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“Somebody has to hit us first”: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg thanks Giulia Gwinn (l.), Lena Lattwein and Alexandra Popp (r.)
Photo:
Sebastian Christoph Gollnow / dpa
The plan works:
When Martina Voss-Tecklenburg was asked on the ZDF microphone before the game how she wanted to stop the Danish world-class striker Pernille Harder, the national coach said that passes to Harder had to be stopped.
Attacking early, counterpressing when you lose the ball, aggressive duels – this is how Voss-Tecklenburg wanted to see her team.
The 1-0 lead came from just such a situation.
Lina Magull took the ball from Stine Pedersen, marched alone towards the Danish goal and shot powerfully into the right corner (21st minute).
A pleasure for every trainer.
The result:
Germany clearly won the first European Championship game against Denmark 4-0 (1-0) in Brentford in front of almost 16,000 spectators - click here for the match report.
No conversion:
Voss-Tecklenburg had only had one test done before the European Championship – the 7-0 win against Switzerland was a successful dress rehearsal.
The criticism of this unusual preparation, the Danes tested three times, bounces off the 54-year-old.
She preferred to prepare her players for the tournament in intensive training.
And she has her starting eleven in mind anyway.
The two best-known players, goalkeeper Almuth Schult and captain Alexandra Popp, were on the bench, as they were against Switzerland.
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Martina Voss-Tecklenburg
Photo: IMAGO/Heiko Becker / IMAGO/HMB Media
First half:
The DFB women did almost everything right before the break.
Voss-Tecklenburg's route was consistently implemented, and the team created eight good to very good chances to score.
Only the yield left a lot to be desired.
The German team was also very good defensively, Denmark only had one opportunity: When striker Signe Bruun took the ball down well on the edge of the penalty area and shot it from the turn, goalkeeper Merle Frohms was there with a flying insert (29th).
The double smoke:
A look at the German squad shows a certain mismatch between defensive and offensive.
While Voss-Tecklenburg has many options in midfield and attack, little can happen in defense with Marina Hegering, who only got fit shortly before the European Championships.
Left-back Felicitas Rauch is sure to have her place, also due to the lack of an alternative.
The Wolfsburg player has her strengths on the offensive as a good free-kick and corner taker, which she also proved against Denmark.
In the flood of chances in the first half, Rauch hit the bar twice with long shots, once with the right (10th) and once with the left (13th).
#hungriGER the new #zsmmn:
What was the criticism of the DFB, the men's national team and their boss Oliver Bierhoff in 2018 for the social media campaign before the World Cup in Russia.
Only with consonants (#zsmnn) followed a few days later the historic preliminary round.
It takes hashtags, that's how social media works.
Four years later there are at least vowels, but the DFB didn't fare much better in the run-up to this European Championship.
It doesn't get any better if Chancellor Olaf Scholz uses #hungriGER.
Second half:
If you don't play friendlies and train a lot, you can practice standard situations.
The second part of the Voss-Tecklenburg formula for success bore fruit after the break.
Magull, who made a very strong impression overall, brought in a corner kick and her Munich team-mate Lea Schüller headed in from close range (57').
Shortly thereafter, alongside Jule Brand and Lena Lattwein, Popp also came into play.
Shortly before the European Championship, the long-injured striker made it into a Mickey Mouse comic as the best-known national player.
The Danish defense sometimes had something of Duckburg, with Lattwein's 3-0 (78th) - again after a set piece - there was no resistance whatsoever.
Popp also scored in her first European Championship game and took the result to previously unexpected heights (86th).
The bank fits:
The national coach was allowed to change five times, she used her quota.
Because she was able to give such important regular players a break, but also because Voss-Tecklenburg wants to use the breadth of her squad.
In addition to the goalscorers Popp and Lattwein, Sydney Lohmann also managed to convince with an assist, Brand and Linda Dallmann.
500:
It was a historic success.
The German women's national team played their 500th international match - and celebrated the next anniversary success.
Incidentally, the male colleagues also played in the 500th game at a European championship, but back in 1984 (2-1 against Romania).
And so this anniversary is also a signal for the DFB: a lot still has to happen in football played by women, due to the ban from 1955 to 1970 important structures are still missing today.
“Someone has to beat us first”:
When Voss-Tecklenburg got their team together on the pitch in Brentford after the clear victory, the euphoria in the German camp was great.
"Somebody has to beat us first," the national coach shouted at her players.
In fact, that was the most convincing performance at this European Championship so far.
But already on Tuesday in the second group game with Spain a favorite team is waiting.
Then it is a matter of defending first place in the table in order to possibly avoid the strong hosts from England in the quarter-finals.
The way to the ninth European title is still far.