- Hrubesch: Physical freshness decisive against Spain
German Coach Horst Hrubesch sees the physical condition after three weeks of the tournament as crucial in the match for third place against Spain at the Olympics. "At the moment, we all have the same workload. It will depend on who is still physically fresh," said the 73-year-old in Lyon. There, the German women's football team will play against the world champions on Friday (3:00 PM CEST/ZDF and Eurosport) for the bronze medal.
His team has shown in the quarter-finals against Canada and in the semi-finals against the USA (0:1 after extra time) what they are capable of. "We will try to bring that into the last game. Then we will see how the Spanish team handles us," said Hrubesch.
While the German women's team failed in the group stage at the World Cup in Australia last year, Spain won the title for the first time. At the Olympics, the team around world footballer Aitana Bonmati lost 2:4 against Brazil and missed the final on Saturday in Paris.
DFB captain Alexandra Popp's return against Spain is uncertain. The 2016 Olympic champion missed the game against the USA due to an infection. "It takes a day, sometimes two or three," said Hrubesch, adding about the injured three-time tournament goal scorer Lea Schüller, who has patellar tendinitis: "I have more concerns about Schüller's condition than Popp's infection."
Horst Hrubesch expressed confidence in his team's abilities, stating, "We will try to bring our performance from the quarter-finals against Canada and the semi-finals against the USA into the last game against Spain." Following his team's loss in the semi-finals, Horst Hrubesch voiced his concerns about Hrubesch's injured three-time tournament goal scorer, Lea Schüller, who is battling patellar tendinitis.
