The votes on the DFB disaster
Captain Popp is stunned after the World Cup embarrassment
8/3/2023 2:47 p.m
You had planned so much for the World Cup, now the tournament is ending in a debacle for the DFB women. Only one win from three group games is not enough, for the first time ever a German women’s national soccer team missed out on progress in a major tournament. In the final 1-1 draw against South Korea, the team presented itself as too shaky for a long time, lacking both finesse and penetrating power. The disappointment is correspondingly great.
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (national coach): “Today we didn’t play with the necessary precision to force an opponent who defended like that to make mistakes. Sure, we showed heart and tried. And we also had a few actions. But nothing so clear that “You had the feeling that you really scored this missing goal. We were shocked by the 0-1, we didn’t have the calm in the game, we dribbled badly, played uncleanly. A lot of the basics were missing, there was a lot of unrest Of course we fought well into injury time, but in the end the performance over the three games wasn’t enough to progress in this group.”
“We weren’t as present in the duels, we didn’t play through a lot of actions, we wanted to play in opposite directions, we wanted to open up space. We wanted to pay more attention to each other, we wanted to get into the space more. That’s something that is special to us in the didn’t succeed at all in the first half. And if everything is too static, then it’s difficult to create clear chances against a deep opponent. Of course we still had chances, but to be able to win the game everything has to be clearer, even clearer Then you run out of time, you try everything. Maybe you have to be a little bit lucky that the ball slips through. But of course we can’t rely on luck. We got two results that didn’t is enough. We have to face it now and, of course, in my person first and foremost.”
… on her future as national coach: “I stand by the fact that we haven’t managed to get ahead now. But I give myself the opportunity not to say anything prematurely now. I also need some time now to process that first and foremost I put myself in front of the team. I don’t want to be pushed too hard into something, which wouldn’t be right because it also happens out of emotion. That’s why I try to be with myself to remain objective and to take responsibility. That’s perfectly clear.”
Alexandra Popp (DFB captain): “To be honest, the elimination is not yet tangible. I don’t even know what to say. I don’t even understand what’s going on here. What was missing? After a game like that, like that Analyzing elimination is impossible. Sure, you could see from the three games that it was basically bumpy. That wasn’t what we wanted, nor what just happened here.”
Lena Oberdorf: “What does ‘surprised’ mean? We knew how South Korea was going to approach the game. We just didn’t defend well in the situation (when it was 0-1 – ed.) You can concede a goal against South Korea, but then you have to we just play it a lot better, create a lot more chances, be more precise in passing, let the ball run better. Just show what we can do. We didn’t bring that to the field in this tournament.”
“It’s just a bit surreal, of course the disappointment is great. You can’t even put it into words.”
Jule Brand: “I’m a bit at a loss for words right now. I’m very disappointed that it wasn’t enough. We were motivated, we wanted to play, but we couldn’t get it on the pitch. We didn’t create the scoring chances that we needed “We weren’t effective enough either. We started the tournament well, we were very effective. Even though we knew that everything wasn’t perfect. We wanted to carry the momentum and confidence with us, but we have what we can do , never got on the pitch.”
Colin Bell (South Korea manager): “I didn’t know Germany was out until about four or five minutes after the game. I’m really sorry. I’ve spent more than half my life in Germany. I love the country, my son and granddaughter are German “That’s why I’m really sorry. I have former players in the German team. (…) We as a team needed a sense of achievement, we needed a goal. We didn’t manage that against Colombia and Morocco. You could see that afterwards the whole burden was off us.”
Joti Chatzialexiou (Sporting Director of the DFB national teams) at half-time: “In fact, we didn’t start the game well today, were very unfocused, made unnecessary mistakes at the back. And then South Korea took a 1-0 lead. After that we got into the game a little better, but it’s still not enough at the moment. ”
Annalena Baerbock (Federal Foreign Minister): “What a drama! Sometimes the worm is just in there. Cheer up”