National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has nominated the provisional squad for the World Cup. One of the players is from MSV Duisburg.
The German women’s football team will start the hunt for titles at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand (20 July to 20 August) with 20 European Championship runners-up. On Wednesday, national coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg nominated a total of 28 players for her extended final round squad around captain Alexandra Popp.
One of them is a player from MSV Duisburg. Ena Mahmutovic was called up as one of four goalkeepers – and not Maria Luisa Grohs from FC Bayern. The 19-year-old had just kept up with the Zebras in the Bundesliga and made it into the national team for the first time in February. Now she can dream of participating in the World Cup.
Giulia Gwinn is not part of the squad. Gwinn, who was voted into the top eleven at last year’s European Championship, only returned to team training with Bayern the previous week after rupturing her cruciate ligament for the second time in October. Participation in the World Cup was the 23-year-old’s big goal during her rehab period, but without match practice it was not enough for Gwinn.
Besides Gwinn, goalkeeper Almuth Schult (pregnancy) and midfielder Linda Dallmann (syndesmosis tear) are missing from the European Championship squad. The core of the squad is made up of players from Champions League finalists VfL Wolfsburg (10), followed by Eintracht Frankfurt (6) and Bayern (5). In addition to the 28 nominees, ten other players are on call.
After a short holiday, Popp and her colleagues will start the first part of their World Cup preparation in the “HomeGround” of the DFB partner adidas on 20 June – 17 days after the Wolfsburg women’s Champions League final against FC Barcelona next Saturday. This is where the foundations were laid for last year’s European Championship success in England.
The Bayern players will not join the DFB team until 23 June – which is causing trouble. “Contrary to agreements made at the beginning of the year, one club has unfortunately decided not to release its players on 20 June as agreed,” said Joti Chatzialexiou, the sporting director of the national teams: “We were still in talks until yesterday evening to find a solution in the interests of the team and all the players, without a satisfactory result for us. We are disappointed about that, as it has a significant impact on the preparation.”
The “spirit of Herzogenaurach” is to be further invoked in the second half from 1 July. On 24 June as well as on 7 July, the World Cup form will be checked in the last test matches against Vietnam and Zambia in Offenbach and Fürth. Only then will the official squad be reduced to 23 players.
On 11 July, the European runners-up will travel to the other side of the world, possibly with two or three backup players. This will give the two-time world champions enough time to acclimatise in their base camp in Wyong, some 90 km north of Sydney, until the first preliminary round match on 24 July.
In Group H with Morocco, Colombia (30 July) and South Korea (3 August), the DFB team is the clear favourite, but in the knockout phase there is the immediate threat of fierce duels with France or Brazil. (with RS)
The extended squad at a glance:
Goal: Ann-Katrin Berger, Merle Frohms, Stina Johannes, Ena Mahmutovic
Defence: Sara Doorsoun, Marina Hegering, Kathrin Hendrich, Sophia Kleinherne, Sarai Linder, Sjoeke Nüsken, Carolin Simon, Felicitas Rauch
Midfield/Attack: Nicole Anyomi, Jule Brand, Klara Bühl, Sara Däbritz, Laura Freigang, Chantal Hagel, Svenja Huth, Paulina Krumbiegel, Lena Lattwein, Melanie Leupolz, Sydney Lohmann, Lina Magull, Lena Oberdorf, Alexandra Popp, Lea Schüller, Tabea Waßmuth