Victory after an eternal forced break
DFB team refined Popp’s comeback
4/9/2022, 7:24 p.m
Alexandra Popp had to take a break in DFB dress for more than a year, and the captain crowned her comeback with a win. With a clear success against Portugal, the team can hardly be denied qualification for the 2023 World Cup.
With Alexandra Popp returning, the German footballers have taken a giant step towards the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The superior team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg landed their seventh win in seven games with a 3-0 (1-0) win over Portugal in Bielefeld. In front of 7364 spectators, Wolfsburg’s Lena Oberdorf (40th minute) and Felicitas Rauch (80th) and Klara Bühl from FC Bayern Munich (55th) scored the goals for the two-time world champion.
Captain Popp from VfL Wolfsburg made her comeback after a one-year injury break as a joker and played her 112th international match. With this success, the DFB women lead the table in Group H with 21 points ahead of Serbia (15) and Portugal (13). Only the first in the table qualifies directly. With three games left, Germany can already do everything on Tuesday (4 p.m. / ZDF) in the next game in Serbia.
Consequential usury of opportunities
With sleet and rain showers at the beginning, the hosts missed a few big chances. Five players from Champions League semi-finalists and Bundesliga leaders VfL Wolfsburg were in the starting XI. Among them was the strong Svenja Huth, who handed over the captain’s armband to Popp with a smile after an hour.
Director Dzsenifer Marozsan also began: The 29-year-old from Olympique Lyon was injured at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February. But she often lacked precision. After a corner by Huth, Oberdorf then headed in to make it 1-0. Goalscorer Lea Schüller from FC Bayern was named “National Player of the Year” before kick-off, but was only on the bench.
With a header from her club colleague Lina Magull, the German team immediately threatened to score again after the restart. However, it often continued to move too imprecisely forward. A Munich co-production with Giulia Gwinn and Bühl then led to the 2-0. With Jule Brand from Hoffenheim and Laura Freigang from Eintracht Frankfurt, Voss-Tecklenburg brought two fresh attackers. After a nice pass from Popp, Freigang missed the third goal before Rauch managed to do so. Returnee Popp was touched after the final whistle: “You rarely see me cry, but at that moment the tears actually fell.”
In the next few weeks, the focus for the DFB women will be on preparing for the European Championships in England in July. The record European champions (eight titles) caught a strong group with Denmark, Spain and Finland. In September, the German selection still has to compete in the World Cup qualifiers in Turkey and Bulgaria.