Germany vs Finland: Voss-Tecklenburg bets on rotation in ‘Balance’

From a sporting point of view, the last group game between Germany and Finland has no value for the women of the DFB. Luck for the players in the second line – or will the rhythm be lost then? National coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg wants to pay attention to the balance. The opponent in the quarter-finals has already been chosen: it is against Austria.

“We are looking forward to a neighborhood duel,” Voss-Tecklenburg said after Austria’s 1-0 victory over Norway. “We know a lot of Bundesliga players.” But the 54-year-old only wants to turn all eyes on her opponents in the quarter-finals at the end of the match against Finland (07/16/2022/21:00 CEST). And last but not least for them, the duel with the hitherto useless Scandinavians has its pitfalls.

In Lena Oberdorf and Felicitas Rauch, two players who started in the first two group matches are suspended. Playmaker Lina Magull (thigh problems) is also not in full possession of her strength. And maybe other players could enjoy a break too. “We have some setbacks that we have to deal with. But we can make up for that. The size of the squad absolutely gives it,” MVT said, adding, “We’ll have to change some things, but we won’t.” change everything.”

First missions planned for Doorsoun, Anyomi and Freigang

After the opening match, the national coach stressed that she could field all 23 players. 18 of them have already played. If we take away the two reserve goalkeepers, only Sara Doorsoun, Nicole Anyomi and Laura Freigang (all from Eintracht Frankfurt) are still waiting for their first appearance. And all three should get the first few minutes against Finland. “It’s plan A,” Voss-Tecklenburg said Friday night at the press conference in Milton Keynes. However, since she pointed out that it also depends on the course of the game, they are probably intended as wild cards.

Waßmuth: “We have 23 great players”

Performance after their replacements have already recommended others for more. “I didn’t feel like the level would have gone down if there was a change,” said Jule Brand, who had two wild card bets. “We maintained the level and continued to create new chances.”

And Tabea Waßmuth, whose goal against Spain in his first European Championship appearance did not count due to offside, believes in the strength (of) the bank: “Anyone who enters can change the game. It can definitely become a weapon. And it’s really cool that we have this privilege, that we have 23 super good players.”

Finland in the lead, the quarter-finals in the lead

Whichever way you look at it: the team has the last group match in mind, but it must already have the quarter-finals against Austria next Thursday (21.07.2022/21:00 CEST, live on Erste and on sportschau.de) bothers. How much rotation can she put the team through without going out of phase? And how much rotation does it take to conserve energy for knockout matches?

“There will be a balance by letting go as many as possible from the starting lineup,” announced the national coach for the last group match. She expects the Finns to “want to say goodbye to this European Championship in a decent way”. Your team “will approach the game with great joy and energy and then return to Brentford to take the next step”.

Kleinherne and Lattwein ahead of their European Championship debut

Sophia Kleinherne has been highly recommended for her debut at the European Championships. From the 62nd minute, Rauch moved to the position of left-back. The Frankfurter showed a very courageous performance against Spain (2-0), did not lose a ball and won a large part of her duels . “I wanted to be there when I had the chance,” the 22-year-old revealed, adding with a smile: “I’m happy.”

Even though Kleinherne stressed that “it’s not set in stone that I’ll start against Finland”, there should be no way around her, just like Lena Lattwein. The Wolfsburg midfielder acted as a wild card in the first two games, as if she were an old and not a newcomer to the European Championship. She has already celebrated her first goal against Denmark (4-0). Linda Dallmann, who had her first assignments at the European Championships five years ago, is expected to take over the creative side of Magull.

Goalscorer Lea Schüller is still missing after her corona infection, her test result on Friday was still positive according to the DFB. Sydney Lohmann (knee problems) is also likely to be absent.

Pleas different from those requested against Denmark and Spain

After the team’s impressive defensive performance against Spain, Voss-Tecklenburg said: “We showed the good fight and the spirit. We will need other means against Finland.” The duel with the really strong Danes is not comparable to the third group match.

Against an opponent who is certainly deep, you need speed in the game. Svenja Huth and Klara Bühl made sure of that in the first two games. Huth has a grueling 180 minutes in his legs. Bühl left the pitch after just 61 minutes against Spain, but by then he had already covered ten kilometers and fought in an incredible 29 duels. With that, the left winger even left the sharper Lena Oberdorf (23) far behind, although she remained on the pitch until the 84th minute. This is where Brand and Waßmuth could come in.

Defense chief Hegering threatens yellow suspension in Round of 16

But the “yellow danger” still lurks: Chief of Defense Marina Hegering would miss the quarter-finals if he received another yellow card. Apparently, however, the Neu-Wolfsburg native will appear anyway. “She knows the situation and has to deal with it,” explained Voss-Tecklenburg. At Rauch, the national coach is already missing a link in her defense square. Whatever the national coach decides in the personnel puzzle, one thing is certain. “We want to take the euphoria with us,” said Merle Frohms. The goalkeeper should have her place in the starting XI.