The German footballers reacted to their arduous start to the European Championship qualification with clear self-criticism and great relief.
“The girls also know that we don’t play like crazy. We have to play better, that wasn’t clarified,” said interim national coach Horst Hrubesch after the happy 3:2 (1:2) win against Austria in Linz.
After the final whistle in front of 7,500 spectators, the soon-to-be 73-year-old only briefly raised his arm to celebrate, then quickly began to come to terms with the partially weak performance of the European vice-champions. As with the defeat in France in the Nations League semi-finals, the DFB women did not get going for a long time – and that was just a few months before the Olympic Games. Little was reminiscent of the 2-0 win in the Netherlands five weeks ago, which secured participation in the Summer Games.
A more than controversial penalty
“We slept through the first half,” admitted Wolfsburg central defender Kathrin Hendrich. This “needs to be analyzed in more detail. We’re still happy about the win today and that we turned the game around.”
The German team owed the three points primarily to a more than controversial penalty, taken by substitute Laura Freigang and converted by new captain Giulia Gwinn (63′) from FC Bayern Munich. “You don’t necessarily have to give the penalty,” admitted Hrubesch.
Eileen Campbell from SC Freiburg had previously given the Austria team a 2-0 lead with a brace (9th and 16th minute). Munich’s Klara Bühl also scored twice (39th/49th). The relief after the final whistle was “extreme,” said Bühl. “We really made things difficult for ourselves today. The first 30 minutes were really nothing.” Things went better in attack after the break, even if Lea Schüller remained pale as a substitute for injured striker Alexandra Popp.
“She gave us a lot of peace today”
“We just have to be faster mentally,” demanded midfield clearer Lena Oberdorf. In addition to the usual reliable Wolfsburg player, substitute Bibiane Schulze Solano from Athletic Bilbao was particularly impressive. The 25-year-old with dual citizenship was even nominated for the selection of the eventual world champions from Spain at the beginning of 2023, but was not used.
With her debut, the defensive specialist has now established herself for Germany. “She gave us a lot of peace today,” said Hendrich about her neighbor in defense. “She just has Spanish football in her, you could see that quickly.”
On Tuesday the German selection continues in Aachen against Iceland. The third group opponent on the way to the 2025 European Championship in Switzerland is Poland. The top two groups qualify directly.