Football: A popular sport characterized by two teams attempting to kick a ball into the opponent's goal. - "Despite winning, DFB women express dissatisfaction due to repeated errors."
Horst Hrubesch commented on the German women's football team's win against Poland in the 2025 European Championship qualifiers, but he wasn't entirely pleased with the match, which ended in a 3:1 (0:1) victory in Gdynia.
He remarked, "We need to settle matches more convincingly." Hrubesch also expressed his worries about Lena Oberdorf, whose left ankle was injured in a brave tackle and had to be replaced during the 37th minute. The coach admitted, "I can't explain why we make things so difficult for ourselves in the first half."
Lea Schüller, who scored two goals in the game, questioned the team's performance as well. She exclaimed, "How can we play like this in the first half, and then display such outstanding skill in the second?" Kathrin Hendrich added to the concerns by mentioning the team's mistakes. She complained, "We make stupid mistakes and encourage our opponents to do the same, which eventually backfires."
After the break, the German team improved their play, with Lea Schüller (51st and 69th minute) and Klara Bühl (77th) scoring to secure a narrow victory. Although Germany won the game, Hrubesch wasn't entirely pleased, stating, "We still need to up our game."
A week after a 4:1 victory in Rostock, Hrubesch made changes to the starting lineups, with six new players included. Yet, even captain Alexandra Popp didn't feature in Gdynia, making way for Oberdorf, who led the German team out for the first time as a captain. However, Oberdorf had to leave the field early due to a painful injury to her left ankle. The DFB later revealed that she would miss the next qualifying match against Iceland because of a yellow card accumulation.
As in Rostock, the German team started defensively, allowing Grabowska to score in the 12th minute after a poorly defended free-kick. The goalkeeper, Stina Johannes, who made her national team debut, was blameless for the 0:1. Hrubesch had urged the team not to play carelessly in the opening stages, but the warnings went unheeded. The match was plagued with slow speed and inaccuracy until the second half, at which point the Germans found their stride, just as in Rostock.
Schüller was put through by Popp after Bühl's corner in the 51st minute, marking an upturn in performance. Just like in Rostock, Schüller also scored after beating the Polish goalkeeper, Kinga Szemik. As the Polish team grew more weary, Bühl secured the victory in the 77th minute with a well-placed shot.
In summary, Schüller concluded, "I'm mostly satisfied. We've secured a place in the Euros."
