DFB-Women set thick exclamation mark for Olympic start
Successful Start in the Olympic Tournament: The day before the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Games, the German women celebrate a clear victory against Australia. A double strike in the middle of the second half paves the way to success in Marseille.
Winning statement at the start: The German soccer team has laid a dream start to their medal mission at the Olympic Games. The team led by national coach Horst Hrubesch secured a convincing win with a 3:0 (1:0) scoreline against the fourth-placed team at the World Cup, Australia. The team gained momentum for the upcoming tasks in the challenging Group B.
Returnees Marina Hegering (24'), Lea Schüller (64'), and the outstanding Jule Brand (68') scored the goals for the gold medalist from 2016, who also managed a significant step towards the knockout round without the heavily injured key player Lena Oberdorf. On Sunday (21.00 hours), the decisive duel against record-Olympic champion USA awaits, followed by the final match against Sambia on July 24 (19.00 hours).
Even before the first major tournament game since the historic elimination in the group stage at the World Cup last year, Hrubesch had been optimistic. Besides defensive leader Hegering, captain Alexandra Popp, despite her foot injury during preparation, joined the defensive midfield, moving in immediately after Oberdorf suffered a cruciate and medial collateral ligament injury in her knee during the warm-up match against Austria (4:0).
Berger preferred over Frohms
The team is "solid," and it has already shown it can play without Oberdorf, Hrubesch told ZDF. The 22-year-old's jersey was laid out as motivation among the players before the match - it worked. The German team, with Ann-Katrin Berger from the US club Gotham FC preferred over the long-time starting goalkeeper Merle Frohms, started off strongly. Berger was right in the thick of things, setting the scene with a quick clearance as Brand made a strong run, but the Wolfsburg player finished too hastily (10%).
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf and Christian Wück, who will succeed Hrubesch after the Olympics, were rewarded for the team's engaged performance. Hegering headed the ball off the second post, having been sidelined for weeks due to calf problems. Australia was largely harmless without star striker Sam Kerr (cruciate ligament injury).
The German team maintained its joy in the second half. Above all, Brand caused turmoil with her offensive prowess. After a ball win from the wing player, Schüller (56%) initially missed the big chance for the second goal.
Hrubesch, who led the German men to Olympic silver in Rio in 2016, could still be satisfied. The decision to start the physically strong Popp as Oberdorf's replacement paid off. The German team proved dangerous from set pieces: Schüller scored again after a corner kick, and Brand completed the performance with her goal.
The DFB-Women's team is aiming to replicate their 2016 gold medal victory in the upcoming Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, starting with a strong performance against Australia. In the preparatory match against Austria, Ann-Katrin Berger from the US club Gotham FC was preferred over Merle Frohms as the starting goalkeeper.
After securing a convincing 3:0 win over Australia in Marseille, the German women's soccer team looks forward to challenging encounters in Group B, particularly the duel against record-Olympic champion USA and the final match against Sambia.
