In the first international match of the year, the German soccer women met Sweden in a new edition of the World Cup quarter-finals. This time it went much better for the selection of Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.
Faro (dpa) - World Cup revenge succeeded, the tournament got off to a successful start: The German women's national team started the Algarve Cup with a win against Sweden.
In a new edition of the lost quarter-finals of the 2019 World Cup, the team of national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg prevailed 1-0 (1-0) in Faro. Svenja Huth from VfL Wolfsburg (34th minute) scored the goal for the selection of the German Football Association in front of around 500 spectators in the almost empty Estadio Algarve. In the semifinals, the DFB team will face Norway on Saturday. The Norwegians had surprisingly won 2-1 against the European Championship second Denmark.
Voss-Tecklenburg had announced personnel and tactical experiments for the 27th edition of the tournament in southern Portugal. Against the Swedes, however, she initially gave up surprises and started a 4-3-3 system with plenty of offensive joy from the start - which was also due to the new mode with knockout games from the first day of the tournament. So it was clear: only the winner of the duel still has chances of entering the final, the loser has to be satisfied with placement games. The Germans, who lost 1: 2 against Sweden at the World Cup and thus also missed the qualification for the Olympic Games, started accordingly.
Klara Buehl first tested Swedish goalkeeper Zecira Musovic (8th), captain Alexandra Popp failed on the post and Musovic (14th). After a confident start into the European Championship qualification with four wins from four games and 31: 0 goals against at best second-class opponents, the Swedes proved to be the expected and hoped-for opponent on an equal footing.
But despite the long break since the friendly win against England in November and only two training sessions at The Campus Sport Complex in Almancil, the Germans dominated the action. A few minutes after the first tentative "Germany" calls in the stands, the DFB team rewarded themselves for their efforts on the somewhat over-watered and deep lawn. With a deflected shot, Huth achieved the deserved 1-0.
In the first international match of the year, the DFB women did not slack off even after the change. Popp only hit the crossbar with a cheeky long-range shot (55th). The defense with the 18-year-old Lena Oberdorf, who had to be replaced shortly before the end, and returnee Giulia Gwinn was very safe overall and made it almost impossible for the World Cup third party to score dangerous scoring scenes. Goalkeeper Merle Frohms had to intervene in a failed rescue operation (81st). Frohms and Gwinn were lucky that Munich's action against Sofia Jakobsson was not punished (87.).
Dates women's national team
Squad DFB women for Algarve Cup
