Thursday October 21, 2021
Maues 1-0 against Israel
DFB-Elf weakens with mandatory victory
Returning Giulia Gwinn still has the most reason to be happy in the 1-0 win in Israel – she is making her comeback for the national team after her cruciate ligament rupture. However, the DFB women weakened enormously in the third mandatory victory in the World Cup qualification. In less than a week, they can do better.
Even Giulia Gwinn looked annoyed after the final whistle. The strangely lazy appearance of the German soccer players in the World Cup qualification made even the “overjoyed” returnee ultimately dissatisfied. “That wasn’t the game we were hoping for, we have to go a step further,” complained Gwinn. The fact that she made her comeback in the lean 1-0 (1-0) in Petach Tikwa 13 months after a cruciate ligament rupture was one of the few bright spots in the tough premiere duel with Israel.
“The best thing was that we got the three points,” admitted national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg and made the lack of freshness an explanation. Captain Svenja Huth (18th) ensured that the DFB team on the way to the 2023 World Cup continued to lead Group H with a maximum of nine points after successes against Bulgaria (7-0) and Serbia (5-1). Sara Däbritz (13th) missed a penalty kick.
For the second leg against Israel next Tuesday (4:05 p.m. / ARD) in Essen, Voss-Tecklenburg expects a completely different appearance with no ifs and buts: “We have to improve and we will improve.” Before heading home on Saturday, a DFB delegation will visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
Marozsan’s fine passports, but hardly anything compelling
In the absence of injured regulars like Alexandra Popp or Lena Oberdorf, Voss-Tecklenburg relied on the last preferred 4-3-3 formation in the HaMoshava Stadium. Driven by director Dzsenifer Marozsan, the DFB-Elf immediately took control of the game. But it didn’t start well. After a foul on Jule Brand in the penalty area, the otherwise safe penalty taker Däbritz failed with her left-footed shot against Israel’s goalkeeper Amit Beilin.
At least the German selection was not deterred. Marozsan repeatedly staged her teammates with fine passes – like with the high ball on winger Huth, who first prevailed against two opponents and then finished off ice cold. The hosts around German-Israeli Sharon Beck from 1. FC Köln were now lower and were waiting for a counterattack. With a lot of possession, the German team missed further mandatory actions until the break, which Voss-Tecklenburg acknowledged with the demand: “Play more patiently!”
In order to survive against top teams at the EM 2022 in England (July 6th to 31st), the record European champion has to work on his efficiency. Too often the last action lacked precision, a well-known problem against deep-seated opponents. After an hour Gwinn was allowed to report back: After a long forced break, the winger from champions Bayern Munich was also back in the national team and even had a good chance to make it 2-0 (81st).