But Wück only really laughed when Wolfgang Petry's speech to the team circle echoed through Karlsruhe's Wildpark Stadium. It started with “Falling in love, lost, forgetting, forgiving”, which will forever be linked to this tournament in this group thanks to the appearance in the team camp before the European Championships 2025 - the players had organized the exclusive concert as a surprise for Petry fan Wück. The tournament was successful for the DFB women, only ending late in the semifinals against the world champions from Spain. This reference was apt, because one thing that stuck with us from the European Championships was how the Germans were able to absorb injuries and setbacks. And that was what mattered on Friday, with the welcome side effect that the national coach made discoveries and rediscoveries even without a 44-strong XXL squad.
Wück had set goals for this and the following international match on Tuesday against Japan (5:45 p.m., ARD), which should also set the path in the coming months. “The most important thing is that we want to develop further,” he recently explained: “I want us to think in details, to work in details.” This will take longer and longer and will be “immensely difficult” to implement because the players come from so many different clubs. But after the performances that brought a place in the final of the Nations League in 2025 after the European Championship semi-finals (again Spain was stronger) and qualification for the World Cup in 2026, the next level should be reached for a successful World Cup in 2027. After the win against Australia, Wück said on ZDF: "Above all, we don't want to become dependent on injuries so that if someone breaks down, we have to think about changing the system. We want to be so flexible that we can react well to eventualities."
Striker Melissa Kössler takes her chance and scores twice
The list of failures was long at the start. Captain Giulia Gwinn, goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, Kathrin Hendrich, Rebecca Knaak, Bibiane Schulze Solano, Vivien Endemann, Selina Cerci, Larissa Mühlhaus and Lea Schüller were missing due to injuries, injuries or apologies. This deprived the national coach of an optimal starting position, but led him to make a poetic sentence: "It's no secret that not everything is going the way we imagine it would in a rose-colored sky." Sarai Linder (VfL Wolfsburg), Nicole Anyomi (London City Lionesses) and the 18-year-old Luzie Zähringer from VfB Stuttgart moved up. And at least the sky above the DFB women didn't turn dark, but rather a strip of light formed on the horizon.
Against physically strong Australians - Asian Cup finalists and with Sam Kerr in their ranks, one of the world's strongest offensive players - they largely remained in control. Even without the lack of prominent names, the starting eleven had a certain amount of experience and coordination. The only new players were goalkeeper Ena Mahmutovic, Cora Zicai on the wing and striker Melissa Kössler. The Germans kept having chances until Kössler brought the attacks to an end in the 23rd and 30th minutes. For the 26-year-old from US club Denver Summit, it was her first DFB goal in her fifth international match. She used her appearance to present herself as an alternative to a position that Wück described as “still capable of improvement at the moment”. Balls defended and distributed, passable, won duels, scored goals - the national coach praised Kössler's range: "She will put a lot of pressure on the other center forwards we have in the squad." Anyomi and Schüller are particularly likely to be affected by this.
Although he explicitly did not want to announce a World Cup casting, Wück took the opportunity to make seven changes after the break. He brought in, among others, debutant Lisa Baum (Arsenal FC) and defender Marie Müller (Portland Thorns FC), who only made her debut in June and impressed again. If the 53-year-old was looking for confirmation of his squad depth, he could find it this evening. “We knew that we had potential on the bench, that we could actually bring anyone in and even change positions,” said Wück: “That’s exactly what we wanted to try out.” Zicai and Carlotta Wamser, who was behind him, acted first on the right and then on the left, Müller also moved forward at times and Brand let himself fall a little at times. And like Kössler, Zicai also took advantage of her chance: many moves went her way, the 21-year-old from VfL Wolfsburg (four goals and two assists in six games) drove the game forward.
If it hadn't been for the avoidable mistakes, lack of concentration and coordination difficulties in the second half, Wück might have laughed before the Petry music. As it was, the Australians had some top-class chances, Mahmutovic had a lot to grab onto - but the DFB keeper couldn't get close to the shots from Samantha Kerr (45'+1) and Holly McNamara (90'+2). Baum, Anyomi, Zicai and Linda Dallmann, who was once again noticeably spinning, missed such good opportunities in the final phase that a corner was needed each for the goals from Camilla Küver (83') and Sjoeke Nüsken (90'+4). This was also a reminder that, despite all the attention to detail, the German national team should devote itself to some fundamental elements. At least the national coach doesn't have to worry about the squad in general.
