“Worked on the Playbook”: DFB Women Waiting for EM

After the successful end of the year, the EM year may come from the point of view of German footballers.

“The expectation is already huge,” said midfielder Sarah Dabritz, with a summer European Championship mission in England over the next few months (July 6 to July 31, 2022).

Tuesday evening 3:1 (3:1) in Portugal meant a big step towards the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. A sixth win in the sixth qualifying game and five points ahead of their straight chase allowed DFB selection to look back with satisfaction for 2021.

“Overall, it was a really good year. As a team, we now know how we want to play,” said national coach Martina Vos-Tecklenburg. “We’ve worked hard on our playbook.”

Now the “defensive issue” is automatically in greater focus, as is the mini-tournament in England in February against Euro hosts, Euro group opponents Spain and Olympic champions Canada. Dabritz also sees this demanding positioning as “the first showdown and great preparation for the European Championships”.

After two years without a major tournament, the record European champions are looking to reappear as title contenders in the final round in about seven months. At the 2019 World Championships and 2017 European Championships, the 2016 Olympic champion and two-time world champion was already in the quarterfinals.