cruciate ligament rupture), Sara Däbritz (Olympique Lyon/ankle injury) and Giulia Gwinn (Bayern Munich/cruciate ligament rupture). Tabea Waßmuth (VfL Wolfsburg/muscle injury) and Sydney Lohmann (Bayern Munich/knee injury) are also absent.