Football – DFB Women: Learning effects under national coach Christian Wück

Maybe at the beginning of December it has to be the case that at the end of an international year, “Last Christmas” rattles out of the loudspeakers. The catchy tune was still playing in the Ruhr Stadium in Bochum when Christian Wück formulated his wish list: “Clean things up front, play smarter at the back!” The disillusionment with the 2-1 home defeat against Italy on Monday evening clearly had an impact on the national coach. As in the 2-1 defeat against Australia in Duisburg, his footballers were unable to take advantage of the grateful support from the stands deep in the west. According to Wück, there is still “a lot of work to do” if the DFB team actually wants to play for the title at the European Championships in Switzerland this summer.

What looks good: The basic orientation has become more active and offensive. This worked spectacularly, especially at the Wück premiere in Wembley in the 4-3 win against England and the 6-0 win in Zurich against the European Championship hosts Switzerland. “We have proven that the new style of play can work,” said the national coach. His predecessor, Horst Hrubesch, had chosen a more pragmatic approach, particularly at the Olympic Games.

There were almost half a dozen clear chances against the Italians in the second half. But there was a lack of cool-headedness, consistency and luck. The weak financial statements have been a common thread throughout the last few years. Lea Schüller has by far the best quota with 47 goals in 69 international matches and should be developed into a focal point in the attack – the 27-year-old, who is strong in the air, has also inherited the number 11 shirt from Alexandra Popp.

Wück envisions a pool of 30 or even 40 players, which is why the first games were a discovery phase for him. But the automatism suffered as a result, which was also evident in the weak first half on Monday evening because there was also a lack of intensity and speed, creativity and precision. With the Nations League next year against the Netherlands, Austria and Scotland, the experiments will be fewer, the national coach promised: “We are no longer testing in large numbers. Of course we want to go to the Nations League with a core so that we can get used to it. It is also possible to assign permanent roles to key positions – similar to national coach Julian Nagelsmann with the men.

It is honorable that the goalkeepers Ann-Katrin Berger, Stina Johannes, Sophia Winkler and Ena Mahmutovic played one after the other, although there were blatant mistakes in three of the four international matches. In Bochum, debutant Mahmutovic had a blackout when she attempted an unnecessary dribble before making it 1-2. »She simply made a wrong decision in one scene. You can give that to the players too,” said Wück in the direction of the 20-year-old. Nevertheless, his casting in this position ended in a dead end; after all, Berger almost alone held on to the bronze medal at the Olympics. The 34-year-old, who has recovered from two cancers, is “Germany’s Footballer of the Year” and deserves full trust for the 2025 European Championship.

Many field players are still struggling for stability. Sarai Linder, who was once again tried out as a central defender, suffered a fatal loss of the ball before the early score was 0-1. Wück would be well advised to rely on Kathrin Hendrich and Janina Minge in central defense. The well-rehearsed Frankfurt team with Sara Doorsoun and Sophia Kleinherne is available as backup. Further postponements will only cause unrest and uncertainty. Wück’s conclusion: »We are on the right track, we still need to improve details. But we still have time until the European Championships. This defeat is part of a development.” The 51-year-old wanted these learning effects in the first part of his term in office, because as he said: “We’ll still have a nice Christmas.” That sounded reassuring.