After the hype surrounding Jürgen Klopp and his XXL squad in the men's national team, the German footballers are starting their World Cup season as a counter-proposal. Before the two home international games against Australia and Japan, the media crowd at training in Eppelheim was manageable. National coach Christian Wück can go about his work in peace - the biggest upset is the loss of captain Giulia Gwinn - and with the certainty that he is among the best in the world.
“You shouldn’t compare Jürgen Klopp’s situation with ours because he’s starting over and wants to get to know the players. “It’s a completely different situation than what I’m in now with my coaching team and my squad,” explained the 53-year-old in his typically calm manner.
The DFB women are in third place in the FIFA world rankings ahead of the international matches against Australia on Friday (8.30 p.m./ZDF) in Karlsruhe and against Japan next Tuesday (5.45 p.m./ARD) in Bremen. Behind world champions Spain and the USA, ahead of European champions England. Nothing that really helps the 2025 European Championship semi-finalist on the pitch.
Nevertheless, the situation is rather relaxed. “We have confidence in the team that we can not only keep up, but that we can also beat Spain and England at some point.” The World Cup preliminary round embarrassment in Australia 2023 - still under Martina Voss-Tecklenburg - is a long time ago.
“We had a pretty successful time: Olympic bronze, the semi-finals of the European Championships, second place in the Nations League, where we were able to offer Spain a draw for a long time. And of course we want to continue that now,” said Nia Künzer, the DFB director of women’s football, at MagentaSport.
After qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil (June 24th to July 25th), they want to “make good use of the next nine months so that they can then be very well prepared”. On the way there and in search of further non-European opponents, Wück is planning a trip to America at the end of November. The Olympic qualification for Los Angeles 2028 is coming up in the spring.
Wück now wants to go into the detailed work so that he can “at some point be prepared for the World Cup”. In contrast to Klopp's situation, his pool of candidates for the national team is manageable. «I believe that we have found the scaffolding. This has actually been going on since after the European Championships. “We want to gradually give players the opportunity to expand our squad,” explained the head coach.
This applies, for example, to newcomer Lisa Baum: The 19-year-old attacker not only surprised with her €600,000 transfer from RB Leipzig to Arsenal in the summer, but also plays regularly in the Women's Super League. She could make her debut. There are six players from the WSL in the squad. A total of eleven who are under contract with a foreign club. All of them can only be recommended for the World Cup if they play for their clubs. «There is a currency in football, and that is playing time. Playing time is what is most valuable,” warned Wück.
Carlotta Wamser is another top talent who moved to England and quickly gained a foothold at champions Manchester City. The ex-Leverkusen player could play as a full-back for the injured Bayern star Giulia Gwinn (torn ankle joint).
