Germany are happy to take a 1-0 lead into their women’s Nations League semi-final return leg in France but it will require a similar performance with a little less wastefulness on Tuesday to reach the final.
“We’re in the minds of the French, that’s clear. They don’t like it when you play aggressively. If we perform on the pitch as we did today, we can secure another victory,” Kicker sports magazine quoted centre back Franziska Kett as saying.
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Coach Christian Wück spoke of a “top, top, top performance” of the team in Friday’s first leg in Dusseldorf he also insisted that “it wasn’t all rosy today, we still have room for improvement.
He said that efficiency in front of goal was “a big topic” in the analysis of the Euro 2025 tournament – “and if you go by that, we haven’t made much progress.”
Germany had chances galore before Klara Bühl finally broke the deadlock in the 79th minute to give Germany a slight edge for the return leg in Caen.
But overall, Germany had a strong performance without injured key players Lena Oberdorf, Giovanna Hoffmann and Ann-Katrin Berger, and suspended Janina Minge.
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“I think a lot of players performed at a very, very high level today. That’s what we need for the future – this consistency,” Bühl said.
Stina Johannes did well in goal between the posts in place of Berger, centre back Camilla Clüver impressed in her maiden cap, Kett showed her speed on her 21st birthday, and Wück also did everything right by moving Jule Brandt from the wing to the playmaker position.
“We’ve always said it: Jule does things on the pitch that she just wants to do, that aren’t planned. And she’s someone who always likes to cut inside,” Wück said, adding it was an easy decision “to put her in the middle in the first place.”