TOThe first six months are worth living for. Horst Hrubesch He returns to the service of the German Football Federation (DFB), which is not missing. But now that there is only half the time left to prepare for the conclusion of the cooperation, which offers the possibility of winning a medal at the Olympic Games, the national coach values more than ever that the results of his team are also correct.
The DFB women's national team faced off 3-1 in the Euro qualifier on Tuesday in Aachen. Iceland The requirement he formulated is that the weeks until summer must be used to harmonize as a community not only off the field but also on the field.
Success was not a brilliant masterpiece, but the well-deserved result of a committed work ethic. Hrubesch made a change in a position in which there is no doubt who is ahead in the internal classification in order to be able to check in competitive conditions what the current form of the number two is like: instead of the usual goalkeeper Merle Frohms came out as a substitute Ann Katrin Bergerwho was recently sidelined for weeks due to a concussion.
Good start, then too vague.
He had to intervene from the beginning more often than expected considering the opponent who does not have the best quality at the international level. Furthermore, as he had announced, the national coach expressed his confidence in Bibiane Schulze Solano in defense. The 25-year-old had made her debut for the national team just four days earlier in Austria (3-2), where she took advantage of the opportunity with energetic defensive work and expelled Sara Doorsoun from the starting eleven.
With the 1-0 in the fourth minute, achieved with a header Lea Schüllers, things started well for the Germans. What they did wrong afterwards and caused them immediate problems was the sloppiness in their attacking effort, which became too imprecise in the final metres.
The Icelanders, for their part, were not impressed by the deficit and initially made life difficult for the favorites with a brave duel. Ann-Katrin Berger got to the ball first in time with her hands against Dilja Zomers (10th) and managed to get in the way of Ingibjörg Johannsdottir, who shot past her and the post (15th).
But Hlin Eiriksdottir finally took advantage of a lack of attention in the DFB defense, where Bibiane Schulze Solano also arrived too late to prevent the tie (23'). Lea Schüller got her team back on track before the break with her second header (33').
Lena Oberdorf increased the score to 3:1 (45th). In front of 16,500 spectators, including Hrubesch's successor Christian Wück, the Germans' enthusiasm in the second half meant that no further goals were scored despite numerous opportunities. From his point of view, a defect that could be overcome that same night.